Where are the leupold and sightron glass made?

dfraser

dfraser

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I have been looking for glass information on the following 2 scopes:

Leupold VX-3L 4.5-14x50
Sightron SIII 8-32x56 LRMOA

I read somewhere that the glass is made in the same facility in Japan, although the great googler searches are vague at best.

Can anyone shed some light (no pun intended) on these two models.

Thank you
 
There are really only 3 companies in the world that make high enough quality glass for rifle scopes. 2 in Germany and 1 in Japan. Every company (Leupold, S&B, Night Force, Sightron, Bushnell, Vortex etc etc) purchase glass from these 3 manufacturers in differing grades (think diamonds and how they are bought in differing grades). The real difference in glass quality as we see it comes after the glass has been purchased, what the company does in terms of polishing and coating the glass.
 
Recce21 said:
There are really only 3 companies in the world that make high enough quality glass for rifle scopes. 2 in Germany and 1 in Japan. Every company (Leupold, S&B, Night Force, Sightron, Bushnell, Vortex etc etc) purchase glass from these 3 manufacturers in differing grades (think diamonds and how they are bought in differing grades). The real difference in glass quality as we see it comes after the glass has been purchased, what the company does in terms of polishing and coating the glass.
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Wow, Thank you for this explanation.

I was always under the wrong impression that the finished glass was shipped to the manufacturers for final assembly into the scope.

Thanks again!!!

Regards
 
There is a lot of marketing talk in the optics world that is mostly smoke and mirrors such as the latest "HD" glass craze. Optics quality is all about initial glass quality from the factory, then the quality of the polishing process and finally by the Optical Engineers and what coatings they determine the glass needs to ensure the best quality sight picture with the grade of glass they have. Changing coatings to enhance/eliminate certain spectrums of the light is how you can have bright glass but crap contrast and other combinations of pros/cons. There are no free lunches in optics.
dfraser said:
Wow, Thank you for this explanation.

I was always under the wrong impression that the finished glass was shipped to the manufacturers for final assembly into the scope.

Thanks again!!!

Regards
Click to expand...
 
Recce21 said:
There is a lot of marketing talk in the optics world that is mostly smoke and mirrors such as the latest "HD" glass craze. Optics quality is all about initial glass quality from the factory, then the quality of the polishing process and finally by the Optical Engineers and what coatings they determine the glass needs to ensure the best quality sight picture with the grade of glass they have. Changing coatings to enhance/eliminate certain spectrums of the light is how you can have bright glass but crap contrast and other combinations of pros/cons. There are no free lunches in optics.
Click to expand...

A worthwhile article to read - Leitz used to develop and produce their own glass - they dont produce now for the reasons offered in the link:
http://gmpphoto.########.ca/2017/01/the-leitz-leica-glass-research.html?showComment=1483554752258

Initially optical coatings were intended to reduce flare and enhance contrast as a result. Coating was such a significant breakthrough that it was considered 'classified' during WWll (I presume 'secret') and all sides kept their process under wraps.

In the link above, the author mentions the 180mm F3.4 Apo-Telyt as still being one of the finest lenses ever manufactured. It was designed, and manufactured, here in Canada at Leitz Midland. I have one and it is certainly an incredible optic. Unfortunately Kodachrome 25 is no longer available so the only way to illustrate the extraordinary performance of the lens is B&W these days
 
Not sure about Leupold but Sightron scopes are assembled in the Philippines. Not sure who they buy the glass from but my SIII 6-24×50 was (traded it off in a package deal) nearly as bright and crisp as my Nightforce NXS 5.5-22×56. I just emailed Jerry at Mystic to get an invoice to order a new S-Tac 3-16×42 for my coyote rifle. For the price I don't think they can be beat.
 
There are certainly more then 3 factories making lenses for scopes. Unless things have changed, there are regions in Japan where the entire local population may make various components that go into a scope.... ie there is a lot of sub contracting going on.

Think cars and trucks... Ford doesn't make alot of the parts that go into a Ford.. neither does any other auto maker. There is a massive industry sub contracting everything with the ultimate assembly done in a Ford plant.

Factories are now sprinkled around the world offering product in various states and to different specs. It is not uncommon for main components to be made in various countries and then assembled in another.

Sightron is manufactured in 2 countries (at least final assembly in 2 countries).. Japan and the Phillipines.

Some of the best glass is made in the Phillipines.

Jerry

PS.. cr5, you are going to be very impressed with the STAC3-16X42
 
My eyes struggle to tell me if there is a qualitative difference between the glass in NF and in SIII - likely there isn't any. Of course there is much more to a scope than glass- the internals of a turret which over time can degrade if quality parts are not used for example - but on glass alone the differences between the quality scope makers are marginal and perhaps only observable under v.poor lighting conditions or the heaviest mirage.

I read somewhere that S&B use their own glass but on this I do stand to be corrected.
 
Tomochan said:
My eyes struggle to tell me if there is a qualitative difference between the glass in NF and in SIII - likely there isn't any. Of course there is much more to a scope than glass- the internals of a turret which over time can degrade if quality parts are not used for example - but on glass alone the differences between the quality scope makers are marginal and perhaps only observable under v.poor lighting conditions or the heaviest mirage.

I read somewhere that S&B use their own glass but on this I do stand to be corrected.
Click to expand...

When looking through my Sightron SIII 6-24×50 then straight over to my NF NXS 5.5-22×56 there was very little difference, a slight edge to the NF but the 56mm objective could have had more to do with it than the quality of the glass. Both were noticeably better than my Vortex Viper PST 6-24×50 though and even though the Vortex had some nice features the Sightron didn't I would still take a Sightron over a Vortex every time.

Bang for the buck Sightron is hard to beat.
 
NF and Sightron SIII glass come from the same place. The NF is built like a tank in comparison to the Sightron SIII, but the latter is much more affordable. Take good care of a SIII and it will satisfy.
 
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