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10x42 MeoPro Air HDED vs 10x42HD Meostar B1 Plus - it's on! (1 Viewer)

HenRun

Well-known member
Sweden
Hello Gang, optical enthusiast and bonafide Meopta-hoarder Henrik here.

Since there has been much talk and speculation about the new MeoPro Air which recently started shipping I thought it would be appreciated with a direct side by side comparison with the current Meostar B1 Plus. The best thing would be to compare the same magnification and objective size, so that's what we are going to do. :)

A friend eventually tracked down a 10x42 MeoPro Air in the Netherlands and has one on the way to him.
Price was very good and lower than the German *bay pricing by 150€ which makes the MeoPro Air a potential bargain buy at that price!
I paid €1100 for the B1 Plus with express shipping and he paid around €800 with shipping. Will confirm exact pricing.

There will be no fancy transmission graphs and it will for the most part be a subjective review from two optics nerds but we have a long history of glass nerding and will provide subjective ergonomics, optical impressions, some photos and some comparisons to the competition.

I might even get to borrow a Zeiss SF10x42 for a day to throw in the mix.
Specs will be posted from the Meopta documentation provided.

Since the 10x42 HD B1 Plus is allegedly improved over the B1/B1.1 with the latest coatings as well as improved mechanical and optical tolerances it is possible that it is a slight notch up from the B1/B1.1. Since the two previous generations are well known and have a good report I think we can assume they are very close in performance and that the B1 Plus at least is representative of the current top of the range Meopta performance.

It will be very interesting to see what the MeoPro Air is capable of and if they end up being virtually indistinguishable!

Stay tuned!
 
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Ok, so today the MeoPro Air 10x42 HDED+ arrived. I brought my Meostar 10x42HD and my friend had his Vortex Viper 10x42 at hand.

It will not be a long comparison but in short we were both kind of disappointed in the MeoPro Air 10x42 HDED.
Starting with the positives it felt good in the hands for both of us. Build quality seems on par for the price point.

Focusing wheel was a bit molasses like. Very high friction, at least even.

With glasses it did not work that well for me despite having more eye relief on paper compared to the Meostar 10x42HD. One reason is that the eyecups have a raised ridge where it meets the glasses so the ridge steals away almost 2mm and the result is a narrower image compared to the Meostar.
Meostar>Viper>MeoProAir in terms of ease with glasses.

In terms of perceived/subjective brightness and clarity the Meostar is visibly the best. The Viper and the MeoProAir are not bad at all but it feels like a slight veil over the image - though the Viper has very good contrast it is a little muted compared to the Meostar. The MeoPro has a nice rendering but is also a bit behind the Meostar.
Clarity Meostar>Viper/MeoProAir

In terms of optical quality it was clearly behind the Meostar 10x42HD and more on par with the Vortex Viper 10x42. But, the Viper is sharper in the center and about as sharp as the Meostar. The Viper has a more dramatic sharpness fall off mainly due to field curvature. Again the MeoProAir is sharp and has a larger sweetspot than the Viper and perhaps a more pleasing image overall at far distances. But, the Viper is sharper in the center for sure.
Sharpness: Meostar/Viper>MeoProAir

Chromatic aberration control is very good with all three. Meostar is stellar in this regard and the Viper and MeoProAir are very good in the center. With the Viper I could get CA flashes in some instances but overall the MeoProAir and Viper are equally good at CA control.
CA control: Meostar>Viper/MeoProAir

Strong light / backlit conditions are handled very well by all three. I much preferred the Meostar in this regard as the lack of CA really helps in backlit conditions with detail separation. All did really well though. Essentially a tie.

Ergonomics: debatable. We both thought the MeoProAir the best in overall handling. I really like the Meostar despite or perhaps because of the weight. I had no issues at all with the Viper which has the smoothest focusing of the three by a good margin.
HOWEVER - the MeoProAir focuses in the "wrong" or "other" direction which is a real deal killer for me!
Ergonomics: Viper/Meostar>MeoProAir (due to focusing direction)

It took us some time to get a grip on focusing the MeoProAir and I never got it 100% right though at the end I thought it a nice pair of binoculars but I had trouble snapping into focus on the birds that were around. Both the Meostar and the Viper are easy to focus and the most relaxed view is with the Meostar. I found the MeoProAir tiring after some time despite fiddling with the dioptre adjustment.

Verdict: I would not trade a Meostar towards a MeoProAir. The latter was perhaps even a bit nicer than the Geko/GPO equivalent and they are in the same price bracket. I might have preferred a Geko/GPO personally as it was a bit better with glasses.
As a whole I find the MeoProAir a product that will satisfy people who are not after the very best optical performance - but in this category the competition is fierce and there are similarly performing binos at lower cost. The MeoPro Air sweetspot is perhaps larger than most in this class but if you are wearing glasses there are better and cheaper options.

