I have been disappointed with Leupold. They are definately overpriced. And I say this not only as a moderator, but also as someone who owns several makes of scopes - Nikon Monarch, Elite 4200 and 3200, Nightforce NXS, Burris Black Diamond, Leupold Vari-X III, and others that I can't think of right now.
I'm telling you straight up that the Nikon Monarch has better optics than the Leupold Vari-X IIIs. Now, I don't know about the newer VX-IIIs so I can't compare, but the older Vari-X IIIs were very disappointing in the optics department.
I don't have much personal experience with Burris's lower lines, nor the Leupold VX-I for that matter, but I do know that the VX-I has "friction" adjustments, which I think is ridiculous on a $200 scope. Heck, even a $50 scope has click adjustments.
Zachary