I thoroughly enjoyed my time with Meopta’s MeoStar 8x32 and their S2 spotting scope and looked forward to another of these fine instruments. Avisum (Meopta’s UK Nature Observation agent) was kind enough to respond to this by loaning a sample of Meopta’s 10x42 HD model and this is the model I am reviewing here.
If we consider its competitors in the UK market to be priced within £200 either side of its retail price of £1122, then this bracket of £922 - 1322 would include Swarovski’s SLC, Vortex’s Razor, Nikon’s recently announced Monarch HG and Kowa’s Genesis XD 44 in 10.5x44 guise. Across the pond in the USA where Nikon’s Monarch HG has yet to come ashore, this price bracket converts to $266 either side of Cabela’s price of $1200 for its Instinct Euro HD – branded version, so a range of $934 – 1466. Due to the vagaries of pricing in different markets and the whims of currency conversion rates, this bracket means Swarovski’s SLC is squeezed out due to its State-side sticker of $1799, while Zeiss’s Conquest HD squeezes in at $1,000. Bushnell does not compete in this price range and neither do Leupold or Vanguard.
The Meopta is compact in this company but its weight is towards the top end of this group:
Meopta MeoStar B1 896g 31.61 ozs 140mm 5.5in
Kowa Genesis 10.5x44 960g 34.25ozs 165mm 6.5in
Zeiss Conquest HD 795g 28ozs 150mm 5.9in
Swarovski SLC 765g 27ozs 144mm 5.7in
Vortex Razor 694g 24.8ozs 150mm 5.9in
Nikon Monarch HG 680g 24.3ozs 145mm 5.7in
The Genesis, with its 44mm objectives, is therefore 41% heavier than the lightest here, which is the Nikon, so you have you have a choice of weights ranging from around 900 grams / 32 ozs through the 800 grams / 25 ozs region, all the way down to 680 grams / 24 ozs.
The Meopta is the shortest at 140mm and is even 7mm (0.28”) shorter than the king alpha-shorty, Leica’s Ultravid 10x42. The Meopta feels hefty but it is so compact that, with the weight concentrated in your hand, it doesn’t feel as heavy as the figures suggest. In fact I suggest that with its compact shape and heft it has something of the feel of a Leica BA/BN about it.
One differentiating factor of this group that can be important to those with a small inter-pupillary distance is that only the Conquest HD will close down to 54mm. All of the others are 56mm minimum apart from the Vortex at 55mm.
As with the MeoStar 8x32, the carrying case is rather insubstantial and the outfit comes with only one strap and a pair of short connecting straps to fit onto the bins, the snap-in connectors allowing the strap to be quickly swapped from bins to case and back again. Used in this way the strap is a good length for use with the binoculars but will be rather short for anyone wanting to carry the case across their body bandolier-fashion while wearing waterproof and bulky clothing.
I found the eye relief and eyecup design perfect both with my spectacles and without, despite the inadequate-sounding eye relief of 15mm. Go figure. Now, about those eyecups. They move between positions with a feel of precision and luxury that Zeiss has yet to achieve on any model. So that’s plus two bonus points for feel, but minus two bonus points for having only two positions. Please give us more adjustability with your next generation of binoculars Mr Meopta.
The rain-guard and objective caps both have thoughtful designs and win back some of those bonus points. The rain-guard will close right down to the minimum IPD and still function correctly (some Zeiss ones do not), it presses down smoothly onto the eyecups and for additional security when clambering over obstacles it has ridges that click under the eyecups to keep it in position. Lastly there are two strap loops one of which is split allowing a fast change from using both straps to only one, depending on circumstances. The objective covers can be tethered to the bins by unscrewing the cap at the bottom of the hinge and fitting the metal washer to which the covers are tethered by flexible wires, and screwing the caps back on. These solutions may not suit everybody but they go further than many in an attempt to give the best ownership experience to as many as possible.
