What's the latest on Meopta? (2 Viewers)

[tenex]

I'd like to catch up with the Meopta situation in two respects.

(1) What differences have users found between B1, B1.1, and B1+ that a buyer would care about? For example, have coatings improved, and at what point? Is the fancy focuser on the 1.1/1+ any better or worse, more or less problematic than the original on the B1?

(2) Is Meopta staying in the consumer optics business? Has anyone had experience with their service/support recently?

 

[survivalistd]

The B1+ is more waterproof from what I'm gathering.

 

[dries1]

I'd like to catch up with the Meopta situation in two respects.

(1) What differences have users found between B1, B1.1, and B1+ that a buyer would care about? For example, have coatings improved, and at what point? Is the fancy focuser on the 1.1/1+ any better or worse, more or less problematic than the original on the B1?

(2) Is Meopta staying in the consumer optics business? Has anyone had experience with their service/support recently?

I only have experience with the B1 7/8X42 and the B1+ in 8X32/42. Observations of B1 8X42 (2018) has a slightly higher transmission than a 8X42 from (2012). The B1+ has upgraded optics, contrast and color really remind me of Leica, excellent glass. I actually like the B1 focus the best, firm and very deliberate - ( may be oil lubricated not dry like most premium glass today) whereas focus on the B1+ is softer, lighter. Both are excellent just a matter of taste.

I bought a 2020 B1+ 8X32 used and had them serviced early (2023), typical time frame 6 weeks, tightened the hinge, adjusted focus, replaced necessary seals, replaced eyecups. This glass is a great performer - if one can adjust to the narrow eyecup diameter, (I have learned to). Service by Meopta was excellent.

 

[tenex]

Thanks. But why would a 2020 B1+ have a loose hinge, what focus problem, and what seals were replaced? (I suppose the eyecups were cosmetic?)

I'd like to try the 8x32 but don't know how I'd get on with the narrow eyecups; have they remained unchanged throughout? I've noticed that Zeiss FL (32 anyway) has the opposite issue, unusually wide eyecups, making it the only bin where I have to turn them in a bit.

And I do think Meopta pricing has got too high lately. I really don't see how that's going to work for them.

 

[dries1]

I bought them used, who knows. The focus had some slop, so it went back to Meopta in the EU (Czech Republic) for service. The focus was overhauled, (ergo the seals being replaced). I can post a pic later today with the BN and FL in 8X32 so one can see the different size diameter.

 

[dries1]

here is a pic of the Leica BN, Zeiss Fl, and the B1+all in 8x32. eyecups flush and extended.

 

[tenex]

Thanks. Peculiar reflections off those Meopta eyepieces; I wonder what the surface shape is.

 

[dries1]

Surface a very a slight concave shape. It is a nice small portable 8X32, the eyecup diameter is just not a cup of tea for some. I must admit not too many come up for sale used, it's likely not that many are sold either.

 

[tenex]

Incidentally I just saw they're bringing out a new PLUS version of the TGA 75 drawscope, so I suppose they're carrying on much the same.

 

[tenex]

...and just as difficult to understand as ever. I've just re-read several older threads to confirm my confusion. There was an impression when Plus was launched (spring 2020, bad timing!) that improved coatings (MeoLux replacing MeoBright) were the only optical change, apparently confirmed in Lee's interview, but Meopta's own literature and website still say MeoBright today, contradicting that. There was also a report that while MeoLux (if present) would improve twilight performance, it did not increase overall (daylight) transmission. Some websites still state that only certain models have HD glass, while others claim that all do. That interview spoke of an imminent B2 binocular as finally a significant upgrade and a true alpha competitor that would reduce B1.x to a second tier, yet there's still no word or sign of it three and a half years later; instead Air has been introduced below B1, and prices keep going up. They no longer seem to have a distributor in the UK. And now we have a corporate buyout to consider as well.

I want Meopta sport optics to succeed (I have their scope after all) but this is really too chaotic for even my comfort.

Edit: One has to wonder what B2 would have been. Presumably a wide flat-field design similar to SF and NL, but a more interesting possibility (to me) exists: a wide-field design that isn't quite flat to the edge, with more viewing comfort. No one else is doing that, but Meopta just might have.

 

[fazalmajid]

The long time owner died a few years ago, Covid hit them hard and 6 months ago they were bought by a private equity firm, which explains the upheaval:

Statement of the Rausnitz Family on the Sale of Meopta | Meopta :: Better view of the world

www.meopta.com

 

[tenex]

That explains the shelving of B2. It does not explain hopeless confusion over specifications of the existing Plus.

I just noticed that their 2023 catalog says the Plus models finally have magnesium bodies, whereas previous threads here still suppose aluminum. But even this can't be resolved. The weights listed in the catalog are several ounces lighter, but online specs including Meopta's own (once again) don't reflect that.

