Spotter Eye Piece- Meopta MeoStar 30-60 WIDE vs 20-70

[Jesse Jaymes]

Very close to placing an order. But will be sight unseen. Meopta MeoStar S2. Options for eye pieces are 30-60 Wide Angle or 20-70. Are there many/any reasons NOT to go with the Wide Angle? With my other two spotters, both 15-45...I run them at 15 almost exclusively. Actually I am most often behind binos on tripod then swap optics. I generally don't pan and glass with a spotter. At least I do not plan to do that with this one. I DO digiscope.

Is there a clear winner here?

 

[pc3]

I have the 20-70 on my S2....but I have no base of comparison as I don't own the other eye piece, nor am I likely to get it at this stage. I will say that the 20-70 is brilliant and that even at 70x the performance to my eyes is excellent and the detail you can make out at long range on 70x is amazing.

 

[Jesse Jaymes]

Appreciate your reply. In my past spotter experience....it was somewhat implied that you never use the Top End. Meaning.....things would fade pretty rapidly after 32-35X on a 45X spotter. Your findings mirror what many other have stated...can run it all the way to 70 and not lose much/any. That would be fantastic

 

[Browninglover1]

The 30-60X WA is a thing of beauty. The FOV at 30X is massive and the image is superb.

 

[duckpopper]

Both eyepieces are fantastic! Having owned both I wilI say that I prefer the 30-60 WA as it’s tack sharp to the edge and provides a wide view that is unmatched by the majority of scopes. I’ve owned the Kowa 883 with 25-60 WA eyepiece and a Swarovski ATX 85 and much prefer the MEOPTA S2 with wide angle over both of those spotters. This is just my personal opinion, of course, after using each of these for a season hunting. MEOPTA has a stellar scope that rivals the big dogs. I sold the others after comparing.

 

[Ben RT]

I've owned both and used both fairly extensively. Currently I have the 20-70, but I think the 30-60WA is the overall winner because the field of view is just so much wider/better. I rarely go above 45 or 50x on either, but wanted to try the 20-70 out for low light conditions. I think at 20x it is a fair bit brighter at minimum magnification; however, the 20-70 is just so much more difficult for me to locate what I'm wanting to look at vs the wide angel eyepiece (I do have the angled model, which makes things harder). I can't be quoted on this, because I haven't done a direct side-by-side comparison, but I would say the 20-70 eyepiece has a tiny bit better center resolution and is clear way out toward the edge too, whereas the 30-60 has a fantastically wide field of view that is dang clear throughout the view. Also, the viewing experience when zooming is a bit different: the apparent field of view remains constant with the 30-60WA (it's wide throughout the whole range at 66 degrees) but with the 20-70 it tunnels down a bit at 20x and kind of feels like you're expanding the apparent view a bit as you zoom in (45 degree at 20x and 63 degree at 70x). I find that the 20-70x feels more useful at 25-27x zoom because it's not as constrained/tunneled as at 20x.

The benefits I can think of are: 1) better at low light when at minimum magnification; and 2) possibly a tiny bit better resolution in the very center.

If it were me, I'd buy the 30-60WA. It would be super easy for you to sell or trade for the 20-70 (plus cash from the other guy) if you decided you wanted to go that route.

 

[Ben RT]

Both eyepieces are fantastic! Having owned both I wilI say that I prefer the 30-60 WA as it’s tack sharp to the edge and provides a wide view that is unmatched by the majority of scopes. I’ve owned the Kowa 883 with 25-60 WA eyepiece and a Swarovski ATX 85 and much prefer the MEOPTA S2 with wide angle over both of those spotters. This is just my personal opinion, of course, after using each of these for a season hunting. MEOPTA has a stellar scope that rivals the big dogs. I sold the others after comparing.

Dang. That's really saying something.

I would say that I compared my Meostar S2 30-60WA with a Swarovski ATM (magnesium, otherwise like ATS HD) with 25-50WA eyepiece and thought the Swarovski was a little better. I'm completely happy with the Meostar (I currently have the Cabela's version), and don't think I'm lacking anything. I've never seen through the big Kowa, but I've heard they're awesome... so it's interesting to say you chose the Meopta over it. I also didn't think the ATX 95 was all that much better than the Meopta in the 30-60WA form (completely dropped that idea due to $$ anyway).

