Alpha glass ?

[khuber84]

Talked with Doug today and I think I will go with the Meopta. There on sale for $869 and come with full warranty. I also have been looking at gpo or German precision optics. Any body have experience with this company?

I have the passion 10x42. They are a good set of binos. I'm no optics offciando but they're on par with a pair of zeiss conquest HD binos I have. I think your choice of meopro will be better. However they are a fair bit heavier. But you'll not be disappointed in either choice. Stick to the meopta unless ounces is important to you.

 

[Newtosavage]

Talked with Doug today and I think I will go with the Meopta. There on sale for $869 and come with full warranty. I also have been looking at gpo or German precision optics. Any body have experience with this company?

I've tried them all, and if you don't end up with the Meopta, get the Conquest HD's and be done with it. I've owned two pairs of Swaro SLC HD's and sold them both. I know that's heresy on this forum, but nobody else owns my eyeballs but me, and I just didn't get on with them like I have the Meoptas, Conquest HD's or a few others. YMMV because you are the only one with your eyeballs. Optics are an area where you can get analysis paralysis. Don't overthink it. There are a lot of very happy Meopta customers out there, for a reason.

 

[Brian Fahs]

Talked with Doug today and I think I will go with the Meopta. There on sale for $869 and come with full warranty. I also have been looking at gpo or German precision optics. Any body have experience with this company?

You will really like the meoptas. I picked up a set on here to compare to my el swarovisions. They are fantastic but not quite as good as the el swarovision. I did not keep them because I could not justify owning the els and keeping them in the safe. That being said if my budget was 1k or less the meopta's would be my number one choice. I owned the slc hds and feel the meopta's are on par with them for about 2/3 the price.

 

[Newtosavage]

I owned the slc hds and feel the meopta's are on par with them for about 2/3 the price.

I can't disagree with that.

The SLC's appear brighter because they have a cooler color balance. The Meoptas intentionally have a warmer color balance - designed to increase contrast on earth tones (game animals). The warmer color balance is definitely easier on my eyes.

 

[Eastern Elk Pursuit]

I love reading threads like this. It shows you that everyone has different preferences, and no one is right or wrong. It all depends on what looks best to you. It also reaffirms that before you place your hard earned money down on your glass you really need to look through as many different pairs as you can.

 

[Newtosavage]

I love reading threads like this. It shows you that everyone has different preferences, and no one is right or wrong. It all depends on what looks best to you. It also reaffirms that before you place your hard earned money down on your glass you really need to look through as many different pairs as you can.

Exactly.

 

[Whitetail74]

Some of the above are very good offerings. For me tho I knew if I didn’t buy the swaros I would always want them. Picked up some slc hd 10x42 last year. Definitely worth it in my Opinion.

 

[longbarrel]

Meostar is the top tier Meopta, very good optically but do tend to be heavier than some alpha brands.

 

[Ledd Slinger]

Meostar is the top tier Meopta, very good optically but do tend to be heavier than some alpha brands.

Yeah that's why I opted for the 10x32 over the 10x42 back when I had the Meostar. The 42's are compact, but heavier than most any other brand. The 32's dont give up anything to the 42's except for a slight disadvantage in low light, but are much more compact and lightweight.

 

[longbarrel]

I understand. My 1993 10x42 Leicas weighed 32 oz. like the current Meostars. With the newest technology, Leica and others have pared off almost 1/2 pound.

 

[Newtosavage]

I understand. My 1993 10x42 Leicas weighed 32 oz. like the current Meostars. With the newest technology, Leica and others have pared off almost 1/2 pound.

Yea, but I can pound tent stakes a lot more quickly with my Meoptas than I could with Leicas.

I have no idea why the Meoptas are so much heavier, but I do like the view.

 

[Ledd Slinger]

I understand. My 1993 10x42 Leicas weighed 32 oz. like the current Meostars. With the newest technology, Leica and others have pared off almost 1/2 pound.

Not exactly. My new flagship Leica Noctivid 10x42 are pretty heavy and still weigh in at 30.3 oz. The difference is that they have balanced the weight on the binocular in the hand to the rear so well that it "feels" over 1/2 lb lighter while glassing.

 

[saddlereaper]

Talked with Doug today and I think I will go with the Meopta. There on sale for $869 and come with full warranty. I also have been looking at gpo or German precision optics. Any body have experience with this company?

I have a NIB pair of MeoStar B1.1 10x42 HDs I'm pondering selling. The B1.1's have a locking diopter vs the B1's don't. I bought them a month ago (and registered which is fully transferable), but I didn't really need to since I have 3 other pairs. ...I'm thinking about freeing up some play money to build a muzzleloader so these might be on the chopping block,
Did you purchase or decide on something yet?

 

[Rooftop]

I have a NIB pair of MeoStar B1.1 10x42 HDs I'm pondering selling. The B1.1's have a locking diopter vs the B1's don't. I bought them a month ago (and registered which is fully transferable), but I didn't really need to since I have 3 other pairs. ...I'm thinking about freeing up some play money to build a muzzleloader so these might be on the chopping block,
Did you purchase or decide on something yet?

I haven’t purchased anything yet. I know the Meopta’s will be a great binocular but then I will still wonder what the Swarovski would be like. Decisions

 

[longbarrel]

My Leica 10x42 ultravids weigh 24.5 oz with leather wrapping. The rubber "armored" ultravids are 26-5-27 oz. Noctovids are heavier, as are the similarly engineered Swarovski EL's.

 

[Ledd Slinger]

I haven’t purchased anything yet. I know the Meopta’s will be a great binocular but then I will still wonder what the Swarovski would be like. Decisions

Get to a Cabelas/Bass Pro, or some other big sporting goods store and start comparing optics. Most big stores will carry Swarovski.

To my eyes, I dont feel Swarovski delivers the color contrast "I personally prefer" for locating animals on a mountainside or plains. Makes a big difference locating partially hidden animals when you can have the slightest difference in shades of browns and greys clearly stand out from each other.
Leica and Meopta do a much better job with color contrast for "my eyes".

 

[timberbuck]

.....

What is your point? How many of the models mentioned have you owned and compared against each other?

I have in my possession a current SLC, Meostar HD and Leica Ultravid hd plus 10x50. Have owned Zeiss HT and Swarovision in the past and compared to the SLC.

The Meopta HD is NOT the equal of the SLC-sorry.

I prefer non field flattening views like the SLC .Zeiss HT and Leica ultravid HD plus, your eyes may differ.

One particular aspect where the SLC beats the pants off the Swarovision is depth of field.

The Meopta HD is not nearly as bright as the SLC, is heavier and has a smaller sweet spot.

 

[Ledd Slinger]

What is your point? How many of the models mentioned have you owned and compared against each other?

I have in my possession a current SLC, Meostar HD and Leica Ultravid hd plus 10x50. Have owned Zeiss HT and Swarovision in the past and compared to the SLC.

The Meopta HD is NOT the equal of the SLC-sorry.

I prefer non field flattening views like the SLC .Zeiss HT and Leica ultravid HD plus, your eyes may differ.

One particular aspect where the SLC beats the pants off the Swarovision is depth of field.

The Meopta HD is not nearly as bright as the SLC, is heavier and has a smaller sweet spot.

Keep your shirt on bud. Just messing with you. You are the first person I have ever heard make such lofty claims about the SLC, but you are entitled to your own opinion and whatever your eyes prefer. Myself and the rest of the world just happen to disagree with your statements. No big deal. Let's move on.

 

[manitou1]

Yeah, those damned heavy Meoptas weigh a whole 2 oz more than the SLC. Back breaker!

 

[saddlereaper]

I haven’t purchased anything yet. I know the Meopta’s will be a great binocular but then I will still wonder what the Swarovski would be like. Decisions

Totally understand! I'm probably gonna list them in classifieds. So on top of the 10x42s I also purchased MeoStar 15x56s which I'll be keeping as they've been great for binoskoping off a tripod. To make matters worse, after reading this thread I got to researching.... and now I'm eyeing Leica Ultravid HD+ in 7x42 for my eastern bowhunting go-to, but man...$$$$