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Has anyone seen the new Meopta spotting scope (1 Viewer)

gulf1263

Well-known member
Hello all:
Has Meopta released their new scope yet?
Has anyone tried it out?
If so how good is it and does it compare to the upper tier scopes.
Thanks
Art
 
Hello all:
Has Meopta released their new scope yet?
Has anyone tried it out?
If so how good is it and does it compare to the upper tier scopes.
Thanks
Art

Hi Art,

The first pieces of the MeoStar S2 82 HD spotting scope will land in the States next week. Regular production should be up and running shortly.

Regards
 
The Meopta S2 82 APO scope arrived at Ireland's Wildlife for review on Monday. Haven't tested it properly yet -- but first impression is that it looks great and performs brilliantly. It is bright, clear, with a razor sharp edge to edge view, and the 30x-60x WA zoom is amazing -- has that same "walk in and look around" feel you get with the Swaro 25-50x. The image stays clear and razor sharp with very little fall off in brightness up to 60x -- which is well usable even in relatively low light.

Side by side with a birding buddy's Swarovski ATM 65 HD with the 25x50 the meopta was obviously brighter, just as sharp and the view through the Meopta was better at 60x than the Swaro at 50x -- obviously that brightness has a lot to do with the 82mm objective grabbing more light, but still....

I'll need to test it some more in a variety of conditions, but it does look like a seriously impressive scope at first glance.
 
Very nice review. Well thought out and comprehensive. I look forward to trying the new Meopta scope when the situation presents itself.
 
Indeed thanks for the excellent review, Calvin. Here in the states the S2 with 30-60 WA is going for $2200 and sounds like a super bargain.

Could you comment on the eye relief? I wear glasses and that's always a big factor for me. The only spec I see is 18mm, but I doubt it's steady throughout the zoom range, or is it?

I've only seen two reviews so far, but both have mentioned the stiff focus. It may not be sample variation, but it may loosen up as well. I guess we'll see.

Here's a link to the other review:

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/page.aspx?pid=2523

I hope to get a chance to look through this scope as well. Sounds really nice.

Mark
 
Thanks for the link Mark. The second review sounds as promising as the first. I would now love to see someone do a "side-by-side" with the Zeiss, Swaro and Leica equivalents. Comparisons of measured resolution, sweet spot size, color rendition and apparent brightness would be very helpful.

That last little bit about the Iphone adapter sounds particularly promising. I have been doing all of my digiscoping with my Iphone as it is so convenient. At the moment all of it has been handheld. I have been toying with the idea of making my own Iphone adapter to custom fit my scope. I still may have to but the Meopta version sounds particularly interesting.

8206872522_2cdeaf3a05.jpg


Iphone 4 handheld with the Theron Mag 82 and 30x WA eyepiece
 
Seems like a great scope...But at 2200 euros PLUS eyepiece ,It very well could be..
Even at 2200 dollars eyepiece included I dont see the super deal.. A pretty expensive piece of equipment by my current standards..I like the range of the eyepieces and the SOC design in the list of things that jump out at first as very original,or totally different to other makers approach..that in itself is refreshing..
 
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Seems like a great scope...But at 2200 euros PLUS eyepiece ,It very well could be..
Even at 2200 dollars eyepiece included I dont see the super deal.. A pretty expensive piece of equipment by my current standards..I like the range of the eyepieces and the SOC design in the list of things that jump out at first as very original,or totally different to other makers approach..that in itself is refreshing..

My thought was that if it really competes with the alphas then a buyer could save quite a bit of money. For example, the last remaining, discounted Swaro ATM 80's with 25-50x zoom are going for $700 more than the Meopta. Plus another $260 if you want the SOC. If the Meopta is really as good, well why not save $960?

One reviewer didn't like the SOC because there were big flaps flapping in the wind. I suspect I wouldn't like it either.

Mark
 
It looks a nice scope and the price, just shy of £1,700 in the UK, looks pretty keen. However, one retailer here is offering Zeiss 85 Diascope with x30 and stay on eyepiece for £100 less and another the Kowa 77mm with stay on case, DSLR adaptor and x30 lens for only £100 more. That impractical stay-on-case could be a deal breaker - ha'pth of tar etc - a smart dealer who had their own case design made up could do well though,
 
While I'm being extremely satisfied with my Nikon ED82A, the Meopta is one of the two scopes I might consider as an upgrade. The other one is the new Swarovski modular system.

The Meopta would add the convenience of a really good zoom without sacrificing the wide angle view I love so much. And with a greater magnification than the Swarovski 25-50x zoom too. But I couldn't justify the expense for that convenience.
Maybe if I were in the market for buying my first, last and only scope, but I can't see myself dropping the Fieldscopes now.
 
Indeed thanks for the excellent review, Calvin. Here in the states the S2 with 30-60 WA is going for $2200 and sounds like a super bargain.

Could you comment on the eye relief? I wear glasses and that's always a big factor for me. The only spec I see is 18mm, but I doubt it's steady throughout the zoom range, or is it?

