New for 2020 Meopta Meopro Air Binoculars (1 Viewer)

[HenRun]

Anxious to see these in person. Wonder how close they are to the Meostar HD optically?

Color scheme looks good, not a big fan of the rubber "ornaments" but it feels very good in the hand for me.
Optically they are very good but the difference between the Meostar and the MeoPro Air was obvious, the Meostar being much better. Brighter image with more clarity and easier to snap into focus.

I know I came across as disappointed in the comparison thread but the MeoPro Air are good, it is perhaps a bit of wishful thinking to except the same level of performance from a lesser priced binocular from the very same brand. A brand that already delivers and punches above the price level.

The MeoPro Air does perform well within their price bracket and has relatively speaking very few weaknesses, it is just that I didn't connect with them and there are others in this price bracket that are similar - but not necessarily better.

 

[Upland]

I like a lot of what I’ve been hearing about the Airs but eyecups that stay firmly in place and a smooth easy to turn focuser are essential for me. Wasn’t planning to buy the 42 mm because of the weight so perhaps if they come out with a 32 mm model those details will be worked out. Would love to have a pair of the B plus in the 32 mm but the tiny eyecups don’t work for me.

 

[HenRun]

Upland: the B1 Plus 8x32 in Europe seem to be plagued with focus wheel issues. I have ordered three with a good spread in serial numbers from three different vendors in Europe and all three broke down completely within five minutes and became useless. That is too much to be a coincidence.
I started a thread on them as a caution to potential buyers.

None of the 42/56mm series I have tried have had any issues and work as intended.


I am about to order up a pair of B1.1's since they are dropping in price slightly.
I haven't seen any bad reviews when it comes to the build quality on the B1.1.

 

[lmans66]

Upland: the B1 Plus 8x32 in Europe seem to be plagued with focus wheel issues. I have ordered three with a good spread in serial numbers from three different vendors in Europe and all three broke down completely within five minutes and became useless. That is too much to be a coincidence.
I started a thread on them as a caution to potential buyers.

None of the 42/56mm series I have tried have had any issues and work as intended.


I am about to order up a pair of B1.1's since they are dropping in price slightly.
I haven't seen any bad reviews when it comes to the build quality on the B1.1.

You will find the B1.1's are excellent. But....look around and you will find some with smoother focus wheels than others. I know I returned one that was choppy in the rotation and found another that worked out perfectly.

 

[HenRun]

Thank you for the reply. Will definitely do that, it is something I will notice straight away.

 

[Upland]

Amazing that some of the cheaper binos have great focusers these days but several of the more expensive don’t. Can’t be rocket science.

 

[lmans66]

As the binocular ages, some of the focus's that are a bit rough, will loosen up and 'age to perfection' while many if not most of the cheaper bins will have a nice focus wheel out of the box but will lose their memory as they age. (IE, become loose, too much play etc).... I guess this is just life!

 

[Upland]

Not my experience at all. Focusers that have started out crappy have got worse with age. Good ones have maintained. I guess that’s one way a alpha maker can justify shoddy engineering though.

 

[Paullawt]

Non locking diopters aren’t usually a big deal but this one is ON the focus knob. I emailed Meopta for clarification. Never saw one on the focus knob that did not lock. Hopefully the info on the other forum was wrong. Will post Meoptas response.

Iv'e had mine for weeks and have never at all moved the diopter by accident. If I did, it would take all of two seconds to put it back to where it was. No reason to pay for a feature that simply is not needed.

 

[Upland]

According to the other posters it does have clicks which is a type of lock. That would explain why it doesn’t come out of place. If it only worked on non locking friction it would need to be very snug and that would make getting a good adjustment very difficult as the focus wheel needs to remain in place while moving the diopter. Saw the same setup on a MeoStar this past week and it does indeed lock in place with clicks.

Iv'e had mine for weeks and have never at all moved the diopter by accident. If I did, it would take all of two seconds to put it back to where it was. No reason to pay for a feature that simply is not needed.