Kowa BDII vs Meopta Meopro 8x32

[Feurhand]

Between these two binoculars, which one has the better view?

I picked up an Athlon Ares 8x42 from @gr8fuldoug at Cameraland during black friday. I understand these are low-mid tier glass, but they're the nicest binos I've owned or looked through. I find them a bit large and heavy for convenience, so I'm looking for a smaller pair with similar-or-better glass. Wide FOV is important to me, so I'd like at least 400'@1000yd. Strongly considering the Kowa BDII 6.5x32 or 8x32 and the Meopta Meopro 8x32. I'd rather buy the Meopta because they have a good reputation and are made in the US (or at least not in China). I saw in another thread that Doug thought the BDII glass was better than the Meopro...but by how much? And the Kowa have a much wider FOV.

I've already checked out reviews on birdforum.net and unfortunately that hasn't helped much. Would like to keep it under $400. Was originally considering the Vortex Diamondback HD 8x32, but I'm concerned I'll find the image quality disappointing.

 

[Feurhand]

So having found a Meopro 8x32 here in the classifieds, I thought I'd share my perspective on how it compares to the Ares 8x42. I don't own Alpha glass, nor have I looked through any, so these are my benchmarks.

Build quality of the MeoPro is very good: tight hinge, smooth focus wheel, metal eyecups, metal diopter wheel. Feels quality. I can't point to anything specific, but it feels more expensive than the Ares. One complaint I have is the eyecups are just a little too large. If my eyes were closer together, the eyecups would hit the bridge of my nose and I wouldn't be able to use the binoculars. Two more nitpicks I think are related more to the 8x32 form factor than anything Meopta did: The eye box is tighter than the Ares and they don't control internal reflections as well.

Optically I think the MeoPros are better than the Ares. Not by a lot, but enough to be noticeable. The MeoPros are sharper and have a larger sweet spot. The MeoPro image also feels larger and more immersive, certainly due to its wider viewing angle. Both models control chromatic aberration well, and appear equivalent in most conditions. Under some conditions, like looking at a high-flying bird, the MeoPros have noticeable CA at the very edge, like the outmost 1% of the image. This doesn't bother me, and you really don't see it during normal use.

Overall I'm very happy with my MeoPros, though I'd still like to compare them to Kowa's BDII line.

EDIT: wrote glare but meant internal reflections