Thanks Mark... yikes... very late getting back to this thread... my apologies... simply not enough hours :-(.

In terms of eye relief as a non-glasses wearer I haven't really noticed... and can't really comment on weather eye-relief changes as you zoom. What I can tell you is that a keen birding friend who does wears glasses used the S2 side-by-side with his Swaro ATM 65 HD with the 25-50 WA eyepiece and said it compared favourably. He had no trouble seeing the entire field of view throughout the 30-60 zoom range.

Cheers,

Calvin!
 
Very nice review. Well thought out and comprehensive. I look forward to trying the new Meopta scope when the situation presents itself.

Thanks Frank... it's a superb scope. I was far more impressed with it than I was expecting to be.

I haven't tried it side-by-side with a top tier large-objective equivalent -- but it easily outperforms the 65mm HD Swarovski I have compared it to, and I suspect it will hold it's own well with the larger objective "Alphas".

Here's a review I found comparing it to an 85mm Zeiss Diascope FL, where the Meopta compares very favourably:

http://www.rokslide.com/2012-01-09-05-09-42/optics/245-meopta-s2-hd-82mm-spotter-review
 
Wow, nice review!

I tend to want to take the review at face value as the author appeared to know what he was talking about....for a change (not him but rather in reference to many of the optics reviews I read). He actually utilized many optical terms regularly thrown around here on the forums. I wouldn't be surprised if he wasn't either a regular forum contributor or at least a "lurker". :)

I definitely want to try out the new Meopta.
 
Got a Meostar S2 82 HD, .... quick review....

I picked up an angled Meostar S2 82 HD + 30-60x wide zoom ocular from the postal office on friday. Yesterday i star tested it at 60x against a solar reflection from a car say 800 m away and at night against a star. Saw the diffraction disc and the rings outside focus, looked as it should be i guess, but inside focus, i couldn´t see rings, it was blurry...any ideas why ? I have sent an e-mail to Meopta..get back to you about this...

Looked at the moon at 60x, it was a clear image...nice, didn´t see any CA.

Daytime, looked at tree bransches against the blue sky, didn´t see any CA, better check this on a cloudy day.

There was some RB and at the edges straight lines turned inwards a bit like barrel distorsion (?), the distorsion decreased when cranking up magnification.

Very large sweet spot, i have to check this further.

1,1 turns (approx 396 degrees) on focus from end to end, can turn focus past "infinity" a bit. The focus didn´t snap into place easily, probably a training issue ;-) You have to correct focus after zooming.

Nice, very well built scope. Focus and zoom a bit heavy to turn at first but got easier with time. No slop in focus or zoom. Ocular lens diameter approx. 27 mm. The scope has some kind of rubber cover all over but not on the sun shade in front. Two grooves in the sun shade, probably to be used as aiming devices.

I am wearing glasses, eye relieve working fine with me. Twist up eyecups with rubber/plastic on the end protecting glasses.

The foot seems to have Manfrotto size but it is quadratic, i put on an ordinare manfrotto interface since the foot has surface coating and that might be damaged if i try to put it directly on the head of the tripod, a precaution if i need to return it.....

When rotating the scope in the collar connected to the tripod foot, there are eight click stops.

There is a bayonet connection for the ocular, when mounted on the scope, the ocular is sealed off with an rubber o-ring. To release ocular press a nob on the scope, below the ocular, and twist the ocular.

Anders
 
Wow, nice review!

I tend to want to take the review at face value as the author appeared to know what he was talking about....for a change (not him but rather in reference to many of the optics reviews I read). He actually utilized many optical terms regularly thrown around here on the forums. I wouldn't be surprised if he wasn't either a regular forum contributor or at least a "lurker". :)

I definitely want to try out the new Meopta.

I am glad you liked my review Frank. I also appreciate your input, here and on OT. I don't spend a ton of time on BF, but if an optics addict really want to geek out on the technical side, this is the place!

The S2 is absolutely the best premium spotter bargain going, IMO. The only knock with the 30-60 WA is the barrel distortion at lower magnifications, but it really is a small concession for the monetary savings gained.

The HD bins are also excellent, and will be my primary bin this year.
 
Bitterroot,

I also liked your review !

Did you star test your scope, if not, can you do it, please ?

Anders
 
I picked up an angled Meostar S2 82 HD + 30-60x wide zoom ocular from the postal office on friday. Yesterday i star tested it at 60x against a solar reflection from a car say 800 m away and at night against a star. Saw the diffraction disc and the rings outside focus, looked as it should be i guess, but inside focus, i couldn´t see rings, it was blurry...any ideas why ? I have sent an e-mail to Meopta..get back to you about this...
The difference in the way the rings look between the inside and outside focus patterns,is caused by Spherical aberration...Light rays further from the center of the lens converge at a closer point than those closer to the center of the lens ,Thus there are different focal points along the same axis..In the Star Test this shows as a blurred pattern in the inside focus image...Seems to be pretty common in spotters, but is NOT good ,because creates image degradation to one or other extent
 
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