Meostar vs swaro el

[Eris]

I've been comparing the meostar 10x and the swaro El 10x tonight at cabelas along with doing a lot of reading on multiple forums. I actually compared the cabelas euro instinct which is just a rebranded meostar at 530pm, right around sunset looking at a building with some landscaping bushes around it approximately 500 yards away. I could hardly tell a difference between the two binoculars. If anything, the meopta appeared just slightly brighter but the swaros had zero distortion around the edges while the meoptas had an ever so slight ring. I'm just not seeing a 2000 dollar difference between the two. What am I missing? Everyone said the difference would be obvious in low light but this evening didn't make anything obvious. Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Ledd Slinger]

I'm glad you dont see a $2000 difference because theres only about a $1200 difference

A quick look at a few objects one evening at a store will never paint the whole picture for you. I've owned the Meopta Meostar HD binoculars and have a lot of experience with Swaro SV EL in the field from friends that use them.

Meopta makes some excellent glass no doubt. Definitely competes with top tier glass, but there are significant differences between the Meopta and Swaro binos that can shed a little light on to the big price difference.

1) Glass: The Meopta and Swaro SV glass is very comparable in many ways. Both have excellent color rendition and resoultion. But as you noticed, the Swarovski does offer a little better edge to edge resolution. When spending many hours behind glass, you will find that makes a big difference.

2) Eronomics: The Meoptas are big, heavy, and a little awkward to hold. The Swaros fit in the hand very nicely and are well balanced.

3) Eye Relief: The Swaros have about 4mm more eye relief than the Meoptas. This allows for a much more comfortable viewing experience where full field of view can be maintained with more head movement behind the glass. Especially more comfortable for eyeglass wearers.

4) Field of view: Swaros have a wider field of view.

5) Field Flattener: Swaro employs a field flattening system that allows for greater depth of field to keep objects at varying distances in focus. This allows you to look at objects near and far and your eyes will bring them into focus very quickly without having to adjust the focus knob.

6) Accessories: The stay on objective covers on the Meopta leave a lot to be desired. Swaro can be had with integrated covers that never get lost in the field.

Theres some other small differences, but I'll just leave it at that. Meopta binoculars are excellent for the price, probably the very best in their price point, but they are cheaper than Swaro for a reason.

 

[Alex Wheeler]

Get your hands on some noctivids if you can...

 

[Ledd Slinger]

The only binocular I would say outclasses the Meopta in the mid price range would be the new Nikon Monarch "HG" (high end ED glass) made in house at the Nikon plant in Japan. They will match the Meopta in resolution and contrast, yet do it with better eye relief, a much wider field of view, and field flattener lens system that delivers the same pleasing viewing experience as Swaro EL. The 10x42 Nikon HG also weighs over 8 oz. less than the Meopta 10x42 and Swaro EL 10x42 which makes a huge difference during long glassing sessions

 

[Eris]

Appreciate all the input and I'll have to check out the nikon. I can get the meostar 10x42 for several hundred less than map through a friend. I don't see myself spending hours on end using the binoculars since we swap out spotting at matches. Hunting, well I hope I'm not on them for hours on end but an hour or two over multiple days is very realistic.
I know the swaros will hold their resale value. I wish I could find a set of 10x42 EL for under 2 grand somewhere!

 

[Ledd Slinger]

I just purchased a set of 10x42 Leica Noctivids from Alex Wheeler. Very excited to run them through the paces in all kinds of weather and lighting conditions against my Nikon HGs. I'm sure the Noctivids will not disapoint

I have looked through the Noctivids before, but it was only one time at a store on a nice bright sunny day. They were very impressive no doubt. I compared them side by side to Nikon HG, Swaro SV EL, and Zeiss Victory T FL in the store. Unfortunately everything looks great on a nice day viewing objects at only 100-200 yards away so I wouldnt feel comfortable giving any sort of evaluation or opinion on which one had superior glass quality and performance. I'll know the full capabilities of the Noctivid pretty soon

 

[Eris]

I made it over to cabelas today and compared the 10x42 nikon hg, euro instinct , and zeiss conquest, and threw in the swaro El 10x42. Went outside with an employee and viewed the same set of bushes a few hundred yards away as well as some power lines about 6 miles away. Looking at the bushes I couldn't tell any difference between any of the binoculars really. Looking at the power lines, only the swaro El actually let me see the individual power lines. Kind of leads me to believe the higher end optics will function better in less than stellar atmospheric conditions like heavy humidity. The employee told me to come back tomorrow right at sunset. He's been selling optics for 5 years now and said once you hit mid range optics everything there and above is very comparable on a bright clear day. However at dusk the differences are more than obvious. I'm going to go back tomorrow evening to compare them all again. Out of all the binoculars, the nikons felt the most comfy in my hands .

