Unfortunately, due to a change in the management, Meopta is no longer producing sports optics. So sad because their MeoStar B1 8x32 is a lovely piece of kit.
Lee
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One 8x3x to rule them all (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter looksharp65
- Start date
Lee
pbjosh
missing the neotropics
Wow! That's a bit of news, have I missed this elsewhere, or am I misunderstanding you when I read this and to me it says "Meopta is exiting the binocular and scope business and won't be manufacturing or offering any more products?"
Paultricounty
Well-known member
I agree with Lee here. If I had to choose one 32, it most likely be the SF in 8x32. It would be a close call with the EL. Of course I still like the image better in the UVHD’s. The SF’s check almost all the boxes. Of course phenomenal optics with great resolution , and there’s more here. The ergonomics, focuser, balance, a very good trade off in size, not to small, very comfortable eye box and just an all around fantastic optical tool. Like many of these high end expensive binoculars, the more you use them, the more you realize and enjoy there qualities.
Paul
Paul
A2GG
Beth
Wow ... that’s some bad news.
Paultricounty
Well-known member
Had a few 30/32’s out today for fun in the sun.
We were observing with the Nikon 8x30E C (criterion), Nikon 8x30 EII (two of them both post #821800), Nikon 8x32 SE (the last, newest coatings), Swarovski 8x30 Habicht (2021), Kowa 8x33 Genesis and the Zeiss SF8x32.
I’ll try to keep it short. All of these binoculars have wonderful image quality and nice handling. Each one has its own personality and shines in some area. Of course as expected the wringer in the group was the SF, as it should at twice the price as the runner ups , the Habicht’s, SE’s and Kowa’s. Other than brightness ( the Habicht’s were the brightest) the SF’s are clearly superior in almost every way to the rest of the group, so I’m not going to include the Zeiss in the overall comparisons. I’ll only use the Zeiss for a reference when needed.
The sharpest (in the center) and brightest overall were the Swarovskis , best transmission, very neutral in color. These are fully waterproof and a very beautiful build quality. High resolution, sharp, bright and lots of sparkle. Other than edge fall off these are right up there with the best.
The next sharpest (great resolution) was the SE’s, bright, excellent CA control, flat field and almost sharp to the edge. These are built real nice with rubber armor all around and feel great in the hands, but they don’t lay on the chest well due to the strap attachment location. These are not water proof or nitrogen sealed, but some owners have told me they are resistant to some inclement weather conditions due to the armor completely surrounding the binoculars. Although the FOV is just a little under 400 feet at a 1000 yards (60 degrees apparent FOV) , smaller than all the others I believe, the usable sweet spot is actually larger than the Nikon E and EII’s or very close to it.
The Genesis was very close to the SE’s overall in image quality, edge correction and with the best CA control of the bunch, I think CA is as good if not better than the SF’s. Also fully waterproof , rugged build, nice smooth metal focuser, an all around tough great pair of high quality binoculars. This is probably the roof equivalent to the SE porro.
The EII’s are the throw back of an era gone by, still hanging on to the nice old style (mostly) , leather wrapped porro’s from yesteryear, except for there slanted exterior prism tops and not fully wrapped , but elegantly finished in somewhat of a leather (an imitation leather material) inlay around the body. These are not waterproof or weather resistant, not for a dedicated birder that gets caught in the rain or low temperatures in winter , where these will fog up if you look at them. A very pretty pair of binoculars. Phenomenal wide FOV , but does fall off around 70-75% from the center to the edge. Bright, sharp and nice resolution , better than price point. These can’t be beat for the price. You can still find these new for under $500, that’s a steal.
Last but not least the E C, these are very nice for the price, probably about half the price in excellent condition than a comparable EII. They do lack the brightness and sharpness (resolution) and sparkle of the newer coated EII’s. But these carry on the true conventional old style porro tradition and design.
Also not weather resistant, there are other choices available in a nice roof in this price range that are fully water proof with more modern coating. But they are nice piece of nostalgia.
Ill get some pictures up.
Paul
We were observing with the Nikon 8x30E C (criterion), Nikon 8x30 EII (two of them both post #821800), Nikon 8x32 SE (the last, newest coatings), Swarovski 8x30 Habicht (2021), Kowa 8x33 Genesis and the Zeiss SF8x32.
I’ll try to keep it short. All of these binoculars have wonderful image quality and nice handling. Each one has its own personality and shines in some area. Of course as expected the wringer in the group was the SF, as it should at twice the price as the runner ups , the Habicht’s, SE’s and Kowa’s. Other than brightness ( the Habicht’s were the brightest) the SF’s are clearly superior in almost every way to the rest of the group, so I’m not going to include the Zeiss in the overall comparisons. I’ll only use the Zeiss for a reference when needed.
