iseegeorgesstar
Well-known member
Thank you for the feedback. All the glowing reviews about how they are a very good "all arounder" binocular definitely make them stand out.
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Meopta Meostar B2? (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Arvind
- Start date
I went from B1 Plus 15x56 to the B1 Plus 12x50. The German Meopta brochure says that Meopta themselves regards the 12x50 ”their best binocular”.
It is excellent - but handheld it is a bit of a chore, not primarily because of the weight. The Pure NL 12x42 was surprisinglt easy to handhold and the EL 12x50 I find relatively easy to hold steady. I use a monopod with tilt head and the view is super crisp with the Meopta but it stays on the monopod. It actually stands up on a mini tripod foot so I leave it on the monopod mounted on s Swarovski Tas-SLC quick release stud mount.
Always ready to use but I have it in a corner where the dog and cat won’t topple it over 😬.
narrower field of view than the best.
Slightly less eye relief for glasses
Heavier than some
Sharpness fall off at edges (does not bother me at all)
Pluses are:
No center CA.
Excellent optics, I have yet to see better.
Excellent build
Hard to provoke glare
Cost is about 35-40% less than Swarovski, which have other nice traits but have some drawbacks too. I went Meopta > Pure NL and back to Meopta. Only regret was trading the Meopta in the first place.
I still find the Swaros exceptionally nice but I find the Meopta suits me better and was happy to pocket the cost difference. 🤓
It is excellent - but handheld it is a bit of a chore, not primarily because of the weight. The Pure NL 12x42 was surprisinglt easy to handhold and the EL 12x50 I find relatively easy to hold steady. I use a monopod with tilt head and the view is super crisp with the Meopta but it stays on the monopod. It actually stands up on a mini tripod foot so I leave it on the monopod mounted on s Swarovski Tas-SLC quick release stud mount.
Always ready to use but I have it in a corner where the dog and cat won’t topple it over 😬.
Limitations are:
narrower field of view than the best.
Slightly less eye relief for glasses
Heavier than some
Sharpness fall off at edges (does not bother me at all)
Pluses are:
No center CA.
Excellent optics, I have yet to see better.
Excellent build
Hard to provoke glare
Cost is about 35-40% less than Swarovski, which have other nice traits but have some drawbacks too. I went Meopta > Pure NL and back to Meopta. Only regret was trading the Meopta in the first place.
I still find the Swaros exceptionally nice but I find the Meopta suits me better and was happy to pocket the cost difference. 🤓
tenex
reality-based
SLC 56 weighs 42oz but handles very well and I'm glad every time I carry it. Was just out with the 15x yesterday, by a lake and open fields where it was perfect for Red-winged and Yellow-headed Blackbirds, Bobolink etc. Incidentally this is also the weight of the Zeiss 7x50 BGAT that my father liked to use, so not everyone would consider it ridiculous.
Then because of what?
I have no problem lifting heavy gear as I have a physical job which requires me to often lift and carry fairly heavy stuff, up to about my own weight in the worst case scenarios. So you would think a little binocular would not be a problem at all.
For some reason the balance feels ”off”. For my best grip the bino is very front ”heavy”.
If I position the hand/hands further out on the barrel it does not help much and it just feels awkward, but not heavy.
The Meopta 12x50 HD has me at near the minimum IPD setting and the grip is quite ”fat” so I can’t get as comfortable a grip as I can with the Swarovskis, and the hand placement is not as ergonomic for me.
I end up with that heart shaped gesture that is cute but not the best grip for steady viewing.
With 12X binoculars I find it is past my abilities to hand hold except for very short periods. Hardly surprising.
With the Swarovski EL 12x50 I find I can hold it a bit longer than the Meopta 12x50 and the Pure NL 12x42 I find I can hold just about as long as most 10X binoculars and that I can actually use it fine without a tripod.
On a good day the Meopta still gives me more ”micro tremor” than the other 12X I have seen. I am just not that good handholding a 12X and the Meopta is not doing me any favours even if I don’t think it feels heavy at all.
It only requires a very small amount of support for me to steady it but hand held only works well for birds in flight when I have a sweeping motion with the Meopta. Then it works exceptionally well.
