Kowa 553/554 vs Leupold Gold Ring 12-40x60mm HD

[oregonsteelheader]

Has anyone compared these two spotters? I am surprised I wasn't able to turn anything up as they both seem to be good options for lightweight/compact without sacrificing too much optically compared to larger/heavier alpha options. In general, I have not seen much feedback or comparison of the Leupold 12-40x60 HD anywhere, so any insight to the Leupold would be great.

Quick breakdown:

Kowa 553/4
Magnification: 15-45x
Objective: 55mm
Weight: 28.2oz
FOV @ 1000 yards: 132ft (15x) - 69ft (45x)
Eye Relief: 16.5mm-16.0mm

Leupold Gold Ring 12-40x60mm HD
Magnification: 12-40x
Objective: 60mm
Weight: 37oz
FOV @ 1000 yards: 168ft (12x) - 52ft (40x)
Eye Relief: 30mm

Then there's cost, the Kowa 55mm are coming in at $1700ish, while I can get the Leopold at almost half that cost.

Thanks in advance for any insight or experience you share.

 

[tdhanses]

I’m guessing because they are not in the same league, but I haven’t looked through the Leupold and own the Kowa.

 

[oregonsteelheader]

I’m guessing because they are not in the same league, but I haven’t looked through the Leupold and own the Kowa.

I don't know if they should really be considered different leagues, hoping someone who has looked through the Leupold will chime in. Leupolds are retailing around $1300, used or military discount is when they can be had for cheaper. No doubt Kowa resell value holds better.

 

[sneaky]

The glass in the little Kowa is way better than the Leupold. You can get it for half the cost but you'll get way less than half the scope.

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[Lucci]

Wow didn’t realize the Kowa was that light.

 

[Tahoe1305]

I am comparing both right now.

I own the leupold and am borrowing the 554. To spec check...the weights are accurate. The 554 is silly light, also doesn’t seem super durable (it’s plastic vs metal). If cared for I’m sure it will be good though.

The field of view specs appears to go to the leupold. However looking through I personally think they are extremely close.

The resolution is better on the Kowa. That said on a chart during daylight and evening I could resolve the same with both (using USAF chart). But still to my eyes the Kowa was better.

I love the focus control on Kowa and hate it on the leupold. The Kowa is smooth and precise. The leupold is tough and impossible to look through and focus at the same time well.

The real drawback of the Kowa (besides price) IMO is the eye relief. It is much more difficult to get a good picture behind the Kowa than the leupold you have to be close and well aligned. Once there is is amazing, but it’s just much easier with the leupold.

I’m torn on whether I am ready to upgrade to the Kowa based on that last issue. Don’t get me wrong it is really awesome. Mainly resolution, weight, focus. But I don’t like how hard it is to look through. Maybe it’s just me.

The leupold is a good compromise on a lot of things but not great at any.

the Kowa is perfect at some things but lacks in a category or two....nothing is free.

Hope that helps.

 

[Tahoe1305]

To further the thought on price.... If I had to pay $1500 for the leupold I’m not sure I wouldn’t pay a bit more for the Kowa. If I could get the leupold for closer to $1000 it would make it a tougher decision.

 

[Yukon Cornelius]

I owned a Leupold 15-30 gold ring and sold it off this winter. I upgraded to a Zeiss 18-45. That Leupold was pretty clear and super compact (chose it over the razor 11-33) but it really doesn’t compare to my Zeiss.

 

[tdhanses]

I’ll have to double check but I don’t think the Kowa 55 series has a plastic body but the cheaper 50mm might.

 

[sneaky]

I'm pretty sure its the same magnesium body on the 554 as the 774 and 884 series

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[Tahoe1305]

Website could be wrong.

 

[tdhanses]

Yup you are correct but that actually isn’t a negative, polycarbonate is pretty dang durable.

 

[sneaky]

Yup you are correct but that actually isn’t a negative, polycarbonate is pretty dang durable.

