I recently decided to upgrade my old kowa 614 scope. After a couple of years deliberating,and looking through other scopes.I found it very dificult to form a opinion of which scope combination was best.With all the considerations like size,weight,lens,HD,looks,age on the market,etc,One scope shone out,the swarovski,but comparing it with all the others,side by side,for any length of time was impossible.The leica looks great,has a stonking lens,and looked great through it,but i thought it just seemed to lack final clarity at 50x zoom,compared with the swarovski.[scopes viewed were leica apo 65hd,and swarovski stm 65hd].I really wanted the leica to stand out and grab me,but both scopes were excellant,and the swarovski deal till june 06,was the one i went for,and payed 1720,for a swarovski STM 65hd,with 25x50 lens,and swarovski case.The zoom really is superb,i recently compared it with the 20x60 lens,and there is no comparison,the 25x50 is WIDE!.This eyepiece took me some getting used to,to get my eye in,but it soon came good,and a dream to use.Downsides,well,the case is fiddley to get both ends off quickly,if not using the case lens cover,the rubber eyepiece cover on a string is a little loose on the lens.The scope sunshade is very difficult to pull out with the case on,and difficult to say the least,with it off.The screw which retains the body from turning through 360 deg,tends to work loose.These are all "picky" things,and after finding them out after purchase,i am glad they did not put me off purchasing this scope.