The sharpest (in the center) and brightest overall were the Swarovskis , best transmission, very neutral in color. These are fully waterproof and a very beautiful build quality. High resolution, sharp, bright and lots of sparkle. Other than edge fall off these are right up there with the best.
The next sharpest (great resolution) was the SE’s, bright, excellent CA control, flat field and almost sharp to the edge. These are built real nice with rubber armor all around and feel great in the hands, but they don’t lay on the chest well due to the strap attachment location. These are not water proof or nitrogen sealed, but some owners have told me they are resistant to some inclement weather conditions due to the armor completely surrounding the binoculars. Although the FOV is just a little under 400 feet at a 1000 yards (60 degrees apparent FOV) , smaller than all the others I believe, the usable sweet spot is actually larger than the Nikon E and EII’s or very close to it.
The Genesis was very close to the SE’s overall in image quality, edge correction and with the best CA control of the bunch, I think CA is as good if not better than the SF’s. Also fully waterproof , rugged build, nice smooth metal focuser, an all around tough great pair of high quality binoculars. This is probably the roof equivalent to the SE porro.
The EII’s are the throw back of an era gone by, still hanging on to the nice old style (mostly) , leather wrapped porro’s from yesteryear, except for there slanted exterior prism tops and not fully wrapped , but elegantly finished in somewhat of a leather (an imitation leather material) inlay around the body. These are not waterproof or weather resistant, not for a dedicated birder that gets caught in the rain or low temperatures in winter , where these will fog up if you look at them. A very pretty pair of binoculars. Phenomenal wide FOV , but does fall off around 70-75% from the center to the edge. Bright, sharp and nice resolution , better than price point. These can’t be beat for the price. You can still find these new for under $500, that’s a steal.
Last but not least the E C, these are very nice for the price, probably about half the price in excellent condition than a comparable EII. They do lack the brightness and sharpness (resolution) and sparkle of the newer coated EII’s. But these carry on the true conventional old style porro tradition and design.
Also not weather resistant, there are other choices available in a nice roof in this price range that are fully water proof with more modern coating. But they are nice piece of nostalgia.
Ill get some pictures up.
Paul
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Binocollector
Well-known member
Thanks for the write up and comparison 
.
.
looksharp65
Well-known member
Thanks, Paul 🙏
//L
//L
jafritten
Well-known member
I set off in quest of "the one" 8x32/8x30 quite a while ago. I have owned and used the Victoryl FL, the UV+, the Nikon E2 and the Genesis, just to name a few that might be of interest here. In fact, I have owned two samples of the Genesis, one between 2015 and 2017 and the other one for one year before I sold them only recently. I sold both for the same reason: I was not happy with their off-axis sharpness. I found myself focusing much more to get a satisfactorily sharp image than with the other ones mentioned above. Having read Paul's post I wonder if I had two lemons. When I put the Genesis, the Nikon and the Leica on a tripod for comparison, I was horrified. The sweet spot of my sample of the Genesis was so small I couldn't believe it. Sharpness fell off almost instantly once I looked at things that were ever so slightly off-axis. (I didn't look at a testing chart or anything but at things more real-life like the top of fir trees. While Leica and Nikon rendered the whole tree top sharp, the Genesis was only sharp right in the middle of the image, everything around it was blurred.) Somewhat astonishingly, there was a gain in sharpness at about 40% off the centre, which decreased to towards the edges again. Sharpness at the edge was poor to say the least. Also, this blur couldn't be focused away. I didn't test the first sample I had like that but I sold them eventually because it was too hard for me to get things into focus. Another thing I noticed was that when viewing at close range of, say 15m, the distances between twigs from my perspective (depth) were much more difficult to estimate with the Kowa than with the 8x Leica. More surprisingly, this was also the case when I compared the Kowa to the 10x32 Ultravid that should be worse in that respect due to its stronger tele-compression. I really wanted to like the Kowa but I felt it is clearly outperformed by all of the above mentioned binoculars.
My 8x favourites are the UV+ and, second, the Nikon E2.
My 8x favourites are the UV+ and, second, the Nikon E2.
My favorite (and only) 8x32's are my BN and Ultravid HD+.
Paultricounty
Well-known member
I can’t agree with you more on the Leica’s, superb glass and in such nice package. The EII’s are also very nice. To me there’s just something so rich about Leica that separates them from the others.