With the monopod I find the view through the Meopta just about as stunning every time I use it. Very few binoculars give me that viewing pleasure.
I am not ”that old” but at 51 I find my vision is not that bad, but it takes me half an hour to wake up in the morning. EDIT: Heartbeat tremor is worse than I was younger. Finding and looking at small details is not a problem but I can no longer look through monocular optical systems for more than minute before becoming fatigued.
Also I find that the floaters in my eyes were quite a distraction with the new fangled wide view / ”immersive” binoculars but with time I have trained my eyes to ”ignore” the floaters.
For some funny reason I find my vision feels better and more relaxed when I am in a fasted state. I don’t always eat breakfast nowadays, perhaps just once or twice a week. I eat when I feel like it, even if I am lifting heavy stuff and sometimes I don’t eat until around 2 PM. Those days I find my vision is at its peak, both near and far and that is part of the reason I don’t eat after 10 PM and eat whenever the body wants it the next day, regardless of what the clock says.
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I am currently trying the Meopta with two glasses of wine to help steady the neuromuscular pathways and coodri… ..cryordina… coordinate the retinal follicoids with the brain synapses.
To be honest I find my heart tremor only softens a bit with some wine inside the proverbial ”vest” and the return on investment is diminished by the introduced vision blur.
All joking aside I find that mornings and evenings I do have a visible heartbeat induced tremor with the 12X binos and that it takes a little time to calm things down.
To be honest I find my heart tremor only softens a bit with some wine inside the proverbial ”vest” and the return on investment is diminished by the introduced vision blur.
All joking aside I find that mornings and evenings I do have a visible heartbeat induced tremor with the 12X binos and that it takes a little time to calm things down.
Tenex: I have never looked through the SLC ”family” of binoculars. They seem ”old school” in the best sense.
I have always wanted to look through the SLC 15X.
. I am not concerned with weight. I did like the Meopta 15x56 HD very much but settled for the 12x50 HD in the end - trading both a 10x and a 15X for the 12X suited me fine.
I have always wanted to look through the SLC 15X.
. I am not concerned with weight. I did like the Meopta 15x56 HD very much but settled for the 12x50 HD in the end - trading both a 10x and a 15X for the 12X suited me fine.
looksharp65
Well-known member
Very happy with the B1.1 8x32 I bought from you, HR But haven't had so many opportunities to put it to work yet. Compared to my old B1, the colour reproduction of the B1.1 is in line with the rest of the collection, however I feel a little sad about the B1.
It is out of collimation, but in a way suits me like a glove, certainly not worse than my other binoculars, and maybe in some ways more relaxed.
They say this and that binocular isn't for everyone, but this sample is certainly for my eyes only. I predict it will not stay in a drawer.
The Meostars are certainly workhorses, and, as such, indispensable. But I hold the E II and EDG in higher regard for the image alone, however they are quirky princesses where the Meostars never fail to do their duty. Went out with the EDG 7x42 the other evening, and it is unreal what an image it delivers.
This new to me B1.1 was supposed to be like the last brick in the building. But despite my firm belief that 10x binoculars are unnecessary with my eyesight, Neil's rave review of the E II 10x35 made me sorely tempted...if not just to see that NL Pure 10x32 equipped guy drop his jaw 🤣
Anyway, everybody should own a Meostar or two.
//L
But haven't had so many opportunities to put it to work yet. Compared to my old B1, the colour reproduction of the B1.1 is in line with the rest of the collection, however I feel a little sad about the B1.It is out of collimation, but in a way suits me like a glove, certainly not worse than my other binoculars, and maybe in some ways more relaxed.
They say this and that binocular isn't for everyone, but this sample is certainly for my eyes only. I predict it will not stay in a drawer.
The Meostars are certainly workhorses, and, as such, indispensable. But I hold the E II and EDG in higher regard for the image alone, however they are quirky princesses where the Meostars never fail to do their duty. Went out with the EDG 7x42 the other evening, and it is unreal what an image it delivers.
This new to me B1.1 was supposed to be like the last brick in the building. But despite my firm belief that 10x binoculars are unnecessary with my eyesight, Neil's rave review of the E II 10x35 made me sorely tempted...if not just to see that NL Pure 10x32 equipped guy drop his jaw 🤣
Anyway, everybody should own a Meostar or two.
