New Sig Sauer Zulu6 HDX Pro vs Gen 2 Zulu6 HDX

[swavescatter]

Background: I bought the new 18's and they sucked hard. Sig said they meet spec and I'm just a crybaby, even though I provided proof. Relevant threads here here here here.

Got my 18x50 HDX Pro's back from Sig with a note that they're amazing and I'm an idiot. Grabbed another set of 18x50 HDX Pro's from Sportsman's, as well as the new 16x50 HDX Pro's to compare against my 16x42's.

Bottom line - only the 18x50 pair that I got from Sportsman's could be imagined to be slightly better optically if you try really really hard. You get MAYBE two minutes more glassing time when it's dark. The difference between 18x50's was noticeable and repeatable. I could mix them up and pick which one was which based on image clarity. Sig must have pretty loose specs for their QC. The 16x50's were atrociously bad. Holy cow.

Save your money - don't buy the HDX Pro's.

Sig Sauer 16x42 Zulu6 HDX:


Sig Sauer 16x50 Zulu6 HDX Pro


Sig Sauer 18x50 Zulu6 HDX Pro #1


Sig Sauer 18x50 Zulu6 HDX Pro #2


These were taken during sunset, so the color isn't something that can be compared. I wanted to stick around until sunset to test the low light performance. No pics of that, but there was a very small improvement after last light. Not a $700 improvement for sure.

 

[voltage]

Thanks for sharing. I really like my HDX 16x42s, so selfishly, I’m happy to hear this.

Have you considered taking advantage of Sig’s new warranty with the lemon pair?

 

[swavescatter]

Thanks for sharing. I really like my HDX 16x42s, so selfishly, I’m happy to hear this.

Have you considered taking advantage of Sig’s new warranty with the lemon pair?

I already sent in the 18 pros and they told me thank you for your money, these meet spec so go suck eggs.

 

[focker34]

I'm seeing more and more positive reviews for the pros. I'd love to hear your response to a video like this:

 

[swavescatter]

I think he's full of it and trying to stay on Sigs good side. He's not sponsored.... Yet.

The new pros are better at low light. That's it.

He even mentions not expecting them to be as clear as the Gen 2's during daylight "due to the low light coating" or some crap. That's not how photons work my guy. You can't allow "nighttime" photons in as a compromise for blocking out "daytime" photons.

His rationale for choosing to carry bigger, heavier, less stable, less clear binos is pretty thin. Just because he's not sponsored doesn't mean he isn't auditioning.

As far as I know I'm the only one who put 3 separately purchased Pros on a tripod next to a Gen 2 and tried to be objective. The QC with the pros was all over the map. But maybe I got the world's best Gen 2 16's???

 

[6.5x284]

I believe it. I sent my Gen 2’s packing because I was disappointed. They cost too much to just use as a truck bino which for me was all they turned out to be. I wanted to love them. I think in 5-10 years we’ll have some competition in this space. For now I would rather throw my NLs on a tripod.


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