Very interesting your experience with the Kowa’s , I don’t know what to make of that. Is it possible two of the same defective binoculars with the same issues’ a bad run maybe? That’s hard for me to accept. I currently have three of these 8x33’s, a brand new Ive tested , a grab and go that stays open right on my side work desk , and I have another one in a house in another state I visit multiple times a year. All performed very well with no discerning differences between the three. I’ve chosen the Genesis after extensive side by side comparisons with the conquest, Nikon HG and Trinovid HD and for me I found them to be best out of those choices. Not necessarily above the others, same category but better in CA than the others, eyecups are strong and good settings. I just felt they were the all best rounded binoculars of that group.
The optics on all three of mine are bright, with very good resolution , focus snaps in nice , large FOV with some obvious fall off from about 80%, but still superior to the EII’s. That fall off though can not be focused in. I’m speculating but could it be possible that something with your eyes don’t match up well with the Genesis optical design. I have a few binoculars I’m not crazy about for multiple reasons, but none are as dramatically bad optically as your describing in this category of optics.
Maybe some others can give there opinions on this.
Paul
This news came from a former employee of Meopta Optika and of course explains why Cabela's supply has dried up.
Lee
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dorubird
The unskilled mechanic blames his tools!
The top roof type binoculars give me the feeling of high-tech instruments, being the best for many kinds and all round applications... and that's all.
But the top porro type binoculars have, in addition to the roof ones, an aesthetic pleasure. And here I am not only referring to the stereoscopic image and 3d details, but even to their shape and design and the natural way they mold in our hands.
For example, whit EII we have double aesthetic experience:
1 tactile and visual aesthetic thanks to the slightly modern curved shapes, like a "fleshy volume" (not "bony shapes" as in Habicht)
2 FOV aesthetic thanks to large window of view with extremely clarity (strong contrast), 3d rendering, no glare (Habicht has a lot)
All these aesthetic experience make me come back to EII 8x30 binoculars with fresh pleasure every time.
For someone who wants to own only one pair of binoculars, the EII may not be a suitable choice. It is true that EII it is not my everyday bino, and it's not for everyone due to the lack of sealing and a bit small eye relief (Habicht has an even smaller eye relief!). But when the weather is good, this EII makes me smile like an old and good friend !
But the top porro type binoculars have, in addition to the roof ones, an aesthetic pleasure. And here I am not only referring to the stereoscopic image and 3d details, but even to their shape and design and the natural way they mold in our hands.
For example, whit EII we have double aesthetic experience:
1 tactile and visual aesthetic thanks to the slightly modern curved shapes, like a "fleshy volume" (not "bony shapes" as in Habicht)
2 FOV aesthetic thanks to large window of view with extremely clarity (strong contrast), 3d rendering, no glare (Habicht has a lot)
All these aesthetic experience make me come back to EII 8x30 binoculars with fresh pleasure every time.
For someone who wants to own only one pair of binoculars, the EII may not be a suitable choice. It is true that EII it is not my everyday bino, and it's not for everyone due to the lack of sealing and a bit small eye relief (Habicht has an even smaller eye relief!). But when the weather is good, this EII makes me smile like an old and good friend
!
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Paultricounty
Well-known member
The beauty, elegance and feel of porros.
Attachments
We have been holding out on getting the Meostar 10x32, now I guess I will expedite my search and pony up the dollars while I can still get a pair.
Surprising, as I'd thought that the Covid disruption had greatly improved the demand for outdoor activities such as birding.
Against that, the emergence of Kamakura as a supplier of IS binoculars has to be forcing corporations to take a serious look at their sport optics business.
If it not nicely profitable now, perhaps it is indeed closing time.
Apologies. There was a misunderstanding. Meopta has not stopped supplying sports optics. Confusion due to English not being the first language of my source.
Lee
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Binocollector
Well-known member
Phew, I'm glad. I was already considering a 'panic-buy'.
While we're at it - just in case: should I get a Meopro Air 8x42 with the open bridge or rather a Meostar B.1 8x42 (it's on sale for 800 €, Meopro would be 600€).
Is the Meopro really made in-house? Seems almost too cheap to be true. The "Optika" for example is out-sourced AFAIK (QC made in house however - so no "Chinese optical lottery") but it's only around 270€.
Hi Philipp
I have not tried any Meopro so can't advise except to say I love the MeoStars. I am not sure if Meopro is made in house, I suspect not but this doesn't mean it is not a good product.
Lee
PeterPS
Well-Known Member
I would expect that following the rumor Meopta has had a peak in the sales of the last few days, so no harm done.
