Brief review of Meopta Meostar B1+ 8x42. (in comparison with Zeiss Victory SFL 8x40 (3 Viewers)

[jackjack]

Friend of mine bought Meoptar meostar b1+ 8x42 and I have some chance to compare it with Zeiss SFL 8x40.

Even it have 2mm more lens diameter, it is much bulkier and heavier (alost about 300g differ!)
than SFL 8x40

you can see meostar is much thicker


1. meostar b1 + 8x42

2. sfl 8x40


meostar have significantly more pincusion distortion than sfl

plus, meostar has bit of yellow - green hue while sfl color is very close to neutral with very,very little bit of green emphasizing
So, Meostar's view is lot warmer than SFL

meostar / sfl

so the size of the circle is significantly bigger than SFL even real FOV is little bit wider in SFL

up : meostar
down : sfl

CA control in center is little bit inferior than sfl

meosrar / sfl


Comparison result.

1. Brightness

meostar =< sfl.

hard to find difference, but I think sfl feels slightly brighter. maybe due to it's more transparent colors.

meostar may be brighter at low light due to 2mm more lens diameter

2. Center image sharpness

meostar < sfl

clear win for sfl

3. Sweet spot

meostar = sfl

sfl has slightly wider FOV but meostar is slightly better off axis (about 1~2%)

4. CA control

meostar < sfl

sfl has little bit more off axis CA and meostar has more on axis (centeral) CA. center is more important, so the point goes to sfl

5. Distortion

meostar < sfl

another clear win for sfl as you see from photos above.

6. 3D rendering

meostar > sfl

clear win for meostar. due to it's distortion and bigger lens diameter, meostar view has more 3d effect than sfl.

7. Stray light control

meostar < sfl

8. close focus

meostar < sfl

sfl close focus is about 1.3m and meostar is about 1.8m
in real life measurements.

10. eye placement

meoster < sfl (for me)

longer, thicker eyecups of sfl fit's better then meostar to me
real life eye relief seems similar

11. Focusing

meostar < sfl

sfl has much bigger focuser and much slimmer body.
it is much easier to control the focuser of sfl.

12. Handling.

meostar < sfl

meostar is much heavier and thicker. unless you have very big hands, I think sfl is much better to hold on.

13. Build quality

meostar > sfl

while sfl looks like sports car, meostar is a tank. eyecup, focuser, diopter is better made in meostar.
the rubber is much thicker and little bit more smooth feeling. thogh it has little bit of lifting of rubber around the hinge

14. Accessories

meostar = sfl

I prefer meostar's strap and pouch more and prefer SFL's lens cap more

 

[jackjack]

Conclusion.

unless I go birding on a rocky mountain tumbling against my own feets, I will me much happier carring SFL because it is much lighter, compact and optically better.

Me and my friend both agreed Meoptar Meostar b1+ 8x42 has no significant advantage over Zeiss victory SFL 8x40.
It's quite a surprise for me because Meostar has more lens diameter and I think Meostar has equal optics quality because SFL is not the level of the big3 flagship.

but meostar was inferior in many parts.

it seems it's bulk and wight only has adventage of it's ruggedness.

I know I have to be careful but I have to say.

the meostar b1+ central sharpness was lot disappointing than I thought.

I thought It will be same Swaro SLC as some reviews in youtube says, but it seems not as close.
the centeral sharpness of Meostar b1+ is not only clealy inferior than SFL but also falls below cheaper ones such as zeiss conquest, nikon e2, swaro companion. even seems less than nikon monarch hg.

It has good 3D rendering and comfort of the view at 8x42 range but still, it quite don't shines as I heard about it.

Since victory sfl and swaro slc is known to be step below the Alphas (Swaro EL, NL / Zeiss HT , SF / Leica Noctivid)

Meostar series only have HD lenses on 10, over mags. but since price doesn differ much, I had doubts that the 'HD' meostars will preform much better...

Sorry for fanboys of Meoptar, but In my opinion, Meostar is not an Alpha.

 

[jackjack]

Conclusion.

unless I go birding on a rocky mountain tumbling against my own feets, I will me much happier carring SFL because it is much lighter, compact and optically better.

Me and my friend both agreed Meoptar Meostar b1+ 8x42 has no significant advantage over Zeiss victory SFL 8x40.
It's quite a surprise for me because Meostar has more lens diameter and I think Meostar has equal optics quality because SFL is not the level of the big3 flagship.

but meostar was inferior in many parts.

it seems it's bulk and wight only has adventage of it's ruggedness.

I know I have to be careful but I have to say.

the meostar b1+ central sharpness is lot disappointing than I thought.

