New 12x Binos, Another "Which Would You Buy" Thread

[MedServ60Driver]

Greetings all, I've been a lurker for a few years, and have learned a lot.

For this year's big gear upgrade, I am looking to purchase a good pair of 12x binos for glassing elk and mule deer on the western slopes of CO (near Meeker). I have about $1000 +/- $100 to spend, and through various sales and discounts I'm eying the following options:

- Leupold BX-5 Santiam HD 12x50
- Meopta Meostar B1.1 12x50
- Maven B2 11x45
- Maven B4 12x56
- Vortex Razor UHD 12x50

I may or may not get the opportunity to try these before buying, which is why I've started this thread and am interested in gleaning from the collective knowledge of these boards. As such I would like to know:

- Which would you choose and why?
- What factors weigh in on your decision?
- Are there any other options I should consider?

I am currently leaning towards the Leupold BX-5 Santiams. They have the largest exit pupil, and seem to be a good balance between size, weight, FOV, etc. With that said, I know that Meostars and Maven B series are well thought of here.

Any info is greatly appreciated.

 

[Brian Fahs]

At that price point meopta meostar.

 

[mlgc20]

I just went through a similar exercise. Mine was a little different in that I was looking for a set of 10x50s and a set of 15x56s. I considered all the ones you mentioned plus the Leica Trinovids and Zeiss Conquests. IMO, you would be happy with any of them. Optically, they are all very similar. The differences are really splitting hairs. For me, I ended up going with the Leupold BX-5 Santiam’s for both the 10x50 and 15x56. Ultimately, it came down to ergonomics. I just like the fit and finish of the BX-5 the best. The rubber armor just felt great in my hands, versus a more “plastic” feel of some of the other brands. I don’t think you can go wrong with any of the ones you mentioned.

 

[Smokey12]

I just bought the meopta 12x50 and I think they are pretty much spot on to my 10x42 slc neu. I'm no optics expert though.

 

[TSimons9]

Consider the GPO Passion HD 12.5x50.

 

[Tahoe1305]

I own the 12x meostars.

I also had the 12.5x GPO and 12x UHD. I personally liked the UHD better than GPO.

I sold the UHD prior to getting my meostars but I sure wish I could have compared them. I recall them being slightly better.

I also compared my meostars to 12x ELs for a few days. The center resolution was close to same. ELs were better on the edges though.

I bet the UHDs would fall between the two to my eyes.

Meostars are a great value and you won’t hear anyone complain about them. I didn’t like the 10x sets because they were a lot bigger than other 10x. I don’t feel in the 12x they are “as much” bigger.

I did a review last year that discussed a bit more detail on above statements.

$1000 Bino Comparison

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...

www.rokslide.com

 

[SLM]

Meopta 12’s are great glass if you can get past the edge clarity

 

[TSimons9]

I own the 12x meostars.

I also had the 12.5x GPO and 12x UHD. I personally liked the UHD better than GPO.

I sold the UHD prior to getting my meostars but I sure wish I could have compared them. I recall them being slightly better.

I also compared my meostars to 12x ELs for a few days. The center resolution was close to same. ELs were better on the edges though.

I bet the UHDs would fall between the two to my eyes.

Meostars are a great value and you won’t hear anyone complain about them. I didn’t like the 10x sets because they were a lot bigger than other 10x. I don’t feel in the 12x they are “as much” bigger.

I did a review last year that discussed a bit more detail on above statements.

$1000 Bino Comparison

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...

www.rokslide.com

I’ve never looked through the UHD’s in 12x50. I had the razor hd 12x50’s which I have compared to the GPO side by side. I saw a noticeable improvement in edge clarity and brightness with the GPO compared to the standard razor hd. I also preferred the diopter adjustment in the GPO compared to the razor hd. I’ve never heard a bad review of the Meopta, I’ve also never had the chance to look through them. Those Swaro EL’s are on another level that my budget cannot support currently.

 

[MedServ60Driver]

Thanks for all the input folks. Unfortunately, with all the good options, my decision keeps getting harder. I've added GPO-USA to the list of consideration.

How reliable are factory reported specs such as light transmission, FOV, and exit pupil?

How much do thinks like exit pupil matter anyway? I notice that Leupold reports 5.2mm v. 4mm for Meopta. How significant is this difference in actuality?

 

[Rodéo]

Thanks for all the input folks. Unfortunately, with all the good options, my decision keeps getting harder. I've added GPO-USA to the list of consideration.

How reliable are factory reported specs such as light transmission, FOV, and exit pupil?