And light lol

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[Str8shooter]

So I just sold my Leupold GR for a Kowa 553. The Leupold eye relief is nice, but it doesnt have an adjustable eyecup like the kowa, so I think its actually easier to use the kowa since I can lock my orbital bone into the eyepiece at the perfect eye relief whereas with the leupold I had to essentially float my eye in front of it, but the kowa could be an issue for eyeglass wearers. The kowa is clearly better sharper glass but I wouldnt necessarily say its brighter than the leupold at similar mags. As was said above the hard to turn zoom is a bummer for the leupold and the micro adjust on the kowa is sweet. But hey all that extra stuff is nitpicking really, ol Newberg spots elk all over the place with these leupolds and on the quality/price/magnification per oz axis the leupold GRs are a sweet scope, the kowas are just a bit $weeter.

 

[Tahoe1305]

If anyone else is still wondering what ones mans eyes (me) saw comparing these two (and a razor hd 65mm), the thread below has two USAF resolution charts in it that were done at daylight (400yds) and post sunset (60yds) that compares them. To note I didn’t pull the leupold out for night comparison. Still could though.

I agree the Kowa beat the leupold but not by a ton IMO. There are some trade offs there too. Bottom line, I think people would be happy with either based on what they are willing to compromise on.

I recently picked up that 65mm razor gen 1 for a great deal and love it at over half the cost of both of these. I personally think it’s the perfect compromise for things I want between both and I pay for it with a pound. The Kowa is pretty sweet though.

Vortex UHD / Maven B5 18x56 Novice Comparison.

Folks Doesn’t seem like too many have had hands on the UHD and Maven 18xs together yet. Had the chance to demo so will give it my best shot at comparing. That said I will draft a couple initial posts and then encourage folks that have specific questions to reply and I will do my best to get...

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[Big Ern]

I have owned both. Had the HD GR and sold it for the Kowa 554.

Glass on the Kowa is outstanding. But, the Leupold HD glass is no slouch and very good for the street price on this scope. Importantly, the eye relief on the Leupold is so generous that it is just a really easy scope to get behind and be comfortable. The narrow FOV is also an issue on the Kowa which, again, makes the Leupold seem to be easier to get behind and use.

Notwithstanding the above, I kept the Kowa because it is so darn small/light and the glass quality is superb. It is noticeably more compact and light than the Leupold. It is always in the pack and doesn't take up much room.

 

[carbon]

Chiming in here a little late, but as an eyeglass wearer, does the Leupold have any way to space your eye away from the eyepiece? One fella above mentioned that he had to float his eye in space away from the eyepiece, but he didn’t use glasses.

 

[carbon]

One thing about the angled Kowa is it has no rotating ring to reposition the scope. If I ever buy a Kowa 550 series, I’d buy the straight spotter 554 for that reason. YMMV.

 

[Shooter264]

One thing about the angled Kowa is it has no rotating ring to reposition the scope. If I ever buy a Kowa 550 series, I’d buy the straight spotter 554 for that reason. YMMV.

Yep, that was the thing that disappointed me with the 553. It seems to me it would have been so easy to install a rotating ring on the 553 and it would have been perfect. I did however buy a 554 and absolutely love it

 

[Southern Lights]

I own the Kowa 55X and Leupld Mk4 spotter which is close to what was being asked. The Leupold is the spotter version with mil reticle.

The Leupold is easier to use with more forgiving eye relief at all mag ranges and much more usable at higher ranges than the Kowa. The Leupold also feels far more durable as the Kowa I am careful with but still take hunting.

In terms of clarity, the Kowa wins. But it's pretty close. The Leupold has more distortion at the edges and pin cushion but in practical field use I can't say I notice much.

The Leupold works better for spotting mirage if you are looking to call wind with longer shots.

The Kowa is much lighter, but the Leupold front objectives is larger and I think brighter. But again it's not a big difference in actual field condtions.

I think the Kowa is more like a 15-30X scope. Above that the eyepiece is hard to use and the image quality falls off rapidly. The Leupold has a much more usable full range probably because the front objective is much larger.

Overall I use both for different reasons. The Leupold I think is better for ELR shooting, but the Kowa wins for compact spotter you can take with you without tons of weight if you are OK with its limitations.