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Binoculars review

Meopta MeoStar B1 Plus 12x50 HD

Meopta MeoStar B1 Plus 12x50 HD
18 January 2022
Optyczne.pl 
The B1 Meostar series produced by Czech Meopta was launched on the market in 2005. They started with the following models: 7x42, 8x42, 10x42, 7x50, 10x50 and 8×56. Then the line-up was complemented by 8x32,10x32 and 12x50 class instruments.

Since 2013 the company have been launching new Meostar B1 HD devices; the main change consists of employing new kind of fluorite glass, new anti-reflection and protective coatings. The 10x42 model was shown as the first; in the following years the company added the 12x50 and the 15x56.

In 2019 the series was remodelled slightly and its name was changed into Meostar B1.1. What's interesing, already in 2020 another version, called Meostar B1 Plus was shown – apart from new coatings the producers added also a bit different barrel, with more colour variations available. Currently the line-up conisists of pairs of binoculars with the following parameters: 8×32, 8×42, 8×56, 10×42 HD, 12×50 HD and 15×56 HD.

The company boasts of using special Meobright coatings, covering all air-to-glass surfaces which are supposed to ensure 99.8% of transmission on one such surface. Additionally you get MeoShield ion-assisted coating which protects external lens surfaces and delivers enhanced resistance to scratching or abrasion in extreme conditions. Of course you shouldn’t forget about phase-correction coating on Schmidt-Pechan roof prisms.

The casing of the binoculars is made of aluminum and armoured by high quality rubber. The instrument is waterproof and nitrogen-purged. Buyers get a set of caps, a comfortable, wide neck strap, and a cleaning cloth in the box. The binoculars come with a 30-year guarantee period of the producer.

Pictures
  • Lornetka Meopta MeoStar B1 Plus 12x50 HD
  • Lornetka Meopta MeoStar B1 Plus 12x50 HD
  • Lornetka Meopta MeoStar B1 Plus 12x50 HD
  • Lornetka Meopta MeoStar B1 Plus 12x50 HD
Manufacturer data

Manufacturer:

Meopta
web site

Distribution / Sales:

Knieja
web site

Magnification Lens diameter Angular field of view Prisms Eye relief Weight Price
12 50 93/1000(5.3o) BaK-4/roof 15 mm 1070 g 5790 PLN
Results of the review
Real front lens diameter Left:   50.01+/- 0.05 mm
Right:  49.97+/- 0.05 mm
8 / 8.0 pkt
Real magnification 11.98+/- 0.05x 3/3.0
Transmission 87.6+/- 1% 15/25.0
Chromatic aberration Practically zero in the centre, a bit lower than medium on the edge – a very nice performance indeed! 8.6/10.0
Astigmatism Low. 8/10.0
Distortion The distance of the first curved line from the field centre compared to the field of view radius: 46% ± 3%. 5/10.0
Coma Coma appears in a distance of 70% of field of view radius and is a bit higher than medium on the very edge. 7/10.0
Blurring at the edge of the FOV Blur occurs in a distance of 90% ±2 % from centre of the field of view. 8/10.0
Darkening at the edge the FOV Barely noticeable. 4.3/5.0
Whiteness of the image Distinctly warmer image – slight yellow colouring with just a tad of orange. Transmission curve noticeably slanted. 4/5.0
Collimation Perfect. 5/5.0
Internal reflections
Left: Right:
Meopta MeoStar B1 Plus 12x50 HD - Internal reflections - Left Meopta MeoStar B1 Plus 12x50 HD - Internal reflections - Right
A small false pupil. Overall it could have been better at this price point.
3.7/5.0
Housing A huge instrument that seems very solid indeed – you get an impression you deal with a top quality pair of binoculars as soon as you take it out of the box. Good quality rubber armour sticks to your hands as it should. It is attached to the barrel very well but, unfortunately, near objective lenses you can pull it out without any problems. Rubberized eyecups with three detenction stops are very nicely shaped so the binoculars are very comfortable to look through. Produced in the Czech Republic. 7.5/8.0
Focusing A central wheel of moderate size with rubber ribbing. Its full working range amounts to 580 degrees. The wheel moves smoothly and is properly damped. Dioptre correction done through a smaller click-stop wheel on the central wheel. Nothing moves outside. 5/5.0
Tripod There is a tripod exit but not easy to reach. 2.5/3.0
Interpupilary distance from 55 to 73.4mm 4/6.0
Closest focusing distance 3.2 meters. 2/2.0
Eyepieces FOV Apparent field of view of eyepieces amounts to 62.7 degrees (according to the simplified formula) and 57.4 degrees (according to the tangent formula). 12.5/20.0
Field of view Measured by us amounted to 5.23 ± 0.04 degrees and was a tad narrower than stated in specifications. A quite sensible field for this class of parameters. 6.5/8.0
Quality of the interior of the barrels Tubes are dark and matt inside, with a high number of apertures. A prism cell is gray, the bottom is dark. Very clean inside. 4.5/5.0
Vignetting
Left: Right:
Meopta MeoStar B1 Plus 12x50 HD - Vignetting - Left Meopta MeoStar B1 Plus 12x50 HD - Vignetting - Right
OL: 1.55%, OR: 3.07%
5/8.0
Prisms quality Good quality BaK-4 8/8.0
Antireflection coatings Green-purple-pink on objective lenses, yellowish on the prisms and yellow-pink on the eyepieces. Intensity between low and medium. 4.8/5.0
Warranty [years] 30 5/6.0
Final result
77.3%
146.9 / 190 pkt
Econo result 0pkt.