//L
Looksharp65: great to hear.
If we are given the opportunity I would like to compare my B1 Plus 12x50HD to your B1.1 12x50HD. I suspect the difference will be undetectable in normal use, but Meopta claim that refinement in the optical polishing/grinding and production line has elevated the optics to ”higher levels” in performance.
As a sidenote I spent an hour and a half this afternoon with the 12x50HD. Unfortunately I cannot compare it directly to the Pure NL 12x42, but, having spent time with both in the same environment for quite some time I can’t say that there is much difference between the two in terms of absolute optical quality. You can interpret that as giving praise to one or the other but I am simply saying they are both optical marvels.
What I can say that I think the Meopta does better, and actually not just marginally better, is glare and straylight control. Sun was still high up in the sky and there was a backlit haze which was hard on the eyes and (usually) kills contrast in binoculars, viewing in that general direction. Meopta 12x50HD is pretty much unaffected by this. I could literally use it as a sunshield/sun cap and watched the horses and birds roam about in the fields and in the sky - without any detrimental drop in contrast. Glare resistance is not only excellent, it is class leading.
While I am sure most would prefer the Pure NL 12x42 for other reasons (size, handling, image immersion, equally great perceived ”sharpness”) I know that it does not perform as well in harsh light and I had quite a few occasions where glare and loss of contrast robbed the viewing experience to the point I simply had to pack it up or look in another direction. When trading qualities and disregarding cost - I still find the Meopta 12x50HD leaves me with very little to ask for.
Another thing the Meopta does better, but not with the same margin, is birds in flight. The absence of CA in the center makes focusing and isolation of birds in flight a literal breeze and there is no hunting for focus as I sometimes had to do with the Pure NL 12x42 as it did have some more CA and finding the perfect focus snap was not as easy for me as it is with the Meopta. Not saying the Pure NL is bad, it isn’t, just saying the Meopta works better for me.
This is also one of those times I find the lesser field of view of the Meopta is an advantage, isolating the birds more from the background distractions, if any. Other will view this the other way around, finding the added field of view of the Pure NL something that helps them find and monitor interesting things.
Another thing I tried today was using the Manfrotto monopod and tilt head in the folded down position (had to extend the top part a little and pre angle the tilt head). The monopod has a removable mini tripod base which I could rest against my hip in this position I could use it quite freely for both stationary viewing and also very well for birds in flight, with very good stability. One hand at breast height on the monopod and the other hand working the bino.
At the ”worst”, while standing on a steep slope, the viewing was about the same as with a stabilized bin, a slight, slow swaying motion, but still much better than I can accomplish hand held. At best I found I did not even have to extend the monopod at all.
What’s the point you might ask? Well, this means I can walk with the monopod folded up and still bring it up for immediate use with very little penalty in ease of view and stability.
In the case of extended viewing I simply extend the legs and use it as usual. But between viewing opportunities it makes it easier to sling over the shoulder and less likely to snag the monopod on bushes or other obstacles. After trying this I feel no need to figure out and make, or buy, a harness to perform similar duty.
If we are given the opportunity I would like to compare my B1 Plus 12x50HD to your B1.1 12x50HD. I suspect the difference will be undetectable in normal use, but Meopta claim that refinement in the optical polishing/grinding and production line has elevated the optics to ”higher levels” in performance.
As a sidenote I spent an hour and a half this afternoon with the 12x50HD. Unfortunately I cannot compare it directly to the Pure NL 12x42, but, having spent time with both in the same environment for quite some time I can’t say that there is much difference between the two in terms of absolute optical quality. You can interpret that as giving praise to one or the other but I am simply saying they are both optical marvels.
What I can say that I think the Meopta does better, and actually not just marginally better, is glare and straylight control. Sun was still high up in the sky and there was a backlit haze which was hard on the eyes and (usually) kills contrast in binoculars, viewing in that general direction. Meopta 12x50HD is pretty much unaffected by this. I could literally use it as a sunshield/sun cap and watched the horses and birds roam about in the fields and in the sky - without any detrimental drop in contrast. Glare resistance is not only excellent, it is class leading.
