I'll take a different tack on this. A riflescope is a sight, not an observation device. If the settings are predictable, it's clear and doesn't glare, I'm pleased. A scope isn't for glassing game or taking pictures. For glassing, I use Fujinon binoculars. For photographs, I use a high-end Nikon. In those two cases, the optical quality is important. I will say that a number of times I've spotted rockchucks lounging in basalt talus slopes with my Fujinons and then have him disappear in my Leupold scope. Back to the Fijinons and there he is again. Part of this is binocular vision, the rest is optics quality. And if you've ever hunted rockchucks in this environment, you know they're hard to see. Still, I don't believe even the best European scopes would change the results. IMHO, people put too much emphasis on a scope's optical quality. I have Leupolds on nearly everything and am well pleased.