Meopta Vs Swaro EL

[Airohunter]

I am close to pulling the trigger on some 12x50's. I was hoping some of you with real field experience could convince me that the Swaro is truly worth twice as much. I know they are better, nearly the best out there but are they truly worth it. Talk me into it or out of it, I'm torn......Thanks in advance

 

[MattB355]

Try both and decide. I have no experience with Meopta so I cannot comment. However, Swarovski's are the nicest binoculars I have used. I will say the Zeiss SF was just as amazing optically but I did not care for the greenish color I could see in certain situations. You will know right away whether it is worth it to you once you try them both.

 

[Forest]

The meopta is going to be more like the slc swaros. Very very similar in fact. EL's are great but for my eyes they were not worth the extra over slc/meopta. Field flatners are helpful for a lot of people but don't work at all for others. Only your eyes can say for sure

Sent from my SM-G973U1 using Tapatalk

 

[JMDavies]

I haven't used the meopta but really like my EL's. Had to beat especially on a tripod

 

[pc3]

Just went through the same thing recently.....for 10's although I considered 12's. I'm glad I went 10's I don't think I am capable of holding 12's steady enough in the hand, I find 10's more than enough for hand held.

Anyway I was debating between Meostar and SLC's and went for the Meostars and for me here in Australia that worked out about $900 cheaper. I'd looked through the SLC's and I own the Meostar's I would hesitate to say the SLC's are $900 better, if at all. I am not comparing them to EL's they are a different price point and need to be better.

People will talk about resale...I don't know you pay a lot less straight up for Meostars anyway. At the end of the day if you have the means, can justify it, it's not going to cause you financial difficulty in anyway, then you buy the best and thats EL's I suppose.

My thought was I am not wealthy, I want/need good serviceable binoculars that wont cause me to miss game (because of the binocular at least) and are reasonably priced. Even 1k on binoculars is a lot of money. The difference between the Meostar and the SLC for me literally was invested.

You need to make your decision on the Meo 12's aor EL 12's given your decision......I dont think you will miss seeing game with the Meostar if you go that way. You are heavily entertaining the "law of diminishing returns" with EL's

Sometimes I think with all these questions by everyone on Rokslide and every other forum....for many of us if "we have to to ask", then its best to just buy the "Meostar equivalent" because reality is that is probably the bracket where one gets the best value/performance relative to cost, and we'd be putting pressure on ourselves to pay the difference for EL's.........1k invested will be 2k after 10yrs and 3k after 15 years aprox.

Someday I don't want to have to work.

 

[Hatchet Jack]

If you have never used ELs before you'll be 100% satisfied with the meoptas. They are sweet binos. In my experience once you get used to the wide flat field of the EL, other binos give you the tunnel effect, especially once you add in that 10-20% of the field of view has some distortion. The center image of the meopta is as good as anything out there, but most of the deer that i find are by catching movement out toward the edges of the glass while i'm tripod glassing. If you hunt mostly by sitting down and spending hours picking broken country apart for coues or muleys I say no doubt the ELs are worth it. If you're more of a run and gun hunter, or primarily an elk or sage brush muley hunter i say get the meoptas and put the extra $ toward a sweet spotting scope.

 

[Airohunter]

Thanks for all the replies. I guess I need to add that I already have some Vortex Razors in 10x42 but as I continue to glass more often from a tripod I'm seeking more power and clarity. I have an ATS 80 HD spotter and it's image is incredible I must admit. I guess I'm just trying to justify paying for the EL's.

 

[Hatchet Jack]

look into the 15x SLC or Meoptas if you already have razor 10s.

 

[Airohunter]

I though about 15's. I figured in wide open space's 12's and the spotter would be a good combo.
Otherwise I will struggle to decide two out of the three every time I head out (10's, 15's, Spotter)

 

[bow_dozer]

Let you be the judge,personally look thru anything before pulling the trigger to buy. I was completely satisfied with Leica's... until i met SV EL's. To me there was noticeable difference at low light conditions. Buying for LIFETIME use helps me justify the price. Also especially with Swaro, look for used glass great way to get a break on the price.

 

[AZ_Hunter_2000]

If I am in timber, then it is my SLC 10s. If I am in open country, then it is my SLC 15s and STX.

When it comes time to start to close the distance, I have options. I can look with my SLCs freehand (for a moment) or rest them on my knees/pack. If I need an extended look, then I'll put the SLCs on my tripod as that only takes a few seconds. If I need quick peeks along the way, then I use my rangefinder (Sig 2200).