How much do thinks like exit pupil matter anyway? I notice that Leupold reports 5.2mm v. 4mm for Meopta. How significant is this difference in actuality?

Exit pupil is one of the things on the spec sheet you can't embellish. It's a straightforward formula that determines the exit pupil in every set of binoculars. The formula is the objective diameter divided by the magnification. For example, all 10x42 bino's will have an exit pupil of 4.2mm. All 10x50's = 5mm... so on and so forth.

I'm no expert on this next part so hopefully others correct me where I may be off, but I've read (yes, on the birding forums) that human eyes dilate between 2-8 mm depending on variables such as brightness of the location, time of day, etc. So, what all this means for us is that bino's with smaller objective diameters and higher magnification i.e 10x32, will be harder to get a great picture out of that say 10x56 bino's. This is because the higher the exit pupil is on the bino, the easier it will be to get that image onto your dilated pupil.

That's all a longwinded way of saying that bino's with an exit pupil equal to or greater than around 3, so think 10x30 bino's, will serve most people's needs most of the time. For hunting applications, it's always beneficial to have an advantage at viewing animals during dusk and dawn so I personally tend to go with 8x42 bino's for the majority of my hunting because of the wider field of view and the slightly larger exit pupil compared to 10x42's.

Hope this helped

Edit: Realized your post was about buying 12x bino's so disregard the 8x for your application. A 12x56 will give you a slightly larger exit pupil than a 12x50 (4.66 v. 4.16). Practically, I don't think it's going to make much of a difference in the field. Pick the bino that looks the best to your eyes. Don't think you can go wrong with any of the options you listed although I've only looked through the Mavens and Meostars

 

[Mashthegas]

From what I've seen of the Maven products, I don't think you will be disappointed. I am very happy with my spotter and would buy their binos based on the 2 pairs that I have looked through.

 

[MedServ60Driver]

Thanks for the input all. It sounds like all of the optics I'm looking at are of similar quality, and perhaps I should make my choice based on price. As of now I'm still considering:

- Meopta Meostar B1.1 15x50
- Leupold BX-5 Santiam 12x50
- GPO Passion HD 12.5x50
- Maven B2 11x46

The hunt continues. In addition to cost, I may figure in warranty, included accessories, country of origin, etc. I think they are all Japanese except for Meopta though.

 

[Lionhound1975]

I would go with the Meostars. I have not looked through any GPOs but I compared a 10x42 Meostar HD with a Maven B1 10X and the Leupold Santiam BX5 10x42 and for my eyes Meostar HD was much better than either. I thought the Mavens were better than the Leupolds but still behind the Meostars. Since that was with 10X, I would imagine that a comparison of all the models at 12X would be similar.

 

[JLane330]

Rod covered the exit pupil calculation, which is super simple. If two different optics, both claiming to be 12x50, has different pupil diameters listed, then something isn't right.

I haven't looked as the 12x50 BX-5's, but I did look at the 10x42 version. They did NOT fit my face well, the eye cups were way too big. I felt like I couldn't get the two barrels close enough. Try them out in a store before buying.

The BX4's on the other hand were great. Again, 10x42 size. I don't have an experience with any of the other brands/models you have listed. I'd highly recommend you try these in a store (if possible) before you buy, if for nothing else than to check ergonomics.

 

[mvrk28]

Not to hijack the thread, but if you could get the Razor HD 12x50 brand new for $750, would you go that route over the Meopta or Maven? I guess a better way to ask is how much more would you pay for the Meopta or Maven vs the Razor HD.

 

[mvrk28]

Decided the Meopta's were the way to go for me, Thanks Camera Land for taking care of me!

 

[MedServ60Driver]

Thanks for the input everyone, I just pulled the trigger on some Meopta Meostar B1.1 12x50's.

 

[Muley Chaser]

Let us know how you like them. I ordered Maven B.5 12x56 today, excited to try them out on my late season muley hunt next month. Feeling good about the decision to go with them; but the Meostars were definitely in the running.

 

[prm]

I was just about to start a thread on 12x binos. Though in a different price class, I’m interested in actual field performance of the Swaro 12x42 NL Pure, vs. a Meopta, and Vortex UHD 12x. Are you likely to find critters (elk and mule deer) with one and not likely with the others? It is possible a bino could seem better, but not actually deliver a meaningfully different result. Right now I have Swaro 8x30 CLs, and a Vortex 11-33 spotter. Considering modifying the optics to support a different game plan that involves more glassing.