While I am sure most would prefer the Pure NL 12x42 for other reasons (size, handling, image immersion, equally great perceived ”sharpness”) I know that it does not perform as well in harsh light and I had quite a few occasions where glare and loss of contrast robbed the viewing experience to the point I simply had to pack it up or look in another direction. When trading qualities and disregarding cost - I still find the Meopta 12x50HD leaves me with very little to ask for.
Another thing the Meopta does better, but not with the same margin, is birds in flight. The absence of CA in the center makes focusing and isolation of birds in flight a literal breeze and there is no hunting for focus as I sometimes had to do with the Pure NL 12x42 as it did have some more CA and finding the perfect focus snap was not as easy for me as it is with the Meopta. Not saying the Pure NL is bad, it isn’t, just saying the Meopta works better for me.
This is also one of those times I find the lesser field of view of the Meopta is an advantage, isolating the birds more from the background distractions, if any. Other will view this the other way around, finding the added field of view of the Pure NL something that helps them find and monitor interesting things.
Another thing I tried today was using the Manfrotto monopod and tilt head in the folded down position (had to extend the top part a little and pre angle the tilt head). The monopod has a removable mini tripod base which I could rest against my hip in this position I could use it quite freely for both stationary viewing and also very well for birds in flight, with very good stability. One hand at breast height on the monopod and the other hand working the bino.
At the ”worst”, while standing on a steep slope, the viewing was about the same as with a stabilized bin, a slight, slow swaying motion, but still much better than I can accomplish hand held. At best I found I did not even have to extend the monopod at all.
What’s the point you might ask? Well, this means I can walk with the monopod folded up and still bring it up for immediate use with very little penalty in ease of view and stability.
In the case of extended viewing I simply extend the legs and use it as usual. But between viewing opportunities it makes it easier to sling over the shoulder and less likely to snag the monopod on bushes or other obstacles. After trying this I feel no need to figure out and make, or buy, a harness to perform similar duty.
HenRun, thank you for post # 54, as usual, a thorough response, very useful to me. My question was: What would one expect of a "B2" beyond a B1 Plus HD? and then had followed a few briefer responses by others.
"The warm cast of the Meoptas is something I have not seen on the B1 Plus models, recent 8x32, 10x42HD or 12x50HD. I have seen it in the 7x42 and an older Meopta."
And in the 15x56 B1 Plus HD?
"I still have the Meostar 12x50 HD B1 Plus"
Hadn’t you boxed it to return it, 8-9 months ago, when you got the Swaro. 12x42 NL! And then you retained it instead?
"For a B2 series I would expect/hope for:
8x32…
8x42…
10x42HD with a wider view…Just a little heavy.
12x50HD - a little more eye relief…perhaps better ergonomics...
…7x42…just a little heavy. A little update on...optics...and I would accept the weight."
Is the 15x56 not mentioned because it is fine as it is?!
In your posts that follow:
"The German Meopta brochure says that Meopta themselves regards the 12x50 'their best binocular'".
Could you please provide a link to that?
"…12x50…Sharpness fall off at edges (does not bother me at all)"
Do you use it for astronomy, and if so do you find you can easily ignore that?
Also, "…Swarovski…Pure NL 12x42 I find I can hold just about as long as most 10X binoculars and that I can actually use it fine without a tripod.”
Even when the forehead rest is not used?
Thank you, Henrik!
"The warm cast of the Meoptas is something I have not seen on the B1 Plus models, recent 8x32, 10x42HD or 12x50HD. I have seen it in the 7x42 and an older Meopta."
And in the 15x56 B1 Plus HD?
"I still have the Meostar 12x50 HD B1 Plus"
Hadn’t you boxed it to return it, 8-9 months ago, when you got the Swaro. 12x42 NL! And then you retained it instead?
"For a B2 series I would expect/hope for:
8x32…
8x42…
10x42HD with a wider view…Just a little heavy.
12x50HD - a little more eye relief…perhaps better ergonomics...
…7x42…just a little heavy. A little update on...optics...and I would accept the weight."
