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My review of the Meopta Meostar B1 8x32 (1 Viewer)

Thanks Ötzi,

good work and we seem to think along the same lines. There are some minor differences, for example my own Nikon E II has a lot more colour neutral view than my Meostar.
However, this could either mean that your Meopta is more colour neutral than mine or that your Nikon E II has a warmer view than mine.
At least, I find the differences quite pronounced.

I don't agree that the brain will reliably establish and maintain colour constancy.
In normal use, we lift the binoculars, look for a while and put them down. Then, when we look with the unaided eyes, the brain will make the white balancing.
The moments we use the binoculars are usually too brief to establish colour constancy. YMMV.

Unlike you, I've (thank goodness!) experienced no problems with eye positioning.
With the Minox HG 8x33, those problems were constantly imminent. I do, however, recognize the tendencies to kidney-beaning but that's when I use contacts and forget not to push the binoculars too close to the eyes.

In my recent user report I didn't mention the distorsion properties but I concur with your findings.
I would also like to add that the Nikon E II is brighter in dusk but when it's nearly dark, the Meostar wins the race thanks to its larger exit pupils.
This is not theory, I did see it and it made me astonished. I had expected the Nikon's transmission rate to be so much higher that it would erase the Meostar's exit pupil benefit. Not so.

//L
 
Thanks for the input.
I had a look at the automatic translation myself and found my fault with the topic "colour constancy".
My german word "Dauergebrauch" was meant in the sense of " the one binocular in use" not "continuous use". I have to correct this, as it can be misleading in both languages.
Personally, if I use just one binocular, I tend to accept what it delivers. Only when hopping between two different ones, I see the differences of each.
(Like with a camera, where different sensors - not mentioning tweaking the adjustments - show colours very different)
Difficult to explain for me, hope you understand.

Edit:
Today, I used the Kowa Genesis 8x33 when I went for birding with a friend and my mother had the Meopta. Only when switching the bioculars, I really noticed the more pronunced "globe effect" of the Kowa. My solution? Switching back to the Kowa and I was happy again.|:D|
 

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Back to the Meopta, you mean? Apart from the globe effect, how would you rate the Kowa compared to the Meostar?

//L

No, back to the Kowa.
I noticed the difference by comparison. No comparison = no problem:king:

On the quality of the Kowa.
Since I have absolutely no problems with ease-of-view, (it fits perfectly to my eyes, much better than the Meopta) I do prefer it anyway.
It shows a flatter field, a bit more sharpness at the edges, no CA!!! The latter being very important for me.
For me, the Kowa is superior to the Meopta.

And again back to the subject of colour constancy:
The Nikon is warm, but less so than the Meopta.
Because I wrote this for a readership different from this forum, I didnt mention this small difference and the review is too long anyway (1051 words)
 
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Do you think the Kowa is considerably heavier and bulkier than the Meostar?
When I use the Meopta I am very delighted with its portability, and that it replaces the Bushnell Excursion, not being much larger but having a much better view. And a clockwise focuser!
Re the Meostar, I find it a lot nicer to bring than even the small Zeiss 10x32 FL!
 
In terms of portability, the Meopta is a clear winner.
 

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Thank you Ötzi, the Kowa looks slender, but now I realise that swapping my FL for a Kowa is not much use!
I see it's considerably larger than the Meostar, nearly the size of the Vortex Fury.

//L
 
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I wouldnt hesitate to buy the Meopta for its portability alone. It is a fine binocular and being able to carry it easily with me makes it superior to any "better" one left in the cupboard.
(In germany, we have a word for a very good binocular, which is too heavy and bulky to be carried around at all: "Schrankglas". That could be trranslated into "cupboard-binocular")
 
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Hello Lars
Here is a picture of the eyepiece explaining what I mean. You can see the line where the rounded edge stops and the straight part starts.
 

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