I never understood why more hunters do not use their rangefinder as an optic option on their stalks. After all, at some point you are going to have to range your target. The glass in my Sig 2200 is surprisingly good.

 

[Tahoe1305]

I compared my 12x50 HD meostars to a pair of 12x50 ELs I had for a few days. I thought at first they were really close. The FOV of the ELs are a bit bigger (as specs say) and I like the ergonomics of the ELs a bit better (open bridge easier to hold one handed, 2 oz lighter, clicky diopter, etc), the center resolution I thought was extremely close between the two.

Biggest difference I saw was edge to edge clarity. I would estimate that at the outer edge (10% from edge) of the meostars you lost roughly half of the resolution and on the ELs maybe 10%. It was a very noticeable difference. I would say you gain close to 20-25% FOV due to this.

I compared at low light too and thought the ELs picture was a tad brighter but I could resolve the same in the center with both after sunset.

I used the USAF chart for the testing and had it at about 200yds. Edge to edge I moved it to very top of FOV.

Hope that helps.

**edit. Adding another thread I started on a more objective comparison between these**

https://www.rokslide.com/forums/thr...waro-el-12x50-comparison.180737/#post-1746000

 

[Airohunter]

I compared my 12x50 HD meostars to a pair of 12x50 ELs I had for a few days. I thought at first they were really close. The FOV of the ELs are a bit bigger (as specs say) and I like the ergonomics of the ELs a bit better (open bridge easier to hold one handed, 2 oz lighter, clicky diopter, etc), the center resolution I thought was extremely close between the two.

Biggest difference I saw was edge to edge clarity. I would estimate that at the outer edge (10% from edge) of the meostars you lost roughly half of the resolution and on the ELs maybe 10%. It was a very noticeable difference. I would say you gain close to 20-25% FOV due to this.

I compared at low light too and thought the ELs picture was a tad brighter but I could resolve the same in the center with both after sunset.

I used the USAF chart for the testing and had it at about 200yds. Edge to edge I moved it to very top of FOV.

Hope that helps.

Very helpful! Thank you

 

[Brooks]

Swaro EL’s are like the pretty sexy girl you let get away and ended up with the short ugly fat chick... she’ll work but there’s a big difference....
In 2005 I bought a pair of EL’s for $1400 new and two weeks ago sold them for $1350...15 years old. Replaced them with brand new 12x50EL’s Top of the food chain for sure !! If you bought EL’s you might miss the extra money you spent but you will never regret owning and glassing with them.

 

[Airohunter]

Swaro EL’s are like the pretty sexy girl you let get away and ended up with the short ugly fat chick... she’ll work but there’s a big difference....
In 2005 I bought a pair of EL’s for $1400 new and two weeks ago sold them for $1350...15 years old. Replaced them with brand new 12x50EL’s Top of the food chain for sure !! If you bought EL’s you might miss the extra money you spent but you will never regret owning and glassing with them.

That's a great way of putting it!!!

""If you bought EL’s you might miss the extra money you spent but you will never regret owning and glassing with them.""

 

[Myronman3]

as a guy who is far from rich, i can attest to how hard it was to pull the trigger and buy swaro. but as soon as it was over, it didnt hurt anymore. and i know that i will never lose money on them. <—that, combined with getting to use them, makes up for the price tag.

 

[Brian Fahs]

I have not owned 12s but I have owned a lot of 10x42s. I run the newest version 10x42els. I picked up a set of meostar 10x 42 hds on here for a good price to compare.

The meostars are fantastic but they are not els. I anal with my glass and really babyed the els. I figured I would beat the crap out of the meopta's and save my els. That proved stupid to have the best 10x 42 made IMO sitting in the safe. I sold the meopta's and run my els now exclusively.

Are the els worth 3x + in price? My answer is no. But they are better to my eye. We only live once and I want the best. Sometimes you need to take a step back and realize how good your gear really is.

 

[Beendare]

I own the 10X SLC's and some other high end glass Zeiss, Leica, Nikon EDG. I'm not particularly loyal to any of the top 4 brands....just whatever looks best to me.

I was looking for some 15x...and i compared a bunch; Meopta, Swaro, Kaibabs....i bought the Meopta's as I couldn't tell the difference between those and the Swaro in fact they seemed a tad better. Both were better than the Kaibabs. The ergos on the Swaros -and Kaibabs- was a little better.

Trust me, its worth making a call to Doug or Neil at Cameraland.

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