Has Anyone Tries these Scopes ?

[rka]

I just joined this forum. I want to purchase essential items for digiscoping and so far it seems that the best camera options are the cp995 or cp4500. However, I am very undecided about choice of spotting scope.

I came across some sterling reviews of the Meopta Range of spotting scopes any was wandering if anyone had experience digiscoping with them.

Thanks in advance.

[Andy Bright]

Hi Rka and a warm welcome from all the moderators and admin here at Bird Forum.net. We hope you enjoy your time here.
I've never used a Meopta scope, but they have a good pedigree.... two of the top scopes in the world are made by them at their factory.
Best camera options include the Nikon cp990 (still regarded as the best digiscoping camera by many), the cp4500 and the cp995.
Hopefully another member can enlighten us on the quality of the Meopta range.
Andy

[O Uzel]

Hopefully another member can enlighten us on the quality of the Meopta range.
Andy

I belive someone have now. Se equipment rewiew: http://www.birdforum.net/reviews/showproduct.php?product=101

[jimnz]

I belive someone have now. Se equipment rewiew: http://www.birdforum.net/reviews/showproduct.php?product=101
I've owned a Meopta Hermes with 25x eyepiece & 70mm lens for more than a year now & think it's one of the best I've owned except it could perhaps be a bit sharper towards the edges.I think the only better scope I've had would have been a old Kowa,hith 15,25,35 & 60x eyepieces,which really was sharper right into the edge of the field. I don"t have a digital camera & really can't say how good a digiscope the Meopa would be:perhaps the sharpness across the field mightn't be quite good enough.

[RichardA]

undefinedI just joined this forum. I want to purchase essential items for digiscoping and so far it seems that the best camera options are the cp995 or cp4500. However, I am very undecided about choice of spotting scope.

I came across some sterling reviews of the Meopta Range of spotting scopes any was wandering if anyone had experience digiscoping with them.

Thanks in advance.


I don't have a reply to your specific query, but have been looking closely at the specification of the Meopta HA75 with the 30x eyepiece which I have been told is very good. This particular scope (made in Europe) is available here in Australia at about half the price of the top line spotting scopes such as (for example) the Swarovski APO 65 angled. I did see the 70mm Meopta Hermes some years ago when I first started looking at scopes, and was most impressed. The HA 75 would be quite a step up from the Hermes, and I too would like to hear if anyone has first hand experience of it.

[Talo]

Is there anybody out there who can tell me if this a good spotting scope ?
It is quite cheap and appears to be very good.

Is it worth the money or should i save up for a Kowa ?

[postcardcv]

One big problem for digiscoping with these would be the fact that the focus is on the eyepeice, so getting adapaters would be problematic. As for the optical quality, I've only looked through one briefly and was not impressed, make sure you look through it yourself before buying one.

[Dirk Hiemstra]

Is there anybody out there who can tell me if this a good spotting scope ?
It is quite cheap and appears to be very good.

Is it worth the money or should i save up for a Kowa ?

I own a Meopta HA75 for several years now and I am very satishfied. Compared to Kowa and Nikon I really prefer the Meopta. The quality of the optics is outstanding, sharp till the edges and bright as it can be. With no doubt you can compare it to the non-APO Zeiss, Leica and Swarovski scopes and you will be surprised: I could not tell the difference. For APO scopes the difference cannot be seen normally, only under extreme conditions as very bad light and extreme multiplications. Digiscoping is as easy as it can be: the scope has a sharpening ring in the middle of the body (not on the eyepiece). No surprise hearing Swarovski is outplacing a part of the job to Meopta. And after all, you can buy three Meoptas for one Swarovski: I made my choice three years ago an feel no regrets.

[Jacek Zarzycki]

they have APO scopes nowadays , too - meostar spotting scopes - www.meopta.cz (http://www.meopta.cz)
What do you think ?

[Dirk Hiemstra]

they have APO scopes nowadays , too - meostar spotting scopes - www.meopta.cz (http://www.meopta.cz)
What do you think ?
I have not seen them in the Netherlands yet. Anyone any experience ?

[Jacek Zarzycki]

I have sent them a question about those scopes - here is the answer :
Dear Mr. Zarzycki,



Meostar S1 75 is new model replacing former Meopta HA/HS 75. Meostar S1 differs from HA/HS in following points:

* Meobright multicoatings in Meostar S1 scopes enable higher light transmission
* Meostar S1 scopes are approx. 50g lighter
* Focusing per entire focusing range represents 1 revolution in case of Meostar instead of 1.5 revolution in case of HA/HS.



Meostar S1 APO is Meostar S1 equipped with APO objectiv, which reduces dramatically secondary colour aberration. This is the same, what other manufacturers use to call as HD, ED, APO or FL objectives. This type of objective is a great option for serious birdwatchers.



Best regards,



Milos Slany

Sales Manager

tel: +420 581 242 361

fax: + 420 581 242 222

e-mail: Milos.Slany@meopta.com

[Otto McDiesel]

If manufactured properly, the APO Meostar should be on par with the big names, especially the fixed power eyepiece. A good buy, no doubt.

[Jacek Zarzycki]

If manufactured properly, the APO Meostar should be on par with the big names, especially the fixed power eyepiece. A good buy, no doubt.1360 USD for one meostar APO S-1 ( price in Poland - I do not know about other countries...) - looks quite nice , doesn't it ?

[Otto McDiesel]

1360 USD for one meostar APO S-1 ( price in Poland - I do not know about other countries...) - looks quite nice , doesn't it ?


If you get the eyepiece in that price i would not hesitate to say that it sounds good. Besides, you would be buying a scope made in a country renowned for great blondes (beer) rather than for sushi made with whale meet.

[Jacek Zarzycki]

that's the price of body plus zoom eyepiece 20-60x plus case for it.

[FrankD]

I cannot speak for the model in question but I did recently have the opportunity to pick up their least expensive model, the Hermes 70 mm, and must admit that it is quite impressive for the price. I compared it with my previous scope, a Nikon Earth and Sky 60 mm and found the Hermes to offer a much flatter field of view with slightly better contrast and, expectedly, better brightness. The only negative I have found with the scope's optics is an excessive amount of CA at the higher magnification setting for its zoom eyepiece. I do not use the scope much at that magnification so it isn't much of an issue in my case.

Wish I would have found them sooner. If their least expensive model is this good I would just love to see what their newest, high-end options can do.