New Maven Binoculars B1.2 and B6

[DrewskiMT]

Are the B1.2’s $300 better?

That answer depends(wear them when I get giardia) mostly on the depth of your pockets... and If you operate from a place of timeless common-knowledge optical wisdom, namely:
1. ALWAYS buy the maximum amount (costliest) glass your wallet can afford.
2. SAVE UP and buy once cry once. and
3. Used-1-generation-old-Alpha-glass is still better than current gen Conquest/Trinovid/$1000 glass.... Then... YES they are worth the $300 upcharge in my opinion (like ar$eh0les).

Here is why: B1.2s have
1. Wider field of view (Who doesn't love it wider!)
2. Lighter weight (Yes please!)
3. Bigger optical sweet spot due to more field flattening. (No brainer)
4. Better/Brighter optical coatings. (See above)
5. Same great customer service, Japan build quality and focuser smoothness, and USA assembly (San Diego)/company headquarters Lander Wyo). (Buy America/jobs)

Full disclosure: I run Zeiss Conquest HD 8x32, Nikon Monarch HG 8x42, Maven B5 18x56, Maven 6x30, Leupold 8x32, Opticron Traveler 8x32, and Bushnell Legend M 8/10x42 in Marsupial gear harnesses.

P.S. I wouldn't be surprised or offended if 50% of optics nuts would argue (competently and logically) the opposite of this. Also, the flip side is that if $300 is a lot of money for a person, i.e. buys the Tags/gas/trip budget, and you would not be hunting for a season to purchase the B1.2, or, hunting this season WITHOUT $1000 class glass, then my answer changes to NO, NOT $300 better, buy the discounted B1 on sale for $700.

Also, For what its worth, my next optics purchase will be a Maven B1.2 in 10x42 and Opticron Aurora 10x42 to side by side and return the less ergonomically pleasing.

 

[DrewskiMT]

I'm excited to hear more input on the B6. I currently use 10x42 Conquest HDs and am very happy with them besides the low light performance. In last 30 minutes of light I often find myself leaving the binos on my tripod and looking with my bare eyes because of lack of light transmission. The 10x50 B6 has similar FOV as the Zeiss and only 2oz heavier. I imagine it would not be a night and day difference like true Alpha glass, but any improvement would be welcome without stepping multiple price classes higher.

As you suggest, it won't be night and day brighter. 42 to 50mm will help, but to really enjoy a significant, "night and day" increase in brightness in the last 30min, you really need to go up(and down) to a 8x56. 10x56 will be significant too. That will get you the night and day. Maven B4 10x56 is on sale for $700 now. Their B5 10x56 is $1400. And a Zeiss 8x56 retails at $1600. Never been a better time to go B4. And the B5 glass is stunning. I run the 18x56 all over Montana.

And of course, if someone is on a budget, one can always pick up Maven's C3 in 10x50 for $400. That would get it done for a heck of a lot less dough, but I do wonder how close they would be to your 10x42 Conquests in civil twilight, as the Conquests already have Alpha level light transmission. That would be a very interesting side by side...

 

[martinwj12]

That answer depends(wear them when I get giardia) mostly on the depth of your pockets... and If you operate from a place of timeless common-knowledge optical wisdom, namely:
1. ALWAYS buy the maximum amount (costliest) glass your wallet can afford.
2. SAVE UP and buy once cry once. and
3. Used-1-generation-old-Alpha-glass is still better than current gen Conquest/Trinovid/$1000 glass.... Then... YES they are worth the $300 upcharge in my opinion (like ar$eh0les).

Here is why: B1.2s have
1. Wider field of view (Who doesn't love it wider!)
2. Lighter weight (Yes please!)
3. Bigger optical sweet spot due to more field flattening. (No brainer)
4. Better/Brighter optical coatings. (See above)
5. Same great customer service, Japan build quality and focuser smoothness, and USA assembly (San Diego)/company headquarters Lander Wyo). (Buy America/jobs)

Full disclosure: I run Zeiss Conquest HD 8x32, Nikon Monarch HG 8x42, Maven B5 18x56, Maven 6x30, Leupold 8x32, Opticron Traveler 8x32, and Bushnell Legend M 8/10x42 in Marsupial gear harnesses.

