$1000 Bino Comparison

[Tahoe1305]

I’m interested in your 10x42. Too new to PM you.


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I PM’d you.

 

[excaliber]

Good review. I also came up with the same results and bought the Conquest 10x 42 HD's. No binocular in that price range had the clarity and resolution and natural light gather capability in that glass so it was a no brainer to me. The Cabelas (Meopta HD) was closest of all the bino I tested but I could not stand the ergonomics.

 

[gjs4]

Sig Saurer Zulu 7s won that same comparison for me


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[Tahoe1305]

Ok, so straying a tad bit from a $1000 comparison, but I conducted another resolution test today at 130yds and tested edge to edge clarity with a few other Binos, a spotter, and the 18x UHDs.

The test was to look at the same resolution chart at 130 yds, note the clarity level at the center of FOV then move the target to the very top of the FOV for all binos/spotters and record what level can be seen there.

Attached are the results. (c) is for center and (t) is for top. What I tested is all I have on hand still. I plan to echo this post in my Maven/UHD 18x comparison thread as well. I have done 4 different test now with most of these binos and am getting very similar results as far as which ones best others (+/- 1 level of resolution) in various lighting conditions, so I would say my results are fairly consistent.

Summarized findings:

-All binos had a loss of clarity on the edges (shouldn't surprise anyone)
-My Razor 65mm spotter at the 16x setting had zero loss (I was surprised here)
-Maven B1 8x30 lost 4 levels
-Nikon 10x42 HG lost 5 levels
-Razor 10x42 lost 7 levels
-Viper 12x50 lost 10 levels
-Meostar 12x50 HD lost 4 levels
-Razor UHD 18x56 lost 3 levels
-Razor 65mm @16x same
-Razor 65mm @48x lost 2 levels

In general I was surprised the spotter had less loss compared to the field of binos. Also to note, now that I have comparable glass in the 8x, 10x, 12x, and 18x categories (at least IMO) I can comfortably say that magnification compared to resolution is roughly the following (at 130 yds anyway):

-8x baseline
-10x gains 3 levels
-12x gains 5 levels
-18x gains 7 levels

Again, hope this helps someone out there deciding on various levels of glass and magnification.

 

[Tahoe1305]

I'd really be curious as to how much better the 12x50 Razor is compared to the 12x50 Viper? It will be interseting to see where the 12x50 Meopta lands as well.

Re-attacking a few comments reading back through this.

I ended up with a pair of 12x50 Meostars (HD). Agree with sunset that the razors and meostars are better than the vipers. I haven’t compared the 12x razors to the 12x Meostars, but I’m a big fan of the meostars and think they are superior (not by a lot) to the 10x razors and I suspect the 12x as well. This comes at a cost of size, weight (1/2#), and $$ though. Not sure all above justifies. But I am happy with my Meostars for the time being. For the record I bought the meostars just because I got a great deal. I will eventually get the 12x razors to compare.

 

[Tahoe1305]

Thanks for the review. This is my price point currently, as I'm looking to pair a 12x bino with my Maven B3 8x30. Any thoughts on the Meostar B1 12x50 vs the Razor 12x50?

Replying to this directly but will echo what should be right above this post.

the 12x meostars are great. I ended up with them. Can’t comment on direct comparison to 12x razors but suspect these to be better by a small margin. Happy to field any questions on them.

 

[Tahoe1305]

Of the binoculars you posted my vote is the Monarch HG. Perhaps it got rated a little harshly on resolution?

It does not surprise me that you said it was the best all arounder.

My only problem with it is that Nikon doesn’t make a 12-15 power option to match.

I concur with your harshly statement. In three additional test I conducted at various times and distances the Nikon tied or bested all. It was solid.

 

[kong]

Howzit braddah Tahoe. I am on Oahu as well and have Swarvo 10x42 SLC's if you wanna add that to your test let me know. They are not brand new, but one hunt new, and still decent glass.

 

[Tahoe1305]

Thanks for the offer! I actually have sent almost all those binos back or sold them. I moved off the island a few weeks back as well.

Would have been cool to compare those too though. Thanks again.

 

[trdonahue7]

Good day all.

This is my first attempt to provide a fairly comprehensive review on some binos that I have been considering for purchase. So be easy on me. My intent is to help some folks who may be in my situation, not to attempt to be a Bino expert. I live in Hawaii and have been climbing mountains out here chasing various game, so my initial goal was to up my glass quality (from Viper HD) while shaving some weight.

Let me start by saying this won't be as technical as other reviews you read (CA, coating, etc). I made some tests that in my mind created situations that would help me distinguish the performance of these binos and relate to how I could use them in the field. No fancy equipment here.

The binos I got my hands for my initial test were: Vortex Razor HD 10x42, Zeiss Conquest HD 10x42, Leupold BX-5 10x42, Meopta Meostar 10x42, Meopta Meopro 10x42, Nikon HG 10x42, Maven B2 9x45, Maven B3 8x30. After the fact I ended up with a pair of Vortex Razor UHD 12x50s, and then snagged some GPO 12.5x50's as well, acknowledging these aren't apple to apple comparisons and both a few hundred more than those listed. I know everyone will likely say I left a few off (SLCs, higher end Zeiss, others...etc). Price point is my justification, I have no doubt like everyone else I would love SLCs and some day I am sure I will have some.

