10x42 Bino, Meopta Meostar HD vs Swarovski SLC HD

Scotty and I were sitting next to each other on a hillside this fall in Wyoming. He was carrying some 10x42 Meopta Meostar HD binos, and I was carrying some 10x42 Swaro SLC HDs. We exchanged binos for a while to compare one vs the other to determine if there was much difference.

Short version: there was no difference at all in spotting ability

The Meoptas and the Swaros do have slightly different ergos, but neither of them are uncomfortable. I prefer the feel of the SLCs, but I don't know that Scotty does. His hands are bigger than mine so the SLCs might be a bit small for him. I could certainly carry the Meoptas without any heartache.

The Meoptas do have what I consider slightly "warmer" colors vs the SLCs. I'm sure that's a slight difference in glass coatings between the two. If anything the Meoptas might show more contrast for some folks, but again, there was no difference in spotting animals at all.

The Meoptas can be had for less money that the SLCs, and for the price I think it's tough to beat the Meoptas for the money. The best thing about the Meoptas is you can just wait and get them for $700 or $800 when CameralandNY has a demo unit on sale.

In general I think the mid priced binoculars right now are superb. It would be really tough to convince me to spend $2000 or more on a pair of binoculars when the mid priced binos are this good.

Here's a pic through the SLCs. The bull I killed about 5 hours later is in the pic. I was glad to have Scotty there to talk me through the shot!

I too have had a pair of Swarovski 10x42 SLC's for 19 years and absolutely love them. I also have the Leica Geovids, but prefer the Swarovski as they match me ergonomically better than the Laica's, which makes them more comfortable to use.

I have not had a chance to try out the Meopta's, so cannot speak as to their quality and performance directly, but have been impressed by their riflescopes, and had customers give glowing reports on their field use.

I can say that I have had the chance to handle and use the top of the line Minox 10x42 binoculars, and can say for their price (about $700 Cdn less than the SLC's) that these are some pretty impressive binds, and are lighter than the Swarovski's. I have said to several people, that if I ever had to replace my SLC's (heaven forbid), that I would probably go with the Minox.

I've got the meopta 8x42's and love them! They are not the newest generation HD glass but, they are within a smidgen of the Zeiss Victory or Swaro's of the same time frame. From all accounts the new generation meopta HD is so close to swaro/Zeiss I would not worry about it at all. It might take a trained eye to decipher any differences and for just over 1/3rd the price it is a no-brainer.