On the last image (if clicked to enlarge) you can see the high eye cup ridge on the MeoPro Air that makes it less suitable for glasses for me despite having more eye relief on paper.

MeoPro Air is lighter but longer. I like the dense brickety feel of the Meostar.

The MeoPro Air is already returned to the seller since it did not meet the expectations. I did not bother to post specs/comparisons since it is in my book no match for the Meostar and more on par with the Viper which is a mid tier binocular with some good traits. Comes hard to recommend.





 
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In addition and in retrospect:

I could never get that calm relaxed imaging with the MeoPro Air except for a few brief moments. I felt like it had the least distortion but the worst rendering of the three. Center sharpness was never as good as the Meostar or the Viper but the sweetspot was larger than the Viper but smaller than the Meostar. I found the Viper easier on the eyes for the most part compared to the MeoPro Air, except for the sharpness fall off which was much milder on the MeoPro Air.

I honestly think it is not a bad pair but I can't say I would recommend it, there are a few competitors I would probably choose over the MeoPro. The Meostar really is a step up, maybe even two.
 
The old Meostar's did a good job of competing as an Alpha but at a much reduced price. That seems to be the consensus. But the current listing of Alpha's is 'taking off' with the NL, SF and just a few years back the Noctivid. So Meopta, in order to remain competitive in the somewhat Alpha class, had to respond.

So rather than having the Meostar being their semi Alpha class, Meopta decided to up the game in appearance / design and thus start from scratch. But this is a process as the company has to slowly bring people on board and not lose their current market share.

Thus the current Meostar B1.1 'gone'...... In replace the Meopro which is a step down from the current Meostar. It is a step-down as you evidently found out in your review which is good by the way!

Thus, "the soon to be, bringing upon us" of the Meostar B2. The B2 will again follow Meopta's previous position and be a semi-alpha but priced way below the current crop of Alphas', so more like a $2000 price point to compete with the $2800-$3200 competitors.

So they will have the Meostar B2 be their Alpha (under the same design as the B1Plus), and the Meopro will be their $1000 line (not as good as the B1.1)

There is something about the ergonomics of the B1 Plus / B1.1 that I really like and I think that Meopta is on to something here and I bet the upcoming B2 will have the same design.
 
Was the Viper you tested the 2018 version Made in China, or the pre-2018 Made in Japan? I'm surprised the Viper performed better than the MeoPro Air considering that the Viper is half the price of the MeoPro Air
 
My MeoPro Air 10x42 has a problem right out of the box in the right barrel. Sharpness is lower, uneven, and towards 4 o'clock non-existent.

Star testing revealed significant coma in the affected part of the FOV, along with some slight horizontal mis-collimation between the two barrels. Meopta has been contacted for warranty repair.

I wonder if HenRun's experience - no ease of view despite fiddling with the diopter - could not be due to a similar issue. On my sample, the coma is somewhat suppressed by setting the diopter (which i don't need to do on other binos) but the ease of view just doesn't happen.

The 8x42 sample I got is just excellent - a bargain at the current price under €500.
 
My MeoPro Air 10x42 has a problem right out of the box in the right barrel. Sharpness is lower, uneven, and towards 4 o'clock non-existent.

Star testing revealed significant coma in the affected part of the FOV, along with some slight horizontal mis-collimation between the two barrels. Meopta has been contacted for warranty repair.

I wonder if HenRun's experience - no ease of view despite fiddling with the diopter - could not be due to a similar issue. On my sample, the coma is somewhat suppressed by setting the diopter (which i don't need to do on other binos) but the ease of view just doesn't happen.

The 8x42 sample I got is just excellent - a bargain at the current price under €500.
Those prices are nice for you, not so much here in the US. I thought the 10X42 Air was better than the 8X42 I tried, but alas, the dreaded sample variation shows its face again. I am still very impressed with the Meostar Lineup in 8X32/42. No need for 10X42 since the Leica Trinovid HD impresses me as a mid priced option.
 
I have seen meopro air 8x42 some time ago. yellowish view with very nice edge sharpness well over 90% of the image and very low pincusion distortion. those characteristic smell similar to Swaro EL.
even have similar rolling ball effect.

but It's transmission and central sharpness is well behind
with much more blackouts.
meostar b1+ 8x42 share diffrent characteristic with much significant pincusion distortion and more edge fallouts (about 85 ~ 88%)

I prefer meostar over meopro air because it control CA better, sharper at the center, more natural comfort to eye because of less rolling ball effect and better eye placement.

but still, meostar's central sharpness has significant gap between alphas.
lying below nikon e2 and zeiss conquest.

of course meostar deliver more contrasty color satuation, better CA control, better build quality the Zeiss conquest, but I have to give it up because it doesn't give enough sharpness that fit my expectations of the 'Almost alpha' name tag from many reviews
 
Jackjack: the fluorite Meostar B1 + are not behind the other brands alpha glass in central sharpness.

The 10x42HD and the 12x50HD are top tier. I ended up with the B1 + 12x50HD myself. For me it edged out the Swarovski Pure NL 12x42 for practical performance. I traded my 12x50 Meopta for Swarovski but traded back, the Meopta is the better choice in use for me.

I agree that the 8x non fluorite Meopro are a little behind the top glass. Very fine optics still. My little Meostar 8x32 has perfect size and ergonomics. Just not as nice bite in the center as the Leica 7x42.
 
I have to say I rehalibitated the B1+ 8x42 recently. CA depends on eye placement and I found a comfortable position where it is much reduced.

Went out yesterday evening for wildlife and instead of an owl ended up watching noctilucent clouds, beautiful sight of wispy structures with no CA. The best binocular is always the one on hand.
 
Haven't noticed any color tint in my Meopro Air 8x42 and also no rolling ball. Eye placement is a bit fiddly though because the eyecups should be a bit longer in the 8x42 Air. They work just fine with my glasses though.
Pincushion distortion is actually visible -- obviously enough for my eyes to effectively eliminate rolling ball. The cheaper Meopro HD 8x32 does have less pincushion than the Air and does have slight rolling ball for my eyes at least.
 
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The Air does have flourite lense elements as does even the older cheaper Meopro HD and the newer Meopro HD Plus. At least according to Meopta's own catalog.
Thank you for the link. Interesting to see that they still carry an extensive line up.
Seems models below the Meostar have generally lower light transmission but several use HD/Fluoride lenses.

I feel the B1+ series could use an update to include HD glass in the 8x models. They are nice but a little behind the alpha glass.
 
If the B1+ had HD glass, that would be my go-to binocular.

The Air 8x42 is great, but I have to use glasses for infinity (long-distance viewing and astronomy).
 
Ok, I have very little experience with 8x42 binoculars.
It seems there are many good ones out there.

When I ordered the Meopta 8x32 they first sent me the Meostar B1+ 8x42 by mistake. I was not interested in the model but I was very impressed by the relaxed and comfortable view in the 8x42.
 
Went to Meopta yesterday to pick a replacement pair for the MeoPro Air 10x42. The warranty claim was accepted, with Meopta even providing (and paying) for parcel pickup of the old pair and transport to the lab.

The new pair is good, no noticeable optical issues. The rolling ball effect is more pronounced than in the 8x42. The edges are a bit softer too, the stars get a bit fuzzier towards the very edge than in the 8x42. Spent the day birdwatching at a local pond, saw 27 mergansers and even one deer.

Overall a good binocular, certainly for the current price point of slightly above €500. Did not have the Meostar on hand for a direct comparison.
 
Spent the work break looking through both MeoStar B1+ HD 10x42 and MeoPro Air HD 10x42. Could not see a difference in center sharpness when hand-held. I would have to get very picky to find a difference, most probably when night sky viewing from a tripod, examining edge sharpness, star spikes due to prism roofs, etc.

Yet the daytime view through each binocular is a tad different owing to the different distortion corrections. I preferred the MeoStar with its lack of globe effect. Ergonomics of both binos is also different, both in both cases they fall nicely to hand.
 
About 2 years ago, already owning and being fairly satisfied with 2 Meoptas at opposite ends of the price spectrum (MeoStar 15x56 and MeoPro 10x32), with high hopes I ordered a MeoPro Air 10x42 to have something “in the middle.”

It’s not bad optically from a subjective point of view, but it’s my least favorite binocular due to its heavy and sluggish focusing mechanism - the worst I have ever used. This makes it very hard to acquire a new subject and sharpen up the focus. It’s a constant struggle.

I also note that the online Meopta dealer that I have used continues to have lots of MeoPro Airs in stock, while being out or nearly so of almost every other Meopta model, FWIW.
 
Strangely enough I love my Air. But I don't mind a slow focus. My Fuji HC has a kind of slow focus (not as slow as some think because in part its the extreme close focus that makes it seem slow - at longer distances it's just as fast as any other bino) too. Never bothered me.
 

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