Zeiss conquest vs Swarovski SLC vs Maven B.5

[Danger23]

Looking for thoughts between the zeiss conquest, Swarovski slc 15x56 or jumping the Maven B.5 18x56.
I am ok with springing for the Swaro 15x56 and I’m sure most will say get the Swaro but I am curious if the money difference is “worth it” for the Swaro or if the Zeiss are just as good. Plus it looks like you can pick up conquest on some sales or pretty good deals on used. Also wonder if the benefits of 18’s are worth trying the Maven.

I have the Maven b1 10x42’s and spent quite a bit of time with them and my dad’s SLC’s side by side. The Maven glass is great and hangs with the SLC to my eyes but they are not near as comfortable and I am constantly adjusting them and I sometimes regret not going with Swaro.

 

[AZ_Hunter_2000]

Object of glassing is to find game.

If the optic is uncomfortable then you won’t be staying in the glass. Similar concept to optics with garbage glass: eye strain makes you take breaks.

Zero issue staying in my SLCs from before legal light to last legal light; minus some pit stops.

 

[tbumpus]

Here's a pretty comprehensive review of the Zeiss Conquest HD 15x56. He notes some issues with chromatic aberration which have also been noted over at the BirdForum.

Zeiss 15x56 Conquest HD Review

www.scopeviews.co.uk

Same reviewer's thought on the SLC:

Swarovski 15x56 SLC HD Review

www.scopeviews.co.uk

Here's a thread at BirdForum re: Maven 15x56 that may or may not be useful:

Maven B5 15x56 - Some Thoughts

Good evening all, I have had many binoculars in the past, but have recently acquired a pair of Maven B5 15x56's at the recommendation of ... Fiske. I wanted a long range binocular to complement a pair of 8x42's I have. The purpose of these binoculars were to do 50/50 daytime/nightime observing...

www.birdforum.net

Happy Hunting

 

[Danger23]

I

Object of glassing is to find game.

If the optic is uncomfortable then you won’t be staying in the glass. Similar concept to optics with garbage glass: eye strain makes you take breaks.

Zero issue staying in my SLCs from before legal light to last legal light; minus some pit stops.

I should clarify. The Maven B1.2's are not as comfortable. But I have tried the B2 and they felt very natural and comfortable every bit as much as the SLC's for me and the B5 is same body as the B2

 

[haikalex]

Swaro 100p

 

[43.6N]

Curious why you’re not considering the 14x52 NL pure?

 

[Danger23]

Curious why you’re not considering the 14x52 NL pure?

For the same reason the Maven and conquest were part of the conversation. Cost... I haven't looked through the NL's but I have been told they are unreal! This would be my first pair of binos over 10's. I suppose if I found myself using 15's regularly enough I could justify the jump to NL's.

 

[nephewjephew]

Not sure if its still going but eurooptic was/is running a huge sale on meopta meostar b1 plus's 15x

 

[LCguy]

I'd like to just point out something that gets lost in all binocular discourse: you do get what you pay for but at a certain point, you are paying significantly more for incrementally less improvement. The improvement between a $100 pair of binos to a $1,000 pair of binos is significantly larger than the jump between a $1,000 pair of binos and a $2,000 pair of binos. So much so that the average user might not even notice all that much of a difference.

 

[roweraay]

Here's a pretty comprehensive review of the Zeiss Conquest HD 15x56. He notes some issues with chromatic aberration which have also been noted over at the BirdForum.

Zeiss 15x56 Conquest HD Review

www.scopeviews.co.uk

Same reviewer's thought on the SLC:

Swarovski 15x56 SLC HD Review

www.scopeviews.co.uk

Here's a thread at BirdForum re: Maven 15x56 that may or may not be useful:

Maven B5 15x56 - Some Thoughts

Good evening all, I have had many binoculars in the past, but have recently acquired a pair of Maven B5 15x56's at the recommendation of ... Fiske. I wanted a long range binocular to complement a pair of 8x42's I have. The purpose of these binoculars were to do 50/50 daytime/nightime observing...

www.birdforum.net

Happy Hunting

The Conquest referred above, was the previous generation "HD" version. Not the newer "HDX" version that's on sale.

Even though the AFOV is still the same at an impressive 69 degrees (in both the old HD version as linked above and the newer HDX that came out in 2025), they have made some alterations to the optical formula. Plus they have made several changes to the usability of the device, including better mechanicals, and move to a Magnesium alloy body.

So what's linked above, related to the Zeiss 15x56 HDX, is outdated and probably not fully relevant.

 

[tbumpus]

Meh. The OP didn't specify HD vs. HDX. He indicated he was interested in saving some money. I thought, wrongly in your mind, that he might find some use in the review of the older model.

 

[roweraay]

Meh. The OP didn't specify HD vs. HDX. He indicated he was interested in saving some money. I thought, wrongly in your mind, that he might find some use in the review of the older model.

Agreed. I think the problem with the scopeviews reviews, is that he does not put a date against the reviews.

So a review that praised a product 5 years back, is no longer applicable in this day and age, with newer models introduced and eclipsing the previously praised product. Thus those older reviews could be misleading, than helping.

 

[Spiral Horn]

Maven glass is great and hangs with the SLC to my eyes but they are not near as comfortable and I am constantly adjusting them and I sometimes regret not going with Swaro.

Great “real world” expression of the difference between an “Alpha” and a “mid-range” optic. When just glancing around there doesn’t appear to be a significant difference, but when seriously glassing or trying to pull fine details from the image the performance gap shows up - usually in the form of greater eye fatigue.

That said, I have a 56mm SLC, Vortex UHD 18x56, and spent some time with the B5 in both 15 & 18x. To me, the SLC is the best of the three but the B5 comes extremely close and is a much better value buy. Also, after some fairly extensive use I’ve concluded that I’m not a fan of 18x56 binds. IME optical quality diminishes too much compared to the 15x. Everyone appears to love extreme magnification these days, but often fail to realize = everything is magnified equally - including all aberrations and minor optical flaws in the image - the extra juice just isn’t worth the squeeze.

 

[mthayr]

@Danger23 did you end up pulling the trigger on any of these? Curious to hear your findings.

One facet no one seems to have mentioned is durability. The SLC's are notoriously delicate. The Meoptas mentioned in post #8 are supposedly more durable, but are now serviced exclusively abroad with an extensive (think months not weeks) turnaround.

I bought a pair of the Meoptas used, but they were out of collimation and I didn't want to deal with the repair and so returned them. Have not heard anything good nor bad regarding the durability of the Mavens or Zeiss.