Is the 15x56 not mentioned because it is fine as it is?!
In your posts that follow:
"The German Meopta brochure says that Meopta themselves regards the 12x50 'their best binocular'".
Could you please provide a link to that?
"…12x50…Sharpness fall off at edges (does not bother me at all)"
Do you use it for astronomy, and if so do you find you can easily ignore that?
Also, "…Swarovski…Pure NL 12x42 I find I can hold just about as long as most 10X binoculars and that I can actually use it fine without a tripod.”
Even when the forehead rest is not used?
Thank you, Henrik!
Hey Adhoc, in no particular order:
Yes, you are correct. I had the Meopta 12x50 HD. At the time I made a thread on it and the 10x42/15x56.
In the Binocular turnover turmoil that followed that year I did sell the 12x50HD. I did regret it not too long after and asked the gentleman who bought it if he had any regrets and if so, I would buy it back.
He was very pleased with it so the buy-back offer was declined.
Since I was slowly forming a more concrete opinion on what my set up would be like in the long term I happened on a Meopta sale by a German company so I got the Meopta 12x50HD at a very good price. However, at the same time I was waiting on getting my new Leica 7x42 UVHD+ back from service and I got it back about the same time, but the issue was not sorted so I had a full refund for the Leica and while that was being sorted I happened to look through the Pure NL 12x42 - by mistake - thinking it was the 10x. I was so impressed with the handholding of the 12x Pure NL that I put my refund towards it at the spot. I covered this in another thread.
So, I came home with the Pure NL 12x42 while being at the very tail end of my return period of the Meopta 12x50HD.
It was as a matter of fact the last day to ship if I wanted a refund so I boxed up the Meopta and handed it in the very same day as I came home with the Pure NL. Unfortunately there was no time for a lengthy head to head and two 12x binos was nothing I would like to have at the same time. I was at the time still looking for a Leica 7x42.
Over time I found the Pure NL 12x42 a great bino, though I did miss some aspects of the Meopta. Once I slowly started to peel away the onion and ended up having ”only” the SFL 8x40 and the Pure NL 12x42 I actually felt I was still missing the Meopta 12x50HD and decided to put the Pure NL 12x42 up for sale, since prices had gone up quite a lot I decided that if the 12x42 got sold I would source up the Meopta 12x50HD again, and put the difference/surplus towards a smaller bino.
It eventually got sold but it took some time to find a 12x50HD since there was no vendor I could find that had them in stock. After a few weeks a vendor in Sweden had a special on Meopta and I ordered one on the spot. Turned out they did not have it in stock so I had to wait a few weeks for the next shipment from Meopta to the representative in Sweden.
Now I was in a similar - but reversed - situation: the Pure NL 12x42 was no longer with me and the Meopta 12x50HD was back. In my mind I was not sure if I had made a mistake and I still had a return period on the Meopta. However, it was instant relief when I got the Meopta, perfect focuser on this sample and as superb optics as I remembered.
Even with the great aspects of the Pure NL 12x42 I felt right at home with the Meopta again. It fills a specific role in the dwindling set up of mine and it performs just as well as I can ask for.
If the Pure NL 12x42 and the Meopta 12x50HD were priced the same it would be tougher to choose the Meopta but based on using both in the same viewing conditions I would still favor the Meopta for the adverse light performance.
Optically I think they are more than sufficient, both of them.
Regarding the 15x56HD I am not sure about the color. I did not notice any difference between the 12x50HD and the 15x56HD and since they are the same generation HD they should be very similar.
I looked at other things (performance with glasses, CA, overall handling) and came to a very simple conclusion at the time: If I kept the 10x42HD I would want the 15x56HD too but if I kept the 12x50HD that would be the ”best” step up from whatever 7/8x bino I would settle for.
I could not see any obvious color difference between the 12x50 and the 15x56 and I did view them side by side in fair viewing conditions.
As for the Meopta brochure I will see if I still have it or if I took a snap shot of the brochure before handing it over to the gentleman who bought the first 12x50HD from me. As part of my sales pitch I showed him the brochure with the wording ”our best/finest binocular”.
It was purchased from Germany so it came with a German Meopta Meostar brochure. If I can find it I will follow up with a posting on that!
