pre6422hornet
Handloader
- Jan 24, 2012
- 974
- 9
Okay. Starting a new job and being away from my family I haven't had alot of time to play with my new binos. I finally had the time to do a little testing.
First off a little comparison of size and weight. Steiners are 18oz and Meopta's are 25oz. Steiners are smaller in stature:
As you can see the Steiners are well abused. I bought them new in 1999 and they have been dragged all over the US in search of mulies, elk, pheasants, ground hogs, coyotes, whitetails, squirrels, geese, ducks and just about any other need for glass. They have never let me down. It was very hard to pull the trigger on the meoptas.
Controls hands down go to Steiner. No adjustment wheel. As soon as you set it at 16 yards they are in focus to infinity. This comes in very handy for my style of hunting of tracking and spot and stalk. One handed operation is a breeze. They are lighter on the neck. They are smaller.
Now to the meat and potatoes. Optic quality. I am not an optics expert. I do not get into the physics of it. I just know what my brain tells me when I look through binos.
First scenario. Early morning looking due west with full sun at my back. The gap in the trees is 300 yards away. I figured this was a good test as most people who glass in early morning set up with facing west to take advantage of the sun and to keep the animals looking into the sun.
Steiner:
Meopta:
As you can see the Meoptas are easier on the eyes. Literally. The phone captured the differences very similar to what my eyes saw. Score one for the Meoptas.
Now for the dusk test. This was 7:17pm on Sept 28th, with sunset being at 7:07pm.
Steiners:
Meopta:
As you can see again the Meoptas won on optic quality. I will say the difference was not quite as dramatic to my eyes as the pictures show. The meoptas were definitely brighter though.
In all fairness the Steiners are 15 years old and I am sure the Meopta's have newer coatings etc.. that could give them an edge. I really wish I had my hands on a current pair of Steiners, but with the price I paid for the Meopta's, I am not complaining.
I plan on working the Meopta's out in New Mexico very soon looking for all sorts of critters. :grin:
First off a little comparison of size and weight. Steiners are 18oz and Meopta's are 25oz. Steiners are smaller in stature:
As you can see the Steiners are well abused. I bought them new in 1999 and they have been dragged all over the US in search of mulies, elk, pheasants, ground hogs, coyotes, whitetails, squirrels, geese, ducks and just about any other need for glass. They have never let me down. It was very hard to pull the trigger on the meoptas.
Controls hands down go to Steiner. No adjustment wheel. As soon as you set it at 16 yards they are in focus to infinity. This comes in very handy for my style of hunting of tracking and spot and stalk. One handed operation is a breeze. They are lighter on the neck. They are smaller.
Now to the meat and potatoes. Optic quality. I am not an optics expert. I do not get into the physics of it. I just know what my brain tells me when I look through binos.
First scenario. Early morning looking due west with full sun at my back. The gap in the trees is 300 yards away. I figured this was a good test as most people who glass in early morning set up with facing west to take advantage of the sun and to keep the animals looking into the sun.
Steiner:
Meopta:
As you can see the Meoptas are easier on the eyes. Literally. The phone captured the differences very similar to what my eyes saw. Score one for the Meoptas.
Now for the dusk test. This was 7:17pm on Sept 28th, with sunset being at 7:07pm.
Steiners:
Meopta:
As you can see again the Meoptas won on optic quality. I will say the difference was not quite as dramatic to my eyes as the pictures show. The meoptas were definitely brighter though.
In all fairness the Steiners are 15 years old and I am sure the Meopta's have newer coatings etc.. that could give them an edge. I really wish I had my hands on a current pair of Steiners, but with the price I paid for the Meopta's, I am not complaining.
I plan on working the Meopta's out in New Mexico very soon looking for all sorts of critters. :grin:
