A few months back I sold off my Meopta 12x50 HD to help finance a Swarovski BTX set up.
I was thinking I would no longer use the 12X much after getting the BTX.
However, I soon realised the 12X is the perfect mid range magnification inbetween the 8X and the BTX at 30X I have.
Contacted the buyer, giving him the option to sell it back - if he for some reason was not pleased with it.
Unfortunately, he was very pleased.
As luck would have it I did not order a new Meopta as I was contemplating options.
None of them panned out (cost/benefit/performance) and fortunately for me a vendor in Germany had the 12x50HD at a 31% discount (!).
After checking stock and shipping options I got me a new one - at almost no loss from selling the old one.
My main gripe with the 12x50 was the eye relief, it is adequate but not stellar.
The eye cups protrude more than I deem necessary (though comfortable if you are not wearing glasses) so I looked into ways of modifying them for my personal use. Also not wanting to ruin the binocular in the process limited the options somewhat.
After taking the measurements I went scouring the local DIY warehouse for solutions and roaming the isles for a good hour led me to the garden hose connectors where - to my disbelief - there was a rubber garden hose connector gasket that had the correct width, thickness and aperture for the Meopta ocular mount.
After paying the princely sum of 4€ I had the pack of four at my disposal and at home it turned out that they fit better than expected:
They reduce the clearance by a mm and a half. Removing the adjustable ocular cups and simply sliding them on, with a very snug and secure fit.
They seal the gap by wedging into the rubber housing and I would think water is even less likely to seep down than with the original eye cups.
They mask off the edges and do not block the back ocular lenses while still providing a wide cushion for glasses, though a lot slimmer than before the glasses and ocular lenses are never at the risk of scratching up against each other. There is a slim ridge on the gasket flange.
The view? Actually, MUCH improved. Remove the cups altogether and see for yourself; the viewing with glasses is much improved by that extra mm and a half. Out of all my bino hacks over the years this one proved to be the most rewarding and most effective.
This hack has transformed my use of the Meopta and I love it: it does not affect straylight properties or glare resistance and the view is more immersive with the field stop "slimmer" and the image feels a lot larger, giving me room to roam around the image circle, which I could not do before.
No black beans and no distractions.
Also, they add a retro look to the Meopta that I like.
It is a hard wearing rubber, reminds me of olden day binos, so I think they will last a long time. Replacing them would be easy, I have that second pair as a spare and the gasket is a common gasket at the warehouse.
Drawbacks?
There is one major drawback; if you are not using glasses or plan to share them with someone who doesn't there are no adjustments to be made. They are set at the lowest possible position with just a mm to spare to the back ocular lenses.
For me this means I get to have to them to myself (and other glasses wearers).
As a final note I was contemplating the Swarovski Pure NL 12x42 which is an amazing bino, but very expensive. After comparing the two side by side at home I went for the Meopta 12x50 as I thought it was optically slightly better, all things considered, but had they been priced more closely together I would have gone for the Swarovski for the fantastic eye relief. I have never regretted the decision though I was always thinking of that stellar eye relief of the Pure NL 12x42.
With the cheap and reversible hack the Meopta closes the gap to the Pure NL eye relief so much that I am very happy I went with the Meopta again. The Swarovski would have been 2,5X the price of the Meopta which makes the Meopta amazing value for the monies dispensed.
I was thinking I would no longer use the 12X much after getting the BTX.
However, I soon realised the 12X is the perfect mid range magnification inbetween the 8X and the BTX at 30X I have.
Contacted the buyer, giving him the option to sell it back - if he for some reason was not pleased with it.
Unfortunately, he was very pleased.
As luck would have it I did not order a new Meopta as I was contemplating options.
None of them panned out (cost/benefit/performance) and fortunately for me a vendor in Germany had the 12x50HD at a 31% discount (!).
After checking stock and shipping options I got me a new one - at almost no loss from selling the old one.
My main gripe with the 12x50 was the eye relief, it is adequate but not stellar.
The eye cups protrude more than I deem necessary (though comfortable if you are not wearing glasses) so I looked into ways of modifying them for my personal use. Also not wanting to ruin the binocular in the process limited the options somewhat.
After taking the measurements I went scouring the local DIY warehouse for solutions and roaming the isles for a good hour led me to the garden hose connectors where - to my disbelief - there was a rubber garden hose connector gasket that had the correct width, thickness and aperture for the Meopta ocular mount.
After paying the princely sum of 4€ I had the pack of four at my disposal and at home it turned out that they fit better than expected:
They reduce the clearance by a mm and a half. Removing the adjustable ocular cups and simply sliding them on, with a very snug and secure fit.
They seal the gap by wedging into the rubber housing and I would think water is even less likely to seep down than with the original eye cups.
They mask off the edges and do not block the back ocular lenses while still providing a wide cushion for glasses, though a lot slimmer than before the glasses and ocular lenses are never at the risk of scratching up against each other. There is a slim ridge on the gasket flange.
The view? Actually, MUCH improved. Remove the cups altogether and see for yourself; the viewing with glasses is much improved by that extra mm and a half. Out of all my bino hacks over the years this one proved to be the most rewarding and most effective.
This hack has transformed my use of the Meopta and I love it: it does not affect straylight properties or glare resistance and the view is more immersive with the field stop "slimmer" and the image feels a lot larger, giving me room to roam around the image circle, which I could not do before.
No black beans and no distractions.
Also, they add a retro look to the Meopta that I like.
It is a hard wearing rubber, reminds me of olden day binos, so I think they will last a long time. Replacing them would be easy, I have that second pair as a spare and the gasket is a common gasket at the warehouse.
Drawbacks?
There is one major drawback; if you are not using glasses or plan to share them with someone who doesn't there are no adjustments to be made. They are set at the lowest possible position with just a mm to spare to the back ocular lenses.
For me this means I get to have to them to myself (and other glasses wearers).
As a final note I was contemplating the Swarovski Pure NL 12x42 which is an amazing bino, but very expensive. After comparing the two side by side at home I went for the Meopta 12x50 as I thought it was optically slightly better, all things considered, but had they been priced more closely together I would have gone for the Swarovski for the fantastic eye relief. I have never regretted the decision though I was always thinking of that stellar eye relief of the Pure NL 12x42.
With the cheap and reversible hack the Meopta closes the gap to the Pure NL eye relief so much that I am very happy I went with the Meopta again. The Swarovski would have been 2,5X the price of the Meopta which makes the Meopta amazing value for the monies dispensed.
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