Meostar B1.1 plus (1 Viewer)

[lmans66]

The Meostar has upped the Meostar to a B1.1 Plus.....

I am assuming it is not much different from the B1.1 as the B2 is still 'off', to arrive some day far down the road.

Anyhow see or hold a B1.1 Plus yet? ...not sure if they are even in stock yet. For the money, I am sold on the Meostar line.

 

[Mark9473]

Better coatings, according to the other thread.
https://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=387471

 

[Xlr8n]

They added the Meolux rifle scope coating to the Plus which should enhance low-light performance and reportedly have tightened specified tolerances. Aside from that, the Plus is the same as B1.1. Doug at Cameraland reported he started shipping some Pluses out a week or two ago.

The B2's were to come out soon but got delayed by Covid. They should now come out in 2021 and are going to be all-new and are intended to compete with the best glass on the market, according to Meopta.

MeoPro Air are an out-sourced product like MeoPro's and are to have B1 quality glass, but at a cheaper price-point.

 

[eitanaltman]

The only changes are (1) new armor, (2) upgrade of prism coatings from MeoBright to MeoLux coatings, (3) upgrade of hydrophobic coatings from MeoShield to MeoDrop.

So in short, it's taking the existing Meostar line (which has been out for what, 15+ years?) and updating it with Meopta's most advanced coatings, plus a new look to the exterior aesthetics.

According to Henry in the other thread, "the improvement in light transmission from changing to MeoLux should be about +2% at 550 nm, +3% at 650 nm and +4-5% at 450 nm for a complex binocular".

The current Meostars (B1 and B1.1) trail behind the alphas in transmission at the extremes, they have excellent peak transmission in the green / yellow / orange zone but fall off hard on the blue end and a bit less so on the red end, which is why they have a bit of a yellow cast and don't have quite the brightness/sparkle, whiteness rendering or "color purity" of the alphas.

Based on this info, and the measurements we've seen from Holger (and Allbinos), in theory this would put the transmission spectra of the B1.1 Plus pretty close to that of the 8x32 UVHD Plus.

This makes me VERY interested, as I really do like the 32mm Meostars and my only real nitpick optically is the transmission.

 

[jaymann]

I saw one at eurooptics in 8x56. Other than armor , nothing has changed

 

[kestrel1]

Looks Meopta may offer colored armor. The one on picture looks really nice:
https://www.facebook.com/meoptahunting/photos/a.1770417736526227/2853183784916278/?type=3&theater

 

[John A Roberts]

The post is captioned:
‘Colored MeoStar B1 Plus available soon in sandy yellow, brown, orange and pink’


John


There's only the photo of the chocolate brown version - it looks yummy!

 

[pbjosh]

Pink should be popular with the flamingo hunters!

Sorry for the easy joke. I actually like it when there are different color options. Pink might not be my choice, orange or sandy yellow might be nice. I wouldn't want my main 8x42 to be brightly colored, but a bin that I use on boats, beaches, and in parks - why not?

 

[dries1]

I am a bit surprised about the color choice, but nowadays, nothing should surprise me.

Andy W.

 

[Canip]

:t:

 

[Gijs van Ginkel]

eitanaltman, post 4,
The transmission spectra we have measured from the Meostar B1 8x32 almost coincide with the one from the Leica Ultravid HD 8x32-plus and they do not show a strong decline in the blue or red and they certainly do not have a yellow cast. You can find the test report on the WEB-site of House of Outdoor under "verrekijkers testen en vergelijken".
Gijs van Ginkel

 

[eitanaltman]

eitanaltman, post 4,
The transmission spectra we have measured from the Meostar B1 8x32 almost coincide with the one from the Leica Ultravid HD 8x32-plus and they do not show a strong decline in the blue or red and they certainly do not have a yellow cast. You can find the test report on the WEB-site of House of Outdoor under "verrekijkers testen en vergelijken".
Gijs van Ginkel

I know you've told me this before when I've made similar comments in the past, but I have both a Leica Ultravid HD 8x32 and a Cabela's EuroHD 8x32 and my eyeballs + brain tell me they have a different color cast. I can plainly see the difference in color cast with my own eyes (and my vision and color acuity are excellent).

That said, I don't think there's necessarily a contradiction between my observations and your data. Let's review....

My EuroHD appears to have a 2013 manufacture date, so it's possible it hews closer to the measurements you display of the 2011 version. And my Leica is HD, not "plus". So your inferences about more current models is not necessarily applicable to what I'm seeing.