The focuser on the MeoStar B1 8x32 that I reviewed had a wonderful feel of precision about it but for quick-draw nature observation where you need to shift quickly from a distant focus to one quite close and then back again, it was far too stiff. It would have been hopeless in relatively close country for example in forests or on woodland edges, but would have been fine in big open landscapes such as on sea coasts. Not all examples of this model have focusers as stiff as my review unit so interested parties should check out a few units if this is of concern. The unit we are looking at today has a very acceptable focus feel and speed, with not a trace of back-lash. The dioptre is the same arrangement as on the 32mm model and, using two fingers to rotate it, it moved positively through its micro-clicks and came to rest where I wanted it and never moved. Excellent.
As usual I used the Meopta in a variety of circumstances and especially at my favourite test site where there are woods, open grass and scrubs and a long narrow lake with many ducks and other water birds. My first job at the test site was to check for chromatic aberration and for a while I struggled to find any. I tried wooden posts against bright water, dark branches and twigs against white clouds. Nothing. Not even off axis. And then along came a Mute Swan and as it surged into a patch of dark water, there it was, just a little, and right off axis. This was the last time I saw any and I have to say I am not that sensitive to it providing it doesn’t intrude into the central part of the field of view. Talking of field of view, the Meopta is competitive at 110m @ 1,000m / 330ft @ 1,000 yds, and the sweet spot, as with the 32mm model, stretched to about 85% of the FOV. As usual I remind you that was my personal estimate and you should assess this yourself if this is important to you.
By this time the sun was breaking through the thinning clouds, reflecting brightly off the water and giving me a chance to check for glare. There was none. Mallards swimming through the dazzling water were rendered with great contrast and colour.
At this point dragonflies had warmed up enough to begin flying and several Sympetrum striolatum individuals chose perches nearby and allowed me to examine their wings to find out how sharply the veins were captured. With lesser optics these can look as though they have been painted on with a fine brush, having a dense centre but looking as though the black ink has bled into the surrounding surface giving slightly indistinct margins. Through the Meopta these looked as though they had been scribed in Indian ink using a pen with the finest of nibs. A recently emerged male, still with a straw-coloured abdomen was nevertheless darkening somewhat and a central dorsal line of red had formed, hinting at the overall red colour that would develop over the next days. The subtle shades of straw and red were superb, but using the unit for close focus work in this way, I did find the close focus of 2.6m / 8.5ft just a little frustrating. Its competitors focus to 2m or closer apart from the SLC at 3.2m which would be fine for birding specialists but for general nature observation is simply too limiting.
At this point, larger dragonflies, Aeshna grandis, began flying over the water, while Swallows and House Martins were swooping. This gave me an opportunity to check that the focus action would really manage to move quickly enough from close focus to more distant subjects and back again. It worked just fine and captured the blue of the Swallows and the ginger wings of the dragonflies with great accuracy just at it did the variation in tones of brown on the heads of the female Tufted Ducks out on the lake. Some were dark chocolate while others had hint of chestnut and all were a pleasure to view through the Meopta.
Meanwhile this contemplation of things natural was rudely interrupted by the arrival of a rowdy couple who thought it amusing to throw a ball into the lake for their two Border Collies to chase after, despite the presence nearby of a female Mute Swan, guarding its family of 4 cygnets. The Swan lifted its wings and its head and swam at the dogs, hissing like a basket of vipers and the cygnets scattered. When all fuss had calmed down and the Border Collies had wisely retreated, the cygnets came swimming slowly by to re-join their mother. As they did so the breeze ruffled their immature plumage the wrong way, lifting the feathers and separating the individual barbules that were reproduced sharply by the Meopta.
The Meopta faces strong competition at its price-point. Some folks will rule out the Kowa on the grounds of its weight and others the SLC due to its poor close focus. Depending on where you are in the world that would leave you looking at the Nikon, Vortex and Zeiss (and no doubt other brands if you spread your search wide enough) all of them with great combinations of qualities and features. If you are looking for a compact and high-performing 10x42 within this price bracket then the Meopta is well worth auditioning.
