I have had the Meopta for a few hours now. This is what I thought about the Meopta vs Nikon 8x32 SE:
Sharpness: Nikon SE
Edge sharpness: Meopta
Colors: Nikon SE
Focusing: Both (or none)
Stability: Meopta
In my hands: Both
Brightness: Meopta
Contrast: Nikon SE
Backlighting properties: Both
CA: Nikon SE
Depth Of Field: Meopta
Result: Nikon-Meopta 7-7
Few comments also:
Sharpness: I thought the Nikon was clearly sharper. Perhaps thanks to the higher contrast, less depth of field and higher magnification.
Edge sharpness: The Meopta has very good edge sharpness. The Nikon SE also has a good edge sharpness, but shows little blur far out into the edge. In practice negligible!
Colors: For me, the Nikon SE is as neutral as a binocular can be. It sees what I see. The Meopta on the other hand has (just as has been pointed out earlier in the thread) a yellow bias. I thought the yellow bias was obvious and somewhat disturbing. Perhaps that impression was reinforced as I switched between the Meopta and the Nikon SE (which for me is neutral).
Focusing: The Nikon is very smooth when it is not cold outside. Is it cold, it becomes stiff. The focus of the Meopta is not optimal either, I think. A little stiff also. But perhaps because it is brand new.
Stability: The Meopta win this battle, thanks to its lower magnification. It may be a slightly calmer picture, but after my experiment with holding the Nikon SE, the difference is not so great.
In my hands: Both are excellent in this regard. They are comfortable in various ways.
Brightness: Both are good, but the Meopta is still a bit brighter for natural reasons.
Contrast: The Nikon is a clear winner here.
Backlighting properties: Both seems to be excellent, at least in the quick test I did today. No winner in this regard.
CA: I watched a white, very bright white buoy a bit out to sea. With the Nikon SE retained buoy its white color, while with the Meopta I experienced parts of the buoy as blue. I recognized it as CA.
DOF: Although the Nikon SE is good in this respect has the Meopta still greater depth-of-field.
Conclusion: The Meopta is a very nice pair of binoculars. Now I have not compared it side by side with the Leica, Swarovski and Zeiss .. but I am of the opinion that it does not really match them (optically). Perhaps am I wrong because I do not have much experience of the three top brands. But it is clear that my Nikon SE is more neutral and have better contrast. The Meopta is sharp, but the Nikon SE is razor sharp!
Both are pleasant to look through. I thought, however, that the Meopta would have a clear advantage here, but every time I used the Nikon SE it felt so natural to my eyes.
So..should I keep the Meopta? The answer is...probably not! One reason is the yellow color cast. I also have a Nikon Fieldscope ED82. The color presentation in ED82 compared with the color presentation in the Meopta is quite different. I would like them to be more equal. And the second reason is the focus to some extent that I felt was not perfect. However, I can not but recommend the binocular to all who want a good companion. Personally, I will probably look further for a more suitable candidate.
And the search continues in the morning as a package with a Nikon 8x42 HG L arrives..
Hello Kingfisher,
Sharpness, a perceptual quality, has two components: resolution and contrast. Two images of the same resolution with differing levels of contrast will have differing levels of sharpness. So you are quite right to think that contrast improves sharpness.
My guess is that a well made Porro binocular, like the Nikon SE, will have higher contrast than most roof prism binoculars. Phase coating is supposed to restore contrast and resolution lost by the out of phase images coming from the roof prism, but I suspect that phase coating is less than perfect and varies in efficacy.
Incidentally, I personally find that the image from a Zeiss 7x42 Dialyt Classic, more pleasing than