 

[Ledd Slinger]

Yeah the Nikons are really nice to hold. Super lightweight and compact. The HG glass is really nice, but will probably get edged out by the Swaro and Meopta in low light.

Good on you for taking the time to look through the binos instead of just reading internet opinions Everyone's eyes are a little different and you need to find what works best for you within the price point you can afford. Have fun comparing glass. It's one of my favorite things to do

OH! And DON'T FORGET to carefully adjust the diopter on each binocular before evaluating them. VERY IMPORTANT!

 

[Eris]

Compared all the binoculars from sunset for about 30 minutes. The clear winner was the swaro 10x42. Next up was the meostar. There was not a 2,000$ difference though. I could resolve more small detail at distance with the swaro than the meopta, both worked fine in low light but at 500ish yards there was a noticeable difference. The zeiss conquest and nikon fell slightly behind the swaro and meopta. I'd be happy with any of these for my intended use. I'm not going to be looking at butterflies at night but if I was I'd get the swaros. For hunting, I'll get the meopta and a new rifle for the cost of the swaros though.

 

[Ledd Slinger]

Compared all the binoculars from sunset for about 30 minutes. The clear winner was the swaro 10x42. Next up was the meostar. There was not a 2,000$ difference though. I could resolve more small detail at distance with the swaro than the meopta, both worked fine in low light but at 500ish yards there was a noticeable difference. The zeiss conquest and nikon fell slightly behind the swaro and meopta. I'd be happy with any of these for my intended use. I'm not going to be looking at butterflies at night but if I was I'd get the swaros. For hunting, I'll get the meopta and a new rifle for the cost of the swaros though.

Nice work. Those were my exact findings when testing all the above mentioned binoculars in low light. The Swaros win by a small margin in low light resolution against the Meopta, and the Nikon is slightly behind in low light but nonetheless very impressive for a $900 binocular. (I tested Zeiss conquest HD, but not in low light)

And of course they all look awesome in bright sunny daylight. However, the Swaro will control stray light better than the Meopta when looking in the direction of a rising or setting sun so that's also something to consider.

 

[tom]

Wait until you can test the noctavid against the el now....Warning, have someone hold your beer. I own both of them, just in case something happened, and I drag both out to compare still. It's not close! There's closer to a $2,000 difference here, than between the two you asked about.

Tom

 

[Ledd Slinger]

Tom, I might need you come hold my beer when my Noctivids arrive. Should I wear a helmet and tie myself off with a fall harness too? LOL.

 

[Eris]

Well I was browsing ebay and came across a set of swaro El range 10x42 (2016 manufacture date) for a decent price. Ended up buying them Won't come with any accessories other than lens covers . I'll give them a go this season and pricking pick up the meopta anyways and compare them until the end of the year and sell one or the other. At that price I should easily be able to resell the swaros without taking a loss. Now I have to go sell off some other gun stuff to pay this credit card statement!

 

[Eris]

Oh the other interesting part was when I called swaro to verify the serial number the rep said feel free to send them in for a tune up and refresh if they need it, free of charge minus shipping costs. Pretty awesome on their part

 

[troupe]

There is a set of binos that I purchased and have been so satisfied that I sold my Swaro EL's. They are made by Tract and there is no middleman. They are factory direct and are as good if not better than the 3 times more expensive binos. The Schott glass that is used in the Tract is the same glass as used in the Meopta's and the Swaro's. The difference in the other companies is of coarse there great lens coatings. They are well worth looking through. I was very impressed and quite shocked at the quality for so much less money.

 

[Nature Boy]

There is a set of binos that I purchased and have been so satisfied that I sold my Swaro EL's. They are made by Tract and there is no middleman. They are factory direct and are as good if not better than the 3 times more expensive binos. The Schott glass that is used in the Tract is the same glass as used in the Meopta's and the Swaro's. The difference in the other companies is of coarse there great lens coatings. They are well worth looking through. I was very impressed and quite shocked at the quality for so much less money.

Are you a spokesman for the company?

 

[troupe]

I wish that I was ! They are that good and when the middleman is left out, the money goes back to the shooters. The bino's impressed me so much that I have now purchased the Tract 4x20-30mm HD scope. I did not know that Schott glass was as big as it is. After a lot of research about Schott glass, I did not realize Schott was the supplier of the glass for a lot of the World class optics. Just trying to help others that can't possibly afford that other big name brands. Not say the big names brands are not great, because we know that they are top world class optics for a reason. When you can get a optic that is as good for less because there is no distributor , that is a great thing for the AVERAGE shooter. I am just a Cop on a low budget that enjoys the precision world. Try them out, I think you will be impressed. Plus Tract has a money back guarantee. What do you have to loose. I would say that if I had not looked through a pair, I would have been skeptical. No more !

I will be retiring from the PD in a few years, and if you have any connections in the shooting world that may need a Rep, keep me in mind. I come with a lot of experience in the industry if it would help.