In the UK the network of dealers serving the nature observation market is still under development so all those interested in any Meopta instruments should, in the first instance, contact Avisum | T: 01423 780649 | E: [email protected] | www.avisum.co.uk .
If we consider its competitors in the UK market to be priced within £200 either side of its retail price of £1122, then this bracket of £922 - 1322 would include Swarovski’s SLC, Vortex’s Razor, Nikon’s recently announced Monarch HG and Kowa’s Genesis XD 44 in 10.5x44 guise. Across the pond in the USA where Nikon’s Monarch HG has yet to come ashore, this price bracket converts to $266 either side of Cabela’s price of $1200 for its Instinct Euro HD – branded version, so a range of $934 – 1466. Due to the vagaries of pricing in different markets and the whims of currency conversion rates, this bracket means Swarovski’s SLC is squeezed out due to its State-side sticker of $1799, while Zeiss’s Conquest HD squeezes in at $1,000. Bushnell does not compete in this price range and neither do Leupold or Vanguard.
The Meopta is compact in this company but its weight is towards the top end of this group:
Meopta MeoStar B1 896g 31.61 ozs 140mm 5.5in
Kowa Genesis 10.5x44 960g 34.25ozs 165mm 6.5in
Zeiss Conquest HD 795g 28ozs 150mm 5.9in
Swarovski SLC 765g 27ozs 144mm 5.7in
Vortex Razor 694g 24.8ozs 150mm 5.9in
Nikon Monarch HG 680g 24.3ozs 145mm 5.7in
The Genesis, with its 44mm objectives, is therefore 41% heavier than the lightest here, which is the Nikon, so you have you have a choice of weights ranging from around 900 grams / 32 ozs through the 800 grams / 25 ozs region, all the way down to 680 grams / 24 ozs.
The Meopta is the shortest at 140mm and is even 7mm (0.28”) shorter than the king alpha-shorty, Leica’s Ultravid 10x42. The Meopta feels hefty but it is so compact that, with the weight concentrated in your hand, it doesn’t feel as heavy as the figures suggest. In fact I suggest that with its compact shape and heft it has something of the feel of a Leica BA/BN about it.
One differentiating factor of this group that can be important to those with a small inter-pupillary distance is that only the Conquest HD will close down to 54mm. All of the others are 56mm minimum apart from the Vortex at 55mm.
As with the MeoStar 8x32, the carrying case is rather insubstantial and the outfit comes with only one strap and a pair of short connecting straps to fit onto the bins, the snap-in connectors allowing the strap to be quickly swapped from bins to case and back again. Used in this way the strap is a good length for use with the binoculars but will be rather short for anyone wanting to carry the case across their body bandolier-fashion while wearing waterproof and bulky clothing.
I found the eye relief and eyecup design perfect both with my spectacles and without, despite the inadequate-sounding eye relief of 15mm. Go figure. Now, about those eyecups. They move between positions with a feel of precision and luxury that Zeiss has yet to achieve on any model. So that’s plus two bonus points for feel, but minus two bonus points for having only two positions. Please give us more adjustability with your next generation of binoculars Mr Meopta.
The rain-guard and objective caps both have thoughtful designs and win back some of those bonus points. The rain-guard will close right down to the minimum IPD and still function correctly (some Zeiss ones do not), it presses down smoothly onto the eyecups and for additional security when clambering over obstacles it has ridges that click under the eyecups to keep it in position. Lastly there are two strap loops one of which is split allowing a fast change from using both straps to only one, depending on circumstances. The objective covers can be tethered to the bins by unscrewing the cap at the bottom of the hinge and fitting the metal washer to which the covers are tethered by flexible wires, and screwing the caps back on. These solutions may not suit everybody but they go further than many in an attempt to give the best ownership experience to as many as possible.