I thought It will be same Swaro SLC as some reviews in youtube says, but it seems not as close.
the centeral sharpness of Meostar b1+ is not only clealy inferior than SFL but also falls below cheaper ones such as zeiss conquest, nikon e2, swaro companion. even seems less than nikon monarch hg.

It has good 3D rendering and comfort of the view at 8x42 range but still, it quite don't shines as I heard about it.

Since victory sfl and swaro slc is known to be step below the Alphas (Swaro EL, NL / Zeiss HT , SF / Leica Noctivid)

Sorry for fanboys of Meoptar, but In my opinion, Meostar is not an Alpha.

Digiscoped photos of Meoptar Meostar b1+







It is still a good (but not THAT great) binocular.
pleasant view with nice emphasizes of greens.
in addition of tank - build and 30years warranty.
but for it's high price, I'll have to think more than two times buying it over other well known competitors...

 

[gcole]

Meostar series only have HD lenses on 10, over mags. but since price doesn differ much, I had doubts that the 'HD' meostars will preform much better...

That’s what is great about this forum, one can make statements about how a particular version of a certain brand of Binoculars will actually perform Optically without even using one …. ?????

 

[jackjack]

That’s what is great about this forum, one can make statements about how a particular version of a certain brand of Binoculars will actually perform Optically without even using one …. ?????

It's just a doubt. since 8x42 non HD and 10x42 HD is in a same series of bino 'meostar B1+' and the official store price is about the same.
so it's reasonable to think that they have smilar level of optics.
previous b1 model also has no HD glass in 7, 8 powers but I've seen no review that they are significantly inferior than same model high powered ones.

 

[tenex]

I'm curious exactly how you're measuring central sharpness. I recently tried a Meostar 8x32, and while it seemed lovely, I had the initial impression that CS didn't quite match others I use (BN, FL), though being 10x they weren't the best comparison. Then I began to wonder whether I was just struggling to get its diopter adjusted properly, which felt difficult. I'd like to have kept it longer and used it more, but unfortunately the eyecups were too shallow for me.

The Meostars remind me of BNs: the weight is very nice in a 32, a brick in 42.

 

[jackjack]

I'm curious exactly how you're measuring central sharpness. I recently tried a Meostar 8x32, and while it seemed lovely, I had the initial impression that CS didn't quite match others I use (BN, FL), though being 10x they weren't the best comparison. Then I began to wonder whether I was just struggling to get its diopter adjusted properly, which felt difficult. I'd like to have kept it longer and used it more, but unfortunately the eyecups were too shallow for me.

The Meostars remind me of BNs: the weight is very nice in a 32, a brick in 42.

meostar has some leica smell on it. little bit of yellow, (through meostar emphasize more green while leica does same with red)
short length, high distortion, smiler diopter machanism.

I measure center sharpness it many ways.
Indoor, outdoor, short range(under 30m), long range...
some time see artifects like antenna poles, cement blocks, lettering.
some times natural thing like tree barks, rocks... but it have to stay still, so I avoid testing against tree leaf and grass.and of course animals.

long range resolution not only differs with image sharpness but also contrast, 3D rendering ,eye comfort and more. so I usually do passionate mesuring at short distance.

meostar has fine resolutions at long distance due to it's eye comfort and contrast. but fall steeply went it comes to close range check.

 

[jackjack]

I'm curious exactly how you're measuring central sharpness. I recently tried a Meostar 8x32, and while it seemed lovely, I had the initial impression that CS didn't quite match others I use (BN, FL), though being 10x they weren't the best comparison. Then I began to wonder whether I was just struggling to get its diopter adjusted properly, which felt difficult. I'd like to have kept it longer and used it more, but unfortunately the eyecups were too shallow for me.

The Meostars remind me of BNs: the weight is very nice in a 32, a brick in 42.

If I had doubts about the diopter, I compare each tubes separately. but for over 1000$ class, diopter management is much easier then cheaps ones. so It's usually not hard to adjust to my eyes.

 

[dries1]

I have the Meostar B1 and B1+ in 8X42, and have absolutely no need to obtain an SFL. Nice photos from digiscoping but they will not convince me to prefer one over another no matter who takes them. To each their own.

 

[jackjack]

I have the Meostar B1 and B1+ in 8X42, and have absolutely no need to obtain an SFL. Nice photos from digiscoping but they will not convince me to prefer one over another no matter who takes them. To each their own.

I wonder how much difference between b1 and b1+.
meostar and sfl has very different characteristics so what you prefer is best for you.
and I also think changing to sfl is not a total upgrade since SFL too isn't good as the top alphas

 

[Rg548]

Conclusion.

unless I go birding on a rocky mountain tumbling against my own feets, I will me much happier carring SFL because it is much lighter, compact and optically better.

