Ontario
Well-known member
Summary
Meopta’s Meostar 12x50 HDs are a binocular that rightfully belong in the Alpha class. They are European in fact and style and their quality, both optical and mechanical, is comparable to the top three. They give a little away to Swarovski’s ELs in most areas, but then so does everything else. Compared to Leica’s 50mm HD-plus models, only a slightly dimmer daytime view counts against the Meoptas, whilst even lower chromatic aberration swings it the other way.
That slight sense of being less sparkly bright than the best is the only thing that really counts against the Meostars during the day. Sharpness, resolution and rendition of colours seems up with the best.
At night, it’s the off-axis astigmatism that spoils the context a little with linear stars towards the field stop. Nonetheless, pin-point stars on-axis, excellent reach and resolution, good stray-light suppression and a pin-sharp high-res’ Moon make them an excellent choice for hand-held astronomy.
Overall, the 12x50 HDs make a worthy successor to Nikon’s defunct 12x50 SEs as a best-buy hand-held astronomy binocular;http://scopeviews.co.uk/Meopta12x50HD.htm
Meopta’s Meostar 12x50 HDs are a binocular that rightfully belong in the Alpha class. They are European in fact and style and their quality, both optical and mechanical, is comparable to the top three. They give a little away to Swarovski’s ELs in most areas, but then so does everything else. Compared to Leica’s 50mm HD-plus models, only a slightly dimmer daytime view counts against the Meoptas, whilst even lower chromatic aberration swings it the other way.
That slight sense of being less sparkly bright than the best is the only thing that really counts against the Meostars during the day. Sharpness, resolution and rendition of colours seems up with the best.
At night, it’s the off-axis astigmatism that spoils the context a little with linear stars towards the field stop. Nonetheless, pin-point stars on-axis, excellent reach and resolution, good stray-light suppression and a pin-sharp high-res’ Moon make them an excellent choice for hand-held astronomy.
Overall, the 12x50 HDs make a worthy successor to Nikon’s defunct 12x50 SEs as a best-buy hand-held astronomy binocular;http://scopeviews.co.uk/Meopta12x50HD.htm