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Meopta Meopro HD 8x32 Review (1 Viewer)

marcsantacurz

Well-known member
I'm going through a lot of 8x32 binos looking for the right pair for me, so I had these Meopro for a while at home. I'm looking at models under $400 USD, though I'll probably bump that up a bit once I finish looking that that crowd.

I do not wear glasses, but I seem to have hard eyes to fit. I need a bigger eyecup diameter and a longer eye relief when extended for me to be comfortable with binoculars on my face. These Meopro hit all those points! I found them extremely comfortable. I could get them adjusted so I had no problem with blackouts or glare from eyelash. The only other model I've found so far like this is the Minox BL 8x33 HD. Everything else I've tried (hawke endurance, vanguard endeavor ed ii, nikon m7 8x30, opticron traveller) do not fit well enough to avoid having to tilt them on my face.

The Meopro have a 30.9mm eyecup ID and a 14.16mm extension from ocular lens to top of eyecup when extended. The Minox are 31.8mm ID and 12.6mm extension. I think those generous measurements are what makes these comfortable for me, compared to the others.

Because they have large eye cups and I can get them around my eyes without tilting, they have a very nice immersive feel and my eyes can relax. I also get that from the Minox.

Ergonomically, I do not like their thumb contours. If I use them, I have to bend my index finger in to focus. If I do not use them to keep my index finger straight, my thumb saddle hits the strap eyelet.

Compared to my Leica Ultravid 8x20 BCR (which cost twice as much), I think the Meopro have a bit more flare and I think they are a little worse than the Minox BL 8x33. They are much more comfortable to use than the tiny Leica, but the Leica are truly a pocket binocular. Between the others I have tested in this price range, I do not think the flare is too bad.

The Meopro have an amazing 3.3ft close focus distance. It's as good as the Trinovid HDs, according to the specs. I have not yet used the Trinovid. They also have a very good 8.3* FoV, the same as the Nikon M7 8x30.

Marc
 
I've owned the 8x32 and currently own the 10x42. Very good optics, I could never quite get the 8x32 to fit with my eyeglasses, but the 10x42 has been fine in that respect (I've typically had issues with 8x32 binoculars, not just the MeoPro HD model).

At the price point they currently sell, I find them a very good/great deal.
 
I've tried 8 or 9 binos under $400 in 8x32 and only two of them fit my eyes well: Minox BL 8x33 HD and Meopta Meopro 8x32 HD. I was pretty amazed that I was so hard to fit. By "fit" I mean I can comfortably and without blackout have the eyecups fully around my eyes and not have to tilt the binos off my brow.

I think these Meopro are my favorite in that price range, even though they do have a bit more flare than the Minox. I love the 3.3ft close focus.
 
Hello marcsantacurz. I'm glad you're enjoying the Meopro HD's. My only criticisms of that model have been the glare and maybe the softness of the image outside the sweetspot. But if it works for you, then run with it! I'm not too surprised that you haven't found many midsized models without enough extension of the eyecups to suit you. The newest models have gotten so compact these days that companies seem to have cut back on how much extension they can supply. The Meopro HD is big for a midsize, and it takes full advantage of that by offering the larger eyecups.
 
My only criticisms of that model have been the glare and maybe the softness of the image outside the sweetspot.

I did not have a big problem with softness. The Meopro has an 8.3 degree FoV, which is much bigger than others. If it gets a little soft out there, it is still icing on the cake. Minox BL 8x33 is 8*, Opticron Traveller is 8.2*, Nikon M7 8x30 is 8.3*, then everything else is mid-7s to high-7s.

I agree the glare is not so great. The Minox BL 8x33 HD is the other one I've found in the same price range that fits me and it has much less glare than the Meopro. I have two issues with the Minox. It focuses backwards for me -- it goes clockwise as closer. It has poor close focus distance. If those do not matter for one's use, I think the Minox is the best in this price range.

So I decided the Meopro close focus and clockwise-is-out focuser outweighed the glare.

I'm going to try a few binoculars in the next price range up (say $400 to $1000) and see what we have. This will get me into the Conquest and Trinovid, plus a couple others.
 
That's great marcsantacurz. I don't know what's next for you, but if you try the 8x32 Conquest HD, the extension of the eyecups is about 10mm (not including the depth of the eyelens, which probably adds another 3mm on top of that), and the inner diameter of the eyecups is about 30mm. The Conquest HD isn't necessarily any sharper than the Meopro HD on axis, but it's got a larger sweet spot, better edges, a little brighter, and better with glare. Oh, and it focuses clockwise to infinity just like the Meopro HD.
 
That's great marcsantacurz. I don't know what's next for you, but if you try the 8x32 Conquest HD, the extension of the eyecups is about 10mm (not including the depth of the eyelens, which probably adds another 3mm on top of that), and the inner diameter of the eyecups is about 30mm. The Conquest HD isn't necessarily any sharper than the Meopro HD on axis, but it's got a larger sweet spot, better edges, a little brighter, and better with glare. Oh, and it focuses clockwise to infinity just like the Meopro HD.

Yes, next up is the Conquest HD and the Trinovid HD. I really love the 1m close focus on the Meopro, so I expect I'll love the Trinovid with the same 1m, assuming the eye cups work (I tried a Trinovid 10x42 once and it was ok on me). The Conquest at 1.5m is still respectable and likely the maximum I'd want. I would have liked to try to Meostar too, but could not find one anywhere that isn't special order.

I need to get my act together and post more of my experiences with the different 8x32s I tried.
 
That's great marcsantacurz. I don't know what's next for you, but if you try the 8x32 Conquest HD, the extension of the eyecups is about 10mm (not including the depth of the eyelens, which probably adds another 3mm on top of that), and the inner diameter of the eyecups is about 30mm. The Conquest HD isn't necessarily any sharper than the Meopro HD on axis, but it's got a larger sweet spot, better edges, a little brighter, and better with glare. Oh, and it focuses clockwise to infinity just like the Meopro HD.

The Conquest also has a focus speed twice as fast as an SF so its very useful in habitats where focusing between very close and very far is necessary.

Lee
 
For those who want to read a test report of the Meopro 8x32: it can befound on the WEB-site of House of Outdoor.
Gijs van Ginkel

I agree with the article that the Meopro body armor does feel good in the hand.

I'll leave the technical optical differences to Gijs, but here are some of my subjective impressions. I find the Meopro very easy to look through due to the eye comfort and reasonably good optics. I think the Minox BL 8x33 is a little clearer, the GPO Passion ED has more pop (but also a noticeable halo around edge at times), and the Zeiss Terra is a tad more crisp. I think the Minox and Terra do a better job controlling flare. So I would not call the Meopro technically the best. But as a package, especially with the 1m close focus, I like the Meopro best in this price range of the ones I tried. None of the negatives outweigh the positives for me.

I really wanted to keep the Minox, but it is too confusing for me to have one pair that focuses clockwise in, while all my others focus clockwise out. That and the poor close focus ruined it for me.

Marc

Note: I incorrectly listed the Opticron Traveller as having more pop, but sometimes a halo, when I meat the GPO Passion ED.
 
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