In critical testing, comparing the Nikon 78 and the Leica 77 with their zooms at equivalent powers, my sample of the Nikon just edged out the Leica every time. We are talking very close here. I am not confident that two different samples of the Nikon and Leica scopes would necessarily show the same tested relationship. Compared to the Questar or the Pronto, the Leica is still unmistakably a prismatic scope. Though it comes very, very close, it is not able to equal the brightness or resolution of either, but then, it is not really fair to expect it to.
Prisms have their price, but they also have a very real benefit in ease of use in the field.
With any test for color correction in complete optical systems, of course, it is very difficult to say how much of the secondary color comes from the objective and how much comes from the particular eyepiece you are using. Without more sophisticated testing equipment, I can't really prove or disprove Leica's claim to APO performance, but I can say that the color purity of the image is among the best I have seen. Overall then, the optical performance of the Televid is exceptional, certainly placing it right up there among the top currently available spotting scopes, though it sets no new standards. The zoom, however, is not everything I had hoped it would be. It is excellent, only the third usable zoom on the market so far, but I had expected something from Leica that would at least equal the overall performance of the Swarovski zoom.