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What is B1.1? (1 Viewer)

Why do the10x42's have HD glass and the 8x42's do not.

There is only a $49 difference in the listed price doesn't make sense.
 
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zzzzzz said:
Why do the10x42's have HD glass and the 8x42's do not.

There is only a $49 difference in the listed price doesn't make sense.
Click to expand...

If you read my interview with Milos Slany you will see that Meopta believes their B1 and presumably their B1.1 has a competitive optical performance without ED/HD glass but they realised that for some hunting markets especially the western USA you had to have ED glass to get on folks' short shopping list.

I use B1s quite a lot and agree with Mr Slany that they perform to a high level without ED glass.

The full list prices show a $100 difference between 10x42 and 8x42 so it looks like the dealer has chosen a lower mark-up on the 10x42 and reduced this to $50.

Lee
 
zzzzzz said:
Why do the10x42's have HD glass and the 8x42's do not.

There is only a $49 difference in the listed price doesn't make sense.
Click to expand...

Milos Slany told me it was the contractual restriction of the deal with Cabeala's which prevented them from rolling out the HD system across their entire range. It was one of their motivations for working on an entirely new model. That was back in 2013 and spring 2015 was the anticipated launch date for the new model. I've met him a few times since, but he's declined to comment further on the subject. Perhaps this year is the year?

For what it's worth I though I thought the difference between the HD and non-HD version of the 10x42 was really very obvious back then. The colour of the non-HD versions have improved in the intervening years, but I suggest some will still find an extra $49 a trivial amount for the level of improvement in apparent sharpness and CA. I actually thoughy the 12x50 HD was technically better still, if a little less practical.

David
 
The connection between Meopta and Cabela's with sales and other mfr. arrangements constrained Meopta in the USA market as a sole seller.
Now that Cabela's has been sold to another company, Meopta is free to market their optics much better.

Meopta has mostly been a sub. mfr. for others, but now on their own they
may do something in the US market. But that requires a sales force and some effort. Meoptas top optics are a solid mid-range choice but the market place
is crowded.

Time will see how that goes.

Jerry
 
NDhunter said:
Now that Cabela's has been sold to another company, Meopta is free to market their optics much better.

Jerry
Click to expand...

Jerry you may well be right but it is not necessarily the case. When one company buys another (in this case Bass Pro buying Cabelas) they usually buy not only all the liabilities (e.g. including debts) but also all the assets (which might include the agreement with Meopta). So now Bass Pro own Cabelas they may also 'own' the Cabelas agreement with Meopta. Much might depend on the wording of the agreement and if it stipulates 'Cabelas' as being key to the marketing agreement and the Cabelas name is now gone then the agreement might have gone with it.

Lee
 
I'm new here and am researching these binoculars for aircraft spotting.

On Amazon, the B1.1 10x42HD is described as having a magnesium alloy chassis. On opticsforbirding.com, its weight is listed as 27.02 oz. The original B1 weighs 31.7 oz.

Is this the new Meostar B2 described in the other thread?
 
kyrchan said:
On Amazon, the B1.1 10x42HD is described as having a magnesium alloy chassis. On opticsforbirding.com, its weight is listed as 27.02 oz. The original B1 weighs 31.7 oz.
Click to expand...
Super, thanks for noticing that! Yes, Mg would be a big and unexpected improvement over Al. The B1s were a bit bricky.
 
I would be interested in looking through the 7X42, to observe any changes/upgrades besides weight and the locking diopter. It could be one of the few premium 7X42s offered at present.

Andy W.
 
dries1 said:
I would be interested in looking through the 7X42, to observe any changes/upgrades besides weight and the locking diopter. It could be one of the few premium 7X42s offered at present.

Andy W.
Click to expand...

If only there was a 7x42 Andy.

I know the dealer webpage linked above says that the following are available: 7x42, 7x50, 8x42, 8x56, 10x42, 10x42 HD and 10x50 HD, and 15x56 HD, but the B1 7x42 was discontinued so I don't see it being revived as a B1.1 and notice that the list doesn't include the two 32mm models that are shown illustrated on the webpage. Looks like a bit of over-hurried copy-and-paste. The B&H website doesn't list 7x42. Meopta's own website doesn't show B1.1s at all yet.

Lee
 
Troubador said:
If only there was a 7x42 Andy.

I know the dealer webpage linked above says that the following are available: 7x42, 7x50, 8x42, 8x56, 10x42, 10x42 HD and 10x50 HD, and 15x56 HD, but the B1 7x42 was discontinued so I don't see it being revived as a B1.1 and notice that the list doesn't include the two 32mm models that are shown illustrated on the webpage. Looks like a bit of over-hurried copy-and-paste. The B&H website doesn't list 7x42. Meopta's own website doesn't show B1.1s at all yet.

Lee
Click to expand...

Looks like Cabela's has dropped the two 32mm models from their website. No longer listed.
 
tenex said:
Hrrrrm... so, does anyone know what the "B1.1" story entails?
Click to expand...

Hi All,

I received the paper version of the 2019 Meopta Sport Optics catalog (English version).
The B1 Binos have vanished, and have been replaced by the B1.1

I had a 2016-2017 catalog (Thanks to Jan van Daalen), and I compared the characteristics.
The only difference I noticed was that the B1.1 Binos were heavier of about 40-50g compared to their B1 equivalent.

Well, that was until I notice that the weight of the 2019 catalog was "with covers", while the 2016-2017 catalog was without |:D|
So I would say identical weight, which would mean they don't have a new magnesium body.

From this, two hypothesis are possible:

1- Just a renaming, because Meopta wants the new B2 Binos to be called B1.2

2- They modified something (lens treatment or something else) and they want it clearly tracked (which doesn't make sense, they could have make a change in the Serial numbers).

As Meopta doesn't mention anything about something new regarding the B1.1 on their 2019 catalog, I would say that they just renamed their line of Binos.

The EU 2019 Sports Optics catalog can be downloaded here
https://www.meoptasportsoptics.cz/cz/ke-stazeni-5553/

The US version is available there
https://www.meoptasportsoptics.com/us/download/
 
dries1 said:
I would be interested in looking through the 7X42, to observe any changes/upgrades besides weight and the locking diopter. It could be one of the few premium 7X42s offered at present.

Andy W.
Click to expand...

Andy I stand corrected having looked at the Meopta catalogue: B1.1 does have a 7x42 available. Excellent news!
And thanks to Rob for posting the link.
Lee
 
Troubador said:
Andy I stand corrected having looked at the Meopta catalogue: B1.1 does have a 7x42 available. Excellent news!
And thanks to Rob for posting the link.
Lee
Click to expand...

The Meopta EU website (https://www.meoptasportsoptics.eu/en/rada/meostar-b1-1-226-26/) lists the B1.1 models and I only see a 7x50 (maybe it gets rid of the yellowing some people report from it?).

Meopta USA (https://www.meoptasportsoptics.com/us/rada/meostar-b1-226-26/) still lists the older B1 line.

Looking at eights, the B1.1 8x42 is still 897g (same as the B1). Wish they could have dropped some weight, like they did in the Optika line.

Also, related to that link to Optics4Birding, they list a 7x42, but that is the same language they have had since forever ago except they changed B1 to B1.1. They listed the 7x42 in the text in the B1 days even when the 7x42 was no longer available.
 
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Lee,

Regarding the 7X42 I guess when and if a new model is made I will definitely check them out. I still use my 2012 7X42, and to me anyway, is a very good 7X42.

Andy W.
 
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