Summary


Pros:
  • very solid casing,
  • slight astigmatism,
  • moderate coma,
  • very good correction of chromatic aberration,
  • sharp image almost across the whole field of view,
  • low brightness loss on the edge of the field,
  • good quality coatings and prisms,
  • proper blackening of inner tubes.

Cons:
  • a tad truncated exit pupils.

At the begninning we can say that the Meostar B1 Plus 12×50 HD is easily the best Meostar device we've tested so far. Models without HD letters in their name scored as high as 137-140 points but the Meostar B1 10×42 HD got already 143.7 points. Compared to that 146.9 points gathered by the Meostar B1 Plus 12×50 HD in our test are really impressive.

The optical construction of the tested binoculars didn't change from their launch in 2013 but every version of Meopta has improved coatings. The effects cannot be missed, both when you look through the binoculars and when you glance at its transmission graph.

Compared to the 10×42 HD model the transmission graph of this one is less slanted so the colours are rendered better and higher results can be spotted almost across the whole visible spectrum. That's why the transmission in the centre of visible spectrum (called by Meopta daylight transmission) amounts to 87.6% and is in perfect accordance with the value of 88%, declared by the producer.

The colouring is very pleasantly warm. A delicate yellowish hue with orange overtone is easy on the eye; you can really get used to it, of course providing you don't compare it to a pair of binoculars with a perfect colour rendition.

Still in this area the Meopta lags behind the best instruments so we think, with the price of the binoculars exceeding 1000 Euro its transmission needs some further improvements.

Overall the Meopta Meostar B1 Plus 12×50 HD makes a really good impression, mainly due to its build quality. When you handle it for the first time you don't doubt it's a top-of-the range product – the solidity of its build leaves far behind the majority of binoculars produced in China which prices are now reaching a level of 1000 Euro. I didn't test the endurace of the Meopta but I bet this pair of binoculars will easily withstand 10-20 years of intensive wear and tear; anyway I suppose in any endurance ranking it would be placed very high.


Meopta Meostar B1 Plus 12×50 HD and Leupold BX-5 Santiam 12×50 HD.

When you look through the binoculars that good impression remains unchanged – the Meopta is a joy to use, everything works as it should. You get sharp images across the field, chromatic aberration is curbed down, coma -properly corrected, astigmatism level is very low and brightness loss on the edge of the field – negligible.

To sum up the Meopta Meostar B1 Plus 12×50 HD made a very positive impression on us. If you intentionally decide to buy it you won't regret your decision for sure.