Furthermore, especially if my pair is like the 2011 version, I believe your data supports my statement that it "trail behind the alphas in transmission at the extremes, they have excellent peak transmission in the green / yellow / orange zone but fall off hard on the blue end and a bit less so on the red end". I've attached a screenshot of your own data on the two Meostar 8x32 you measured, with a flat line at 90% for reference.

It is quite plainly NOT a flat transmission graph. Assuming my 2013 model is similar to the 2011 data, your own data show:

- It peaks at ~90% in the ~600-625nm range
- It appears to be >88% (within 2% of peak) from ~550nm to ~650nm
- By the right bound of the graph (~675nm), which is deep red, it is down ~5% from peak
- Transmission is <85% by 500nm (blue-green zone)
- The fall-off is steeper below ~475nm, dropping well below 80% transmission by the left bound ~450nm

Referencing your paper on color vision (screenshot also attached), 550-570nm is yellow-green, 570-590nm is yellow, and 590-630nm is orange. So I think my assertion that it has "excellent peak transmission in the green / yellow / orange zone" is accurate.

It's down ~5% from peak by 675nm and is dropping at an increased rate, so I think my assertion that it "falls off a bit on the extreme red end" is accurate.

It's down >10% and falling even more steeply below 475nm, so I also think my assertion that it "falls off hard at the extreme blue end" is accurate.

Fast forward to the 2016 version, and there is a nice bump in transmission across the spectrum, but again your own data show that it still is a tilted curve that is down >10% from peak in the blue zone. The transmission at the extreme red end appears to have improved quite a bit, but not at all at the blue end, so I would expect the newer model to be more "true warm" (red) vs the more yellowed "warm" of the older model (which I presumably have).

So to sum: the Meostar 8x32 peaks in the orange zone, falls off a bit on the deep red end, and falls off quite a lot on the deep blue end. Your data support this. If you remove blue, you will get a slight greening/yellowing of the color cast.

Your data also shows that the the UV 8x32 does not fall off as much at the blue end and is slightly flatter overall, so it should indeed have slightly better whiteness rendering than even the 2016 Meostar.

I've attached a couple of examples of truly flat, neutral binoculars that you have measured and I own (or have owned recently). The Kowa Genesis and BDII (which both use the same C3 coatings) to me are exceptionally neutral, nearly perfect in fact, and your data shows an almost ruler-flat transmission (+/- 2% or so) across almost the entire visible spectrum, with fall-off only in the very deep red (>650nm). The Swaro 8x30 CL is another example that is close to perfectly flat across the spectrum on your transmission data, and I also find them to be nearly perfectly neutral.

 

[Gijs van Ginkel]

Eitan, post 12,
My compliments for your homework, it is a pleasure to see all or data coming back. Unfortunately I missed the spectra of the Meopta and the Leica in one graph and they were published. They differ so little and not only that: I can not detect a yellow cast for both binoculars and, if so, they should have them both. But I did not only look at the transmission graphs, but I also used the binoculars looking at a bright white surface and in that case I do not see a yellow-green cast.
Gijs van Ginkel

 

[John A Roberts]

Latest B1 Transmission Data - per Meopta

A new 2 page 1.7 MB brochure for the B1 Plus can be found at: https://www.sportoptics.com/meopta-meostar-b1-plus-10x42-binoculars-467783.aspx

It states that while the maximum transmission:
- is 99.7% per lens
- overall it is 88% for the various B1 Plus models

So the latter is the same as for the 2018 pre-B1.1 models - though the shape of the B1 Plus transmission curve may have been refined


John

 

[eitanaltman]

Well that is saying MeoBright, not MeoLux, so if that’s the case then I wouldn’t expect any major bump in transmission :/

 

[lmans66]

I think the real deal in terms of change will be the B2 Series, if and when that starts to roll out down the road. My take on the B1 Plus is just a way to slowly raise prices and consolidate the line-up. When the B2 comes out, the price and quality might be more in line with today's Alphas'.

 

[dries1]

The the coatings on Meostar B1 were upgraded in 2015 or so I believe, they likely added added a couple % light transmission. I own Meostar B1 models from 2012 - 7/8X42, previously owned a 2015, and currently own a 8X42 from 2018.

Andy W.

 

[kestrel1]

Just FYI,
The Czech eshop now shows the coloured renders and it is possible to order them.
https://eshop.meopta.cz/dalekohledy-meostar-b1-plus/

 

[Ries]

Hmm, brown one looks quite good.

I noticed the eye relief on the 8x32 B1 Plus is 16mm vs 15.5mm on the B1.1... Might this also mean an eyecup redesign? I have a slight illusion they look larger on the pictures? Would be nice...the B1s' were too small for my face...

 

[John A Roberts]

Per Kestrel1's link, images of the 4 new colour options, along with the standard green . . .