 

[duckpopper]

I may have an absolute cherry specimen of a Meopta S2, but to my eyes, the color saturation, sharpness of the image and “walk in” feel of the eyepiece won me over. This is also the second S2 I’ve owned. Bought one the first year they came out. Didn’t realize what I had and sold It to fund my quest for the “best spotter” for me. Funny how I ended up coming full circle back to it after thousands spent on the Kowa and Swaro ATX. I’ve also owned the 25-50x65 Swaro STS HD and liked the scope, but the eyepiece is nowhere near as forgiving so the S2 30-60WA. I would get blackouts using the 25-50WA. Seems to be a common problem for that eyepiece. The ATS 80HD was also given a run by me for several months and did not hold a candle to the S2.

Again, when we talk about optics the beauty is in the eye of the beholder. No pair of eyes are the same and we all have things that work for us that do not work for others. You really have to test them out for yourself if possible. Just my honest opinion. I’ve spent more money on Optics in the last 10 years than most people have spent on a new car Just trying to figure this out for myself.

just for reference, I have 20/10 uncorrected vision and Im a Swarovski fanboy. My main binoculars are 8x32 and 10x50 EL Swarovision with 15x56 SLC HDs for those optics heavy hunts.

 

[pc3]

The 30-60X WA is a thing of beauty. The FOV at 30X is massive and the image is superb.

Damn you your likely to cost me some $$ with this type of talk...starting to think I need this eye piece

 

[mxgsfmdpx]

OP you want the 30-60 WA over the normal 20-70 every time. Much better spotter with that lens.

 

[SLM]

For me the view through the WA is awesome, but the “eye box” is not as forgiving as the 20-70.

 

[snakelk]

I have both but find myself using the 30-60 WA more often. Both eyepieces are exceptional however.

Two of my hunting friends have the 20-70x. After using their S2 I just "had" to get my own. Started with the 30-60 WA, then added the 20-70x eyepiece, although it sits in my gun safe.

Both are definitely usable on high power, unlike many other spotters which in my opinion are worthless at the high power end. We've had the S2's side by side in the field looking at bulls a couple miles away and I can say I didn't feel I was missing anything having only 60x compared to the 70x.

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[Lionhound1975]

I tried both with the S2 and went with the 30-60 WA. Sometimes in certain light to my eyes i can see a slight fisheye look if the power is all the way down on 30x but by moving it up just a little to around 35x it goes away. The 20-70 gave me tunnel view and i have never regretted going with the 30-60 WA eyepiece. The S2 is a phenomenal piece of glass and holds its own to any scope I have compared it to including Swaros.

 

[snakelk]

I tried both with the S2 and went with the 30-60 WA. Sometimes in certain light to my eyes i can see a slight fisheye look if the power is all the way down on 30x but by moving it up just a little to around 35x it goes away. The 20-70 gave me tunnel view and i have never regretted going with the 30-60 WA eyepiece. The S2 is a phenomenal piece of glass and holds its own to any scope I have compared it to including Swaros.

I agree that the 20-70x gives more of a tunnel view. More like you're looking through a tube than the WA. The "fish eye" appearance was something I'd heard some complain about with the WA, however it doesn't bother me and is only slightly noticeable when panning.

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[Don Qui Puncher]

I’m thinking about selling my S2 with the wide angle eyepiece, neoprene cover and meoptas digiscope adapter message me if interested

 

[NEhunter]

If you are interested in the 20-70 and angled, camera land ny has a great deal going on.

Product Description

Product Description | Camera Land NY

cameralandny.com

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[scopeye]

I’m thinking about selling my S2 with the wide angle eyepiece, neoprene cover and meoptas digiscope adapter message me if interested

Hello,

Hey so I know this thread is from 6 months ago but is there any chance you are still considering selling your Meopta spotting scope. I Figured it never hurts to ask.

Thanks,

Scopeye

 

[Don Qui Puncher]

Hello,

Hey so I know this thread is from 6 months ago but is there any chance you are still considering selling your Meopta spotting scope. I Figured it never hurts to ask.

Thanks,

Scopeye

Hey man, I sold it a few months ago. They pop up fairly often in the classifieds for good prices if you keep an eye out for them. Good luck

 

[snakelk]

Hello,

Hey so I know this thread is from 6 months ago but is there any chance you are still considering selling your Meopta spotting scope. I Figured it never hurts to ask.

Thanks,

Scopeye

I have a buddy who now has both an angled and straight version (the Cabelas models with fixed eyepieces) and is trying to decide which one to sell. I believe he's leaning toward selling the angled. His name on here is "bucko." You might shoot him a message. (BTW, myself and 2 of my hunting pals own S2's and love them. Good choice!)

 

[scopeye]

Hey man, I sold it a few months ago. They pop up fairly often in the classifieds for good prices if you keep an eye out for them. Good luck

Hey thanks for the quick reply, I appreciate it. I’ll keep my eyes open for one. Thanks again.