Andy, does your 8x32 Plus weigh around 21oz like the 1.1, or only 18.4 now as claimed in the catalog?

 

[dries1]

Sorry no scale in house, however it is a small in stature 8X32, and IMO weight is not an issue.

 

[tenex]

No, not so much on 32s, but certainly on the bigger models. Just to answer the question Mg vs Al, let me reword that: is your Plus about the same weight as FL 32, or several ounces heavier? (17% should be noticeable)

Or anyone else can do this. Does your own B1 Plus weight agree with the 2023 catalog here? (The 15x56 would now be 7oz lighter than SLC! I doubt it...)

No HD glass in models without, no MeoLux coating[*] but hydrophobic is listed (unconfirmed), no magnesium... I can't help wondering what the Plus does have besides "improved tolerances" (an odd thing to admit) and a much higher price. Somehow I'm still curious to try one...


[* - but perhaps "MeoBright" itself has been tweaked as Andy's observation suggests, though transmission remains 88%]

 

[Ignatius]

I have been trying to follow the brand for several years now and have given up for exactly that reason - no real information flow towards those whose money they'd like to take. (They're about as chaotic as Italian car brands used to be. I once tried to get a new wiring harness so I could put a more modern radio into a Fiat 130 Coupe. When I wondered why the individual wires mostly had the wrong colours, I was told that it's actually all the same and not to worry )

Also the 8x32 B1 whatever costs more than a Zeiss Conquest HD/Leica Trinovid HD, if you can find one - and I sometimes live about 200 klicks from their HQ.

 

[dries1]

Meopta makes great glass, yes the company was recently sold, so there is future uncertainty, and yes the prices went up. The 8X42/8X32 were in the eight - nine hundred dollar range not too long ago, and IMO felt that the quality was undervalued. I am certainly enjoying them. Additionally they have the transferrable Warranty.

 

[Binocollector]

I only have the cheaper Meopro HD (the older version, "Assembled in the USA") and it is a very nice glass. I'd hate to see Meopta go belly-up. Especially after Covid (and probably some other issues) already killed Optolyth. Soon no European makers except the "holy trinity" will be left.
The Meopro HD ist pretty wide btw, the 8x32 has 8.3° FoV. Very low field curvature, pincushion distortion and false color. I'd have loved to try a B.1 some day. But the one I'd like to try the most is no longer made anyway -- the B.1 7x42. There is still one lonley, last specimen offered on Amamzon Germany but I lack the cash to simply grab it.

 

[adhoc]

Tenex, my B1+/HD 15x56 was bought new from a major US retailer in 2023 March and is 1200 (exactly) g without straps or caps. The 2023 catalog that mentions magnesium construction gives 992 g for the 15x56. (That's 17% less!)

I have no knowledge about changes in the design and in the manuf. process needed to change a binocular from Al to Mg. If these are considerable then Meopta are unlikely to replace B1+/HD with B2 soon.

 

[tenex]

my B1+/HD 15x56 was bought new from a major US retailer in 2023 March and is 1200 (exactly) g

Thanks. The question then is where they got all those weights listed in the catalog: they must have built Mg prototypes... and then decided not to produce them? But it would take a new process just to do that, so once they had it, why not use it? Or maybe it is Mg now after all, since this is exactly the same weight as SLC, and the problem is just that the catalog weights are wrong for some reason. (17% is cropping up again... a silly math error?)

If anyone has an older B1/1.1 15x56, can you provide the weight for comparison? The 2020 catalog gave 1240g for B1.1, but we can see what that's worth, and I'd expect switching to Mg to save more than 40g on such a large model.

 

[adhoc]

Sorry I was too brief. Best I think is to copy out the foll. and then comment.

Serial? no. on instrument:
220663

From the box: Quote:
MeoStar B1 Series
HD Optical System //
Aluminium alloy chassis
...
HD Fluoride optical system
99.7% light transmission per lens surface
MeoBright coating by[sic] all models
MeoShield coating by all models
MeoDrop coating by MeoStar B1 Plus
From the enclosed booklet: Quote:
MeoStar B1 Plus
...
MeoBright 5501 ... multi-coating ... extraordinary light transmission
MeoDrop// External ... surfaces ... hydrophobic
...
HD glass eliminates secondary chromatic aberration
...
15x56 HD ... Weight with covers (g) ... 1235

Weighed by me: eyecup caps 25 g, obj. caps 24, strap 47.

Cannot figure out the 35 g difference. The weight of the new version (if such) also may be "with covers".

Yes, may be a Mg model is sold now, without much fuss about the change! The difference in price between some US retailers (I can find 2) at $ 1,660-1,700 vs others at 2,100 may be due to the old Al body vs a new Mg one.

Tenex, sorry cannot fully understand the ref. to 17% (this figure given by me is, of course, 992 vs 1,200 g), and to SLC.