I wanted to test resolution, edge to edge clarity, FOV, depth of field, low light performance, and ergonomics. I subjectively graded these categories with two other buddies, off my back balcony.

The tests we conducted included looking at two homemade resolution charts (picts below) at 40 yds and 100 yds. Various signage from distances ranging from 800-1500yds, and various other objects at similar distances (picts below). This allowed us to come up with a fairly good understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of each set.

We then provided a 1-10 score (10 best) and a relative score for each of the binos. I assigned values for all of the subjective criteria and then used weight, warranty, and price as objective criteria and again scored using the same scale. I know some may have issue with the warranty criteria, but its really just my opinion so take it for what its worth (a bit subjective I guess).

Below I have a few pictures of the various tests and a spreadsheet of my results.

A few quick observations, then I will leave the rest up to questions anyone may have.

-The Conquest HD's were the best optically. A bit surprised because everyone swears by the Nikon HG and Meostars at this price point. The only hit on them were they are a bit heavy, and the focus wheel isn't very consistent (stiff..then loose, etc).
-I was really excited about the BX-5's, but when they came in 4oz heavier than spec and weren't on par with a few of the others, ended up disappointed. May have just been a bad set I had.
-The Mavens were sweet. The B3's obviously a bit of unfair comparison, but to be honest they really held there own. I actually bought a pair during the testing (these were demos). For the ultralight hunting I do up here, they are perfect. The B2's glass was good, but they were too big for this mission.
-I really liked the Nikon HGs. Everything was good, maybe even best all around. But the warranty worries me (I am hard on my stuff and like no questions asked warranties) and I can't get as good of a price on them.
-Razor HDs ended up scoring the best. This is due to warranty, price, and a solid weight. Not sure if I want to sacrifice the optical performance though. I would also call these maybe best value.
-If someone said I only have $450 to spend.....I was a really big fan optically of the meopros (not to be confused with meostars). They didn't have all the stats as the $1000 pairs, but they looked good for that price. Again not perfect apples to apples, but they were in there too.
-Everyone favorite Meostars were good. But I liked the Zeiss better optically and they are pretty heavy so for my mission fell a bit in scoring.
-Yes most of these were all better than my 12x50 Viper HDs (currently own). But they did way better than I thought, almost to the point that I may keep them too.

Lastly, I will comment quickly on the higher end 12x50's I got after we tested all these. The UHD 12x50's were awesome. I was really excited when I looked through them. I can easily say as good as anything on the chart in all aspects. That said they are heavy and a bit bigger (compares closely to B2s). Also they came with an awesome harness, which is easily $100 value. I also looked at some 12.5x50 GPO Passion HDs. The glass on these were also good and I would say compared well with the Zeiss. That said to my eyes, I liked the UHDs better. These two ended up in my hands to what I would describe as mission creep. I lost a bit of focus on my initial goal of shaving weight...thinking I could gain some zoom to offset it. But to be honest, I could read the same details at the same distance with the Zeiss and a few others as I could with the 12x50s...they were just a bit bigger and probably not worth the weight in my book.

Thanks for reading, hope it helps a few other folks. Feel free to send me any questions you may have. I am happy to go into more details on the tests, explanations of our scoring, or just other opinions if needed.



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Thank youfor the awesome review!

 

[Fins_N_Tines]

@Tahoe1305 Have you tested the Leupold BX-5 12x50's? Curious how the stack up to Razors.

 

[Tahoe1305]

@Tahoe1305 Have you tested the Leupold BX-5 12x50's? Curious how the stack up to Razors.

I have not tested the BX-5 12x50s. I wasn’t impressed with the 10xs not sure I personally would give them a shot. Like I said in the review I may have had a bad sample. I didn’t like they were well
Over advertised weight either.

The Meostar 12x are tough to beat IMO.

 

[Tahoe1305]

FWIW I did just pick up another pair of EL 12x I “may” have my nearly new meostars for sale here soon.

 

[Fins_N_Tines]

FWIW I did just pick up another pair of EL 12x I “may” have my nearly new meostars for sale here soon.

Ok great to know. I probably would lean towards the Meostar 12s than. Let me now if yours become available. also let me know real world difference between EL 12s and Meostar 12s.

 

[Tahoe1305]

I’m going to try and do a fairly in depth review of the ELs and Meostars (wish I had some 12x razors and UHD razor 12s too to compare). I’ve already spent a bit of time comparing and I can tell you biggest difference is edge to edge clarity. It’s about 10-20% better with the ELs. Other elements were really close. This will be a new EL pair than the new pair I got a few months back so also curious of the performance from sample to sample.

 

[macmo]

Thanks so much for putting this info out there. Was just about to purchase some BX-5's and this steered me away and towards the Zeiss, I appreciate it!

 

[Tahoe1305]

Thanks so much for putting this info out there. Was just about to purchase some BX-5's and this steered me away and towards the Zeiss, I appreciate it!

NP. Just one persons opinions but I’m sure you’ll be happy with the Zeiss.

 

[wentright]

I pick up a pair of Leica trinovid 10x42 factory demo from camera land ny last year and really like them.

 

[gjs4]

Have zulu7s and am super impressed


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