P.S. I wouldn't be surprised or offended if 50% of optics nuts would argue (competently and logically) the opposite of this. Also, the flip side is that if $300 is a lot of money for a person, i.e. buys the Tags/gas/trip budget, and you would not be hunting for a season to purchase the B1.2, or, hunting this season WITHOUT $1000 class glass, then my answer changes to NO, NOT $300 better, buy the discounted B1 on sale for $700.

Also, For what its worth, my next optics purchase will be a Maven B1.2 in 10x42 and Opticron Aurora 10x42 to side by side and return the less ergonomically pleasing.

Appreciate your input and you taking time. If they get em back in stock before I leave I will pull the trigger.

 

[Spiral Horn]

Are these truly on par with the SLCs? I’ve heard this from a few people now?

I ordered the B1.2 8x42s today (think it was the last one they had). Sold my 8x42 SLCs about a month ago but still have the 10x. Will certainly do a run-down of the Maven when it arrives. The optics of my 8x SLC were fantastic, but the focus mechanism was far too slow for my liking - not so much a problem with the 10x that I usually use for more open country.

 

[Schaaf]

Hope someone close to me gets the B6 12x50 to put against my Meostar B1 Plus 12x50. I've owned the B1.1 Meostar 12x50 and now the Plus are noticeably better in my opinion.

 

[Spiral Horn]

I've got the 9x45 B2 and the 12x50 B6 right now.

Not exactly apples to apples, but I'd say overall image quality is similar. The 9x45 is noticeably brighter, but it's got a 1mm larger exit pupil than the 12x50. The 10x50 would probably be similarly bright. Not sure how much of a difference the AK prism would make.

Either way, not a ton of difference in 10x50 and 9x45 anyway. The 9x will have a little bit bigger FOV.

Had the B2 9x45. Overall they are a fine binocular with very crisp/bright optics. Biggest beef I had was their sheer bulk and expected more brightness from a 45mm bino with AK prisms. Just didn’t feel like Maven got everything out of these features. Abbe-Koenig prisms have inherent optical advantages over the standard Schmidt-Pechans widely used today. But it takes the entirety of the optical system and specific component arrangement within the housing to create the image. Type and composition of glass, lens element design and finishing, prism and lens coatings, etc collectively create the image. A great example was when Swarovski created Swarovision - not a new binocular, but an improved optical design. Hoping the B1.2s new optical design similarly offers a crisper/brighter image than the B1s.

 

[Hoodie]

I would agree that the B2 doesn't seem noticeable brighter to me than a lot of the Schmidt-Pechan prism models in its price class (like the Monarch HG). I just really like the 9x magnification.

I do think it's brighter than the Meostar, but to my eyes the Nikon is too.

I can't comment on the original B1, but the B6 12x50 is a sweet option in it's price range. The only thing I could really ding it on is CA, but it's not too bad. Pretty comparable to the Monarch HG from what I remember.

 

[DrewskiMT]

I ordered the B1.2 8x42s today (think it was the last one they had). Sold my 8x42 SLCs about a month ago but still have the 10x. Will certainly do a run-down of the Maven when it arrives. The optics of my 8x SLC were fantastic, but the focus mechanism was far too slow for my liking - not so much a problem with the 10x that I usually use for more open country.

I also prefer the faster focus wheel of my Zeiss to the Monarch HG in 8x. It will be interesting to see what the speed/turns to infinity is like in the new Mavens, as well as your experience with them next to your SLCs.

I looked through a rancher friend’s Maven B1 years ago and compared it in person to the Bushnell Legend M in identical magnification. I was not impressed by the B1 that evening. But I didn’t really give it a fair shake either (more extensive “testing”).

 

[DrewskiMT]

Hope someone close to me gets the B6 12x50 to put against my Meostar B1 Plus 12x50. I've owned the B1.1 Meostar 12x50 and now the Plus are noticeably better in my opinion.