The focuser on the MeoStar B1 8x32 that I reviewed had a wonderful feel of precision about it but for quick-draw nature observation where you need to shift quickly from a distant focus to one quite close and then back again, it was far too stiff. It would have been hopeless in relatively close country for example in forests or on woodland edges, but would have been fine in big open landscapes such as on sea coasts. Not all examples of this model have focusers as stiff as my review unit so interested parties should check out a few units if this is of concern. The unit we are looking at today has a very acceptable focus feel and speed, with not a trace of back-lash. The dioptre is the same arrangement as on the 32mm model and, using two fingers to rotate it, it moved positively through its micro-clicks and came to rest where I wanted it and never moved. Excellent.
As usual I used the Meopta in a variety of circumstances and especially at my favourite test site where there are woods, open grass and scrubs and a long narrow lake with many ducks and other water birds. My first job at the test site was to check for chromatic aberration and for a while I struggled to find any. I tried wooden posts against bright water, dark branches and twigs against white clouds. Nothing. Not even off axis. And then along came a Mute Swan and as it surged into a patch of dark water, there it was, just a little, and right off axis. This was the last time I saw any and I have to say I am not that sensitive to it providing it doesn’t intrude into the central part of the field of view. Talking of field of view, the Meopta is competitive at 110m @ 1,000m / 330ft @ 1,000 yds, and the sweet spot, as with the 32mm model, stretched to about 85% of the FOV. As usual I remind you that was my personal estimate and you should assess this yourself if this is important to you.
By this time the sun was breaking through the thinning clouds, reflecting brightly off the water and giving me a chance to check for glare. There was none. Mallards swimming through the dazzling water were rendered with great contrast and colour.
At this point dragonflies had warmed up enough to begin flying and several Sympetrum striolatum individuals chose perches nearby and allowed me to examine their wings to find out how sharply the veins were captured. With lesser optics these can look as though they have been painted on with a fine brush, having a dense centre but looking as though the black ink has bled into the surrounding surface giving slightly indistinct margins. Through the Meopta these looked as though they had been scribed in Indian ink using a pen with the finest of nibs. A recently emerged male, still with a straw-coloured abdomen was nevertheless darkening somewhat and a central dorsal line of red had formed, hinting at the overall red colour that would develop over the next days. The subtle shades of straw and red were superb, but using the unit for close focus work in this way, I did find the close focus of 2.6m / 8.5ft just a little frustrating. Its competitors focus to 2m or closer apart from the SLC at 3.2m which would be fine for birding specialists but for general nature observation is simply too limiting.
At this point, larger dragonflies, Aeshna grandis, began flying over the water, while Swallows and House Martins were swooping. This gave me an opportunity to check that the focus action would really manage to move quickly enough from close focus to more distant subjects and back again. It worked just fine and captured the blue of the Swallows and the ginger wings of the dragonflies with great accuracy just at it did the variation in tones of brown on the heads of the female Tufted Ducks out on the lake. Some were dark chocolate while others had hint of chestnut and all were a pleasure to view through the Meopta.
Meanwhile this contemplation of things natural was rudely interrupted by the arrival of a rowdy couple who thought it amusing to throw a ball into the lake for their two Border Collies to chase after, despite the presence nearby of a female Mute Swan, guarding its family of 4 cygnets. The Swan lifted its wings and its head and swam at the dogs, hissing like a basket of vipers and the cygnets scattered. When all fuss had calmed down and the Border Collies had wisely retreated, the cygnets came swimming slowly by to re-join their mother. As they did so the breeze ruffled their immature plumage the wrong way, lifting the feathers and separating the individual barbules that were reproduced sharply by the Meopta.
The Meopta faces strong competition at its price-point. Some folks will rule out the Kowa on the grounds of its weight and others the SLC due to its poor close focus. Depending on where you are in the world that would leave you looking at the Nikon, Vortex and Zeiss (and no doubt other brands if you spread your search wide enough) all of them with great combinations of qualities and features. If you are looking for a compact and high-performing 10x42 within this price bracket then the Meopta is well worth auditioning.
In the UK the network of dealers serving the nature observation market is still under development so all those interested in any Meopta instruments should, in the first instance, contact Avisum | T: 01423 780649 | E: [email protected] | www.avisum.co.uk .
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