I have not used the Meopta 12x50HD for stargazing, only looking at the moon. So I have no opinion or comparison on how good or bad it would be for that purpose. The center sharpness and rather gentle fall off seems like it would provide accurate pin sharp stars for a decent part of the field. But, I don’t know.
The Pure NL 12x42 was quite easy to hand hold for me (and I do not claim to be very good at handholding 10X and over binos) without the head rest. Since I was given the head rest with the bino (I was hesitant to buy it, but the vendor then gave it to me free of charge) I found that it does help. It was going from fairly steady without it to very stable with it. To the point that I would live the monopod at home for the most part.
This, to me, is perhaps the single best reason to buy a Pure NL 12x42, aside from the excellent optics it handles as easily as any 10x I have looked through, or better. This sets it apart from many other high power binos.
One can think it strange I decided to go back to the chunky old Meopta. But as Looksharp says: one should have at least one Meopta in the stable.
Now I have one Zeiss, one Meopta and the Swarovski BTX.
Once can argue that I am short of a Leica. But I have yet to find one that plays well with the others.
Yes, you are correct. I had the Meopta 12x50 HD. At the time I made a thread on it and the 10x42/15x56.
In the Binocular turnover turmoil that followed that year I did sell the 12x50HD. I did regret it not too long after and asked the gentleman who bought it if he had any regrets and if so, I would buy it back.
He was very pleased with it so the buy-back offer was declined.
Since I was slowly forming a more concrete opinion on what my set up would be like in the long term I happened on a Meopta sale by a German company so I got the Meopta 12x50HD at a very good price. However, at the same time I was waiting on getting my new Leica 7x42 UVHD+ back from service and I got it back about the same time, but the issue was not sorted so I had a full refund for the Leica and while that was being sorted I happened to look through the Pure NL 12x42 - by mistake - thinking it was the 10x. I was so impressed with the handholding of the 12x Pure NL that I put my refund towards it at the spot. I covered this in another thread.
So, I came home with the Pure NL 12x42 while being at the very tail end of my return period of the Meopta 12x50HD.
It was as a matter of fact the last day to ship if I wanted a refund so I boxed up the Meopta and handed it in the very same day as I came home with the Pure NL. Unfortunately there was no time for a lengthy head to head and two 12x binos was nothing I would like to have at the same time. I was at the time still looking for a Leica 7x42.
Over time I found the Pure NL 12x42 a great bino, though I did miss some aspects of the Meopta. Once I slowly started to peel away the onion and ended up having ”only” the SFL 8x40 and the Pure NL 12x42 I actually felt I was still missing the Meopta 12x50HD and decided to put the Pure NL 12x42 up for sale, since prices had gone up quite a lot I decided that if the 12x42 got sold I would source up the Meopta 12x50HD again, and put the difference/surplus towards a smaller bino.
It eventually got sold but it took some time to find a 12x50HD since there was no vendor I could find that had them in stock. After a few weeks a vendor in Sweden had a special on Meopta and I ordered one on the spot. Turned out they did not have it in stock so I had to wait a few weeks for the next shipment from Meopta to the representative in Sweden.
Now I was in a similar - but reversed - situation: the Pure NL 12x42 was no longer with me and the Meopta 12x50HD was back. In my mind I was not sure if I had made a mistake and I still had a return period on the Meopta. However, it was instant relief when I got the Meopta, perfect focuser on this sample and as superb optics as I remembered.
Even with the great aspects of the Pure NL 12x42 I felt right at home with the Meopta again. It fills a specific role in the dwindling set up of mine and it performs just as well as I can ask for.
If the Pure NL 12x42 and the Meopta 12x50HD were priced the same it would be tougher to choose the Meopta but based on using both in the same viewing conditions I would still favor the Meopta for the adverse light performance.
Optically I think they are more than sufficient, both of them.
Regarding the 15x56HD I am not sure about the color. I did not notice any difference between the 12x50HD and the 15x56HD and since they are the same generation HD they should be very similar.
I looked at other things (performance with glasses, CA, overall handling) and came to a very simple conclusion at the time: If I kept the 10x42HD I would want the 15x56HD too but if I kept the 12x50HD that would be the ”best” step up from whatever 7/8x bino I would settle for.