Here is a write up from one of the actual optical authorities over on Birdforum. It’s the comparison you are looking to replicate yourself, only in 10x50…

Maven B6 10x50 vs

• Swarovski EL SV 10x50
• Leica UV HD+ 10x50
• Meopta MeoStar B1 10x50
• Fujinon 10x50 FMT-SX2
• Docter Nobilem 10x50
• APM MS 10x50 ED APO

New Maven B.6 10x50: A brief comparative review

1. US company Maven is by now a well-known player in the market for outdoor gear and sports optics such as riflescopes and binoculars. Looking at their website, brochures and marketing material, the target markets seem clearly to be hunting and wildlife observation. Now, Maven has come out with...

www.birdforum.net

Only your own eyes are preferences are “gospel”, but his write up is worth the read. Positively EPIC collection/access of glass this gentleman has!

 

[Blue72]

Here is a write up from one of the actual optical authorities over on Birdforum. It’s the comparison you are looking to replicate yourself, only in 10x50…

Maven B6 10x50 vs

• Swarovski EL SV 10x50
• Leica UV HD+ 10x50
• Meopta MeoStar B1 10x50
• Fujinon 10x50 FMT-SX2
• Docter Nobilem 10x50
• APM MS 10x50 ED APO

New Maven B.6 10x50: A brief comparative review

1. US company Maven is by now a well-known player in the market for outdoor gear and sports optics such as riflescopes and binoculars. Looking at their website, brochures and marketing material, the target markets seem clearly to be hunting and wildlife observation. Now, Maven has come out with...

www.birdforum.net

Only your own eyes are preferences are “gospel”, but his write up is worth the read. Positively EPIC collection/access of glass this gentleman has!

That review is compared to the non HD meopta which has some drastic improvements

my experience with B3 Mavens is that I was impressed with the edge to edge clarity and color fidelity. However, the Meopta are way sharper in the sweet spot. Even the cheaper meopta meopro are sharper. you see the difference when looking at animals over a mile away. But the outer edge of the meopro are more distorted

But the maven B 1.2 might be different

binoculars are such a big investment it’s best to buy all the ones you are interested in and decide for yourself. I often landed up with optics which I thought were not players. Such as Kowa

 

[DrewskiMT]

I couldn’t agree more. Absolutely.

 

[Matt G.]

I really want to try the maven b1.2, kowa genesis against the meopta b1 hd...just need a good return policy...

Sent from my SM-G981U using Tapatalk

 

[Blue72]

I really want to try the maven b1.2, kowa genesis against the meopta b1 hd...just need a good return policy...

Sent from my SM-G981U using Tapatalk

All are available on Amazon, can’t get a better return policy then them. Especially if your a prime member

 

[Hoodie]

That review is compared to the non HD meopta which has some drastic improvements

my experience with B3 Mavens is that I was impressed with the edge to edge clarity and color fidelity. However, the Meopta are way sharper in the sweet spot. Even the cheaper meopta meopro are sharper. you see the difference when looking at animals over a mile away. But the outer edge of the meopro are more distorted

But the maven B 1.2 might be different

binoculars are such a big investment it’s best to buy all the ones you are interested in and decide for yourself. I often landed up with optics which I thought were not players. Such as Kowa

The optical system in both the B1 and B1.2 should be pretty different than the B3. From what I've heard the B3 is based around the same design as the Kite Lynx and Nikon Monarch 7. You know how it goes with OEM's manufacturing similar optics for multiple companies.

I'm not able to do a side by side since I no longer have my 12x50 Meostar HD, but I can't imagine they'd beat the B6 in on-axis resolution. From memory, I'd say sweet spot size is pretty comparable. The Maven's are a little brighter, the Meostar HD controls CA better.

The CA control in the Meostar is about as good as it gets. It's basically non-existent. If Meopta has an achilles heel it's slightly lower light transmission than some of its competitors. Certainly not enough to make a big difference in real world conditions.

Which one somebody prefers would basically come down to personal preferences/pet peeves. I definitely think most people would prefer the size/weight of the Maven.