Me and my friend both agreed Meoptar Meostar b1+ 8x42 has no significant advantage over Zeiss victory SFL 8x40.
It's quite a surprise for me because Meostar has more lens diameter and I think Meostar has equal optics quality because SFL is not the level of the big3 flagship.

but meostar was inferior in many parts.

it seems it's bulk and wight only has adventage of it's ruggedness.

I know I have to be careful but I have to say.

the meostar b1+ central sharpness was lot disappointing than I thought.

I thought It will be same Swaro SLC as some reviews in youtube says, but it seems not as close.
the centeral sharpness of Meostar b1+ is not only clealy inferior than SFL but also falls below cheaper ones such as zeiss conquest, nikon e2, swaro companion. even seems less than nikon monarch hg.

It has good 3D rendering and comfort of the view at 8x42 range but still, it quite don't shines as I heard about it.

Since victory sfl and swaro slc is known to be step below the Alphas (Swaro EL, NL / Zeiss HT , SF / Leica Noctivid)

Meostar series only have HD lenses on 10, over mags. but since price doesn differ much, I had doubts that the 'HD' meostars will preform much better...

Sorry for fanboys of Meoptar, but In my opinion, Meostar is not an Alpha.

You may have possibly had a bad copy.... my Meostar was better than my Conquest.
Or I may have had a bad Conquest copy, but I was always very impressed with it.

 

[jackjack]

You may have possibly had a bad copy.... my Meostar was better than my Conquest.
Or I may have had a bad Conquest copy, but I was always very impressed with it.

the meostar and sfl and conquest are all from original distributors in Korea. meostar and sfl were close to brand new.

conquest is not overall better bino than meostar. meostar has better contrast at green, yellow objects, more 3d rendering, more relaxing to eyes, better CA control, better build
conquest only clearly excels on central sharpness.

 

[Canip]

Just wondering ….. jackjack joined on January 22. How can he already be a „well-known member“ of this forum?

His writing style reminds me of some influencer who crossed my way some time ago. Is he one?

Again, just wondering ..

 

[dries1]

It just shows how subjective reviews are, the same can gets kicked down the road over and over. If one needs to find out about a glass, put them to their own eyes. After this review I miss Optica Exotica, at least for his humor.

 

[jackjack]

Just wondering ….. jackjack joined on January 22. How can he already be a „well-known member“ of this forum?

His writing style reminds me of some influencer who crossed my way some time ago. Is he one?

Again, just wondering ..

you got the wrong preson I guess.. I don't know the influencer you say about but I have never wrote anything here before than

don't know how to be a Well - Known member too

 

[jackjack]

It just shows how subjective reviews are, the same can gets kicked down the road over and over. If one needs to find out about a glass, put them to their own eyes. After this review I miss Optica Exotica, at least for his humor.

every person has his / hers own eyes and thoughts, so there are various of bino that people like the best.
NL Pure is considered best this days for many reviews but it is still not a people's favorites...

Don't know why Optica Exotica's channel disappeared....I've been watching is channel happly too

 

[tenex]

a „well-known member“ of this forum

Those standard labels are automatic and only reflect post count. Jackjack's remarks seem quite reasonable to me, not at all argumentative. The only issue seems to be that he isn't the only reviewer on this forum.

 

[Canip]

Ok, so it‘s probably just me getting old then ….

 

[exup]

That’s what is great about this forum, one can make statements about how a particular version of a certain brand of Binoculars will actually perform Optically without even using one …. ?????

Agreed, I see many posts commenting on, recommending or more often rubbishing particularly optics without ever handling them. It does not take long to identify the reliable reviewers and commenters.

you got the wrong preson I guess.. I don't know the influencer you say about but I have never wrote anything here before than

don't know how to be a Well - Known member too

Jackjack keep up the reviews...... You are bringing a fresh perspective to the table, without any prejudices. It is common to face criticism on BF if you don't agree with the herd..... just ignore them and focus on the optics.

Let's hope the moderators watch this to stop it getting out of hand again.

 

[Patudo]

Meostar series only have HD lenses on 10, over mags. but since price doesn differ much, I had doubts that the 'HD' meostars will preform much better...

I thought there was/is a Meostar 8x42 HD model?

I tried the 10x42 HD a few years back and for what it's worth, thought it was very good, in some respects (I thought it had the most alpha-like view) the best of the sub-alphas. Definitely worth a look if you can find one I'd say. It'd be real interesting to compare them side by side with the SFL which I thought (from short look at them at Birdfair) probably have a more pleasing colour rendition than the Conquest HD but I wasn't at all sure were sharper or brighter.