. Check this file out. Rates optics on performance.. 100 is the highest score. Swarovski rates 98 of 100. I have an sts 20x60x80mm hd. Optically nothing compares. Price,weight is another story. Meopta and leica come next.
This chart is a review of the new Swarovski ATX, not the original HD glass ATS or STS model. Even though the Meopta S2 came in 2nd to the new Swaro ATX, the Swaro is using a 95mm objective which is a massive advantage over the Meopta 82mm objective. I guarantee if you put the Meopta on 60X and the Swarovski on 60X using the 85mm objective option, many people would side with the Meopta.
Now the 25-50X eyepiece for the Swarovski is a "wide angle" view, but the Meopta uses a 30-60X wide angle eyepiece option. While the Meopta also offers a 20-70X eyepiece, Swarovski changed their game with the new ATX and now offer a 30-70X eyepiece. So both are capable of very high ultra high definition magnification.
So now let's compare price. The Swaro ATX and Meopta S2 are both without a doubt or argument, some of the best glass available, period. But price is where Meopta greatly outperforms Swarovski. The Meopta S2 will give you one of the best pictures you've ever seen through a spotting scope for around $2300 with an eyepiece of your choice (either 20-70X or 30-60X wide angle). Can you tell me what the 95mm Swaro ATX will cost you with an eyepiece? Can you say roughly $4500? That's right, about $2200 more. Even with the 85mm objective, the Swaro will still run you over $4000 with the high magnification eyepiece. Is the extra price worth it? I think it may be to some people who want top notch low light performance with the Swaro 95mm objective and the modular capabilities to change objective sizes for about $1000 to $2100 a pop, depending on desired objective size.
Notice that the Meopta beat the ATX on color fringing and matched it on long range resolution, brightness, pleasing image, and useable magnification. All with perfect scores of 10.
I think Swarovski really hit a home run with the modular ATX, but there's no doubt you're gonna pay for it if you want utilize that feature and have various eyepieces and objective sizes. The Swarovski ATX 30-70 eyepiece alone is roughly $2400. So it all boils down to money. The Swaro ATX, will without a doubt give you a breathtaking HD view, but so will the Meopta S2, but the Meopta will easily save you a cool $2K. The cost vs. advantage ratio is a personal decision for each buyer. But I guarantee the Meopta will blow you away, so don't let the lower price tag fool you.
And none of this is very surprising when you know that Meopta has been making high end optics longer than Swarovski and the fact that the country of Czech Republic, where Meopta is manufactured, borders both Germany and Austria. Germany which is well known for excellent optics and Austria which is of course where Swarovski is made.