I could not see any obvious color difference between the 12x50 and the 15x56 and I did view them side by side in fair viewing conditions.
As for the Meopta brochure I will see if I still have it or if I took a snap shot of the brochure before handing it over to the gentleman who bought the first 12x50HD from me. As part of my sales pitch I showed him the brochure with the wording ”our best/finest binocular”.
It was purchased from Germany so it came with a German Meopta Meostar brochure. If I can find it I will follow up with a posting on that!
I have not used the Meopta 12x50HD for stargazing, only looking at the moon. So I have no opinion or comparison on how good or bad it would be for that purpose. The center sharpness and rather gentle fall off seems like it would provide accurate pin sharp stars for a decent part of the field. But, I don’t know.
The Pure NL 12x42 was quite easy to hand hold for me (and I do not claim to be very good at handholding 10X and over binos) without the head rest. Since I was given the head rest with the bino (I was hesitant to buy it, but the vendor then gave it to me free of charge) I found that it does help. It was going from fairly steady without it to very stable with it. To the point that I would live the monopod at home for the most part.
This, to me, is perhaps the single best reason to buy a Pure NL 12x42, aside from the excellent optics it handles as easily as any 10x I have looked through, or better. This sets it apart from many other high power binos.
One can think it strange I decided to go back to the chunky old Meopta. But as Looksharp says: one should have at least one Meopta in the stable.
Now I have one Zeiss, one Meopta and the Swarovski BTX.
Once can argue that I am short of a Leica. But I have yet to find one that plays well with the others.
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looksharp65
Well-known member
I'd love that, but can't prognosticate when it could happen. Working hard on my Big Year (or rather Medium Year) and beside birding, I should also do quite a bit more paddling.Looksharp65: great to hear.
If we are given the opportunity I would like to compare my B1 Plus 12x50HD to your B1.1 12x50HD. I suspect the difference will be undetectable in normal use, but Meopta claim that refinement in the optical polishing/grinding and production line has elevated the optics to ”higher levels” in performance.
It is the original B1 12x50 HD I have, not the B1.1. And I can't see a colour cast difference vs. the B1.1 8x32, but if anything, the 8x32 appears a wee bit brighter despite the larger exit pupil of the 12x. I'm not sure it's the coatings, could be the longer optical path with light absorption in the big prisms.
Or, it could just be illusionary and imagination.
Re the Big Year - I'm approaching 1700 kilometers eco-birding, and so far I got 179 species including the Terek Sandpiper of yesterday. It is obvious that I'll break my record eco-birding year of 184, but my goal is to break my best birding year overall. It may get tough, but it is definitely possible.
//L
tenex
reality-based
I know what you mean and have just modeled it on my SLC. Starting from there, try this: bring the elbows a bit closer together underneath, and also rotate the hands inward so they have full contact with the binocular, all the way to the far end. Really this will happen naturally all together, and the thumbs will also rotate in place (pointing more toward you) and no longer have to support all the weight in one spot, distributing it instead along a line running out from the base of the thumb across the lower part of the palm. This hold balances better and I find it quite stable even at 15x, as long as I haven't been climbing up a mountain.
Seems like good suggestion. Can you please post a pic or two showing your method?
John A Roberts
Well-known member
Hi Arvind (post #75),
In general when hand holding binoculars, as tenex indicated it's preferable to minimise muscular tension by maximising skeletal support.
For some images and discussion see post #74 at: Why are those dang Habicht's so BRIGHT!
(the Nikon image helps to make the main point).
And for a lot more alternatives see post #948 and on at: New Product Introduction Today From Swarovski ?
You need to try out a few different holds to find what works best for you with a particular binocular.
John
In general when hand holding binoculars, as tenex indicated it's preferable to minimise muscular tension by maximising skeletal support.
For some images and discussion see post #74 at: Why are those dang Habicht's so BRIGHT!
(the Nikon image helps to make the main point).
And for a lot more alternatives see post #948 and on at: New Product Introduction Today From Swarovski ?
You need to try out a few different holds to find what works best for you with a particular binocular.
John
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