 

[Blue72]

The optical system in both the B1 and B1.2 should be pretty different than the B3. From what I've heard the B3 is based around the same design as the Kite Lynx and Nikon Monarch 7. You know how it goes with OEM's manufacturing similar optics for multiple companies.

I'm not able to do a side by side since I no longer have my 12x50 Meostar HD, but I can't imagine they'd beat the B6 in on-axis resolution. From memory, I'd say sweet spot size is pretty comparable. The Maven's are a little brighter, the Meostar HD controls CA better.

The CA control in the Meostar is about as good as it gets. It's basically non-existent. If Meopta has an achilles heel it's slightly lower light transmission than some of its competitors. Certainly not enough to make a big difference in real world conditions.

Which one somebody prefers would basically come down to personal preferences/pet peeves. I definitely think most people would prefer the size/weight of the Maven.

makes sense since the Maven B3 had a very similar view to the Nikon monarch 7 I had at the same time.

light transmission is important to some people. As an amateur astronomer it plays a difference in how much of the Milky Way your going to see or not. With my Kowa the North American nebula just pops. In the mavens I could barely see it at all

 

[Spiral Horn]

All are available on Amazon, can’t get a better return policy then them. Especially if your a prime member

Whoa!!! Would only consider buying optics or electronics from Amazon as a last resort (as if everyone else is out of stock and I really need it now). Even though I still order a lot from Amazon, no longer order any optics or electronics from them. Even though they have an excellent general return policy not all items qualify (need to read the deal). Also, over the years received “grey market, old stock and clearly refurbished” items that were sold to me as new. Amazon just does not do effective screening of suppliers. Premium optics are just too big a risk to find they are not the real goods or that warranties will not be honored by the manufacturer. At this point, for new optics - it’s authorized dealers only for me.

In addition, most of the big optics suppliers allow returns if not satisfied - again, check the deal. Believe CameralandNY does, B&H Photo, and many other “Authorized Dealers” also do. Another advantage of using an “Authorized Dealer” is if there are any issues they can provide assistance in getting things resolved/made right.

 

[Blue72]

Whoa!!! Would only consider buying optics or electronics from Amazon as a last resort (as if everyone else is out of stock and I really need it now). Even though I still order a lot from Amazon, no longer order any optics or electronics from them. Even though they have an excellent general return policy not all items qualify (need to read the deal). Also, over the years received “grey market, old stock and clearly refurbished” items that were sold to me as new. Amazon just does not do effective screening of suppliers. Premium optics are just too big a risk to find they are not the real goods or that warranties will not be honored by the manufacturer. At this point, for new optics - it’s authorized dealers only for me.

In addition, most of the big optics suppliers allow returns if not satisfied - again, check the deal. Believe CameralandNY does, B&H Photo, and many other “Authorized Dealers” also do. Another advantage of using an “Authorized Dealer” is if there are any issues they can provide assistance in getting things resolved/made right.

Many of those reputable dealers are on Amazon and you can select them. Plus if your a prime member you save on shipping with Mavens

 

[Spiral Horn]

Many of those reputable dealers are on Amazon and you can select them. Plus if your a prime member you save on shipping with Mavens

Since Maven has no other resellers and with their ”no-fault; we don’t care where you bought them warranty” they may be OK to buy from Amazon. However, Amazon delivered to me both optics and electronics that were “grey market, obviously repackaged, returned or refurbished” items that were purchased as new. With high $ items the risk simply isn’t worth the pennies saved.

 

[sndmn11]

Since Maven has no other resellers and with their ”no-fault; we don’t care where you bought them warranty” they may be OK to buy from Amazon. However, Amazon delivered to me both optics and electronics that were “grey market, obviously repackaged, returned or refurbished” items that were purchased as new. With high $ items the risk simply isn’t worth the pennies saved.

Purchases from Amazon come directly from Maven just like if they were purchased at mavenbuilt.com

 

[Levi8599]

I have meopta 15x56 and want to downsize. Anyone get the b6 10x50 and have any thoughts on it? Would it be a good middle of the road bino for sitting and glassing and on the move opposed to a 10x42 b1.2?