Great Review Meopta 82mm HD Spotter

[Rent Outdoor Gear]

Hey guys,

Just posted a really well done, thorough and honest review of Meopta's flag-ship 82mm HD Spotting Scope by Matt Cashell. Check it out - you might want to keep an eye on this company. They're building excellent high end optics at prices that warrant your consideration!

http://www.rokslide.com/2012-01-09-05-09-42/optics/245-meopta-s2-hd-82mm-spotter-review

Coop

 

[mtnkid85]

Looks really impressive. Had my heart set on the Swaro 20-60x80 HD ATS, but now I think I need to take a look at this Meopta offering.

Thanks for the review!

 

[Matt Cashell]

Looks really impressive. Had my heart set on the Swaro 20-60x80 HD ATS, but now I think I need to take a look at this Meopta offering.

Thanks for the review!

Your welcome mtnkid85. The WA eyepiece separates the Meopta from the HD ATS. I would take the Meopta first between those two.

It seems that higher magnification wide angle eyepieces are the way the industry is heading. Kowa has announced their own 25-60x WA zoom for their 88mm spotter. Swarovski's new ATX line also has an eyepiece that gives 25-60 WA on the 65mm and 85mm objectives and an incredible 30-70 wide angle on the 95mm. I am working on getting the new ATX for evaluation.

The really neat part of the Meopta is they also offer a 20-70 eyepiece if you want more magnification. Plus, the Meopta eyepieces are significantly less expensive than the Swaros. For $100 more than the Swaro 25-50 WA eyepiece, you could have both Meopta eyepieces.

 

[WyoBowhunter21]

Great review!!! I was stuck on a Nikon but I think I am going to check it out.

 

[mtnkid85]

Yep, that 60xWA really has me interested. Ive read others rave about Swaros WA eyepieces, but I just dont think Im willing to give up the magnification on the high end. So the 30-60x WA is really appealing.
It looks like the Swaro is ~2oz lighter still, which is one of the main reasons I was drawn to them in the first place. However Ive kinda decided Im going to go all out on this spotter in terms of optics and let the weight come second for once. (Hence my interest in the ~80mm spotters)
And again, yes the chance for the 20-70x eye piece is interesting as well.

As for the new ATX spotters... I just cant see my self spending the money. I started out looking at the $1500 range with the Razor, then said well Ill bump up to the $2000 range to see where that gets me, then I convenced my self that I could spend a few more dollars to get that 80mm ATS. NOW Im really pleased to see this Meopta back down around the $2000 mark. lol Its never ending.

 

[AGPank]

Great review, I'm very interested in this spotter. I'm in the market for a scope and looking at the Vortex Razor HD 20-60x85, this Meopta, or trying to find a used Diascope, or ATM 80HD.

I saw another good review here:
http://www.irelandswildlife.com/2012/11/meopta-meostar-s2-82-hd-spotting-scope/

 

[Matt Cashell]

AGPank,

That is a great list of spotters. The Razor HD is a fine scope I have used extensively, and it offers a ton of value.

The Meopta is really impressive with both great magnification and super wide fields of view. I have not seen a scope with better resolution or color saturation and contrast (Still waiting to see the Swaro ATX though )

The Diascope offers a huge range of magnification, and great low-light performance.

The ATM 80 HD is lightest of the bunch, and still optically excellent, but you have to choose either a wide angle eyepiece, or a standard 20-60.

Everybody's eyes are different, but it is hard to go wrong with any on your list.

 

[AGPank]

AGPank,

That is a great list of spotters. The Razor HD is a fine scope I have used extensively, and it offers a ton of value.

The Meopta is really impressive with both great magnification and super wide fields of view. I have not seen a scope with better resolution or color saturation and contrast (Still waiting to see the Swaro ATX though )

The Diascope offers a huge range of magnification, and great low-light performance.

The ATM 80 HD is lightest of the bunch, and still optically excellent, but you have to choose either a wide angle eyepiece, or a standard 20-60.

Everybody's eyes are different, but it is hard to go wrong with any on your list.

Thanks for the feedback. I'm new to the forum and have read lots of articles from the users here and on many birding forums too. I really appreciate all the information found. I'm down in Fort Lauderdale and there's not much for selection to go view different products.

The Swaro ATX is way out of my budget. My only holdup on the Razor HD is that I had the Viper HD 65mm and it didn't have the clarity at the higher powers that I was expecting. Now I'm a little hesitant on their lineup. I had been using Viper HD binoculars and then upgraded to Swaro SLC HD 8x42 and found a pair of SLC new 10x42's. They were noticeably sharper to me which made see the extra money was worth it. Now I'm just trying to decide how much $ I'm willing to part with.

I'm kicking myself because I've missed out on a few great closeout deals before Christmas.

 

[Matt Cashell]

Well welcome to the forum, AGPank!

The Razor HD spotter is a completely different design than the Viper HD spotter.

The Razor 85 HD I have used had excellent resolution. I was able to resolve tiny less-than-an-inch kickers on a buck at 1100 yards in low light conditions with it. The atmosphere was extremely stable in those viewing conditions though.

You can see the deer in this article:

http://www.rokslide.com/2012-01-09-05-09-42/optics/209-what-we-look-for

I would expect Fort Lauderdale probably has a lot of mirage situations, which will affect the quality of a high magnification image. I felt the Meopta did a better job of dealing with mirage than the Zeiss did. I am guessing that this has to do with depth of field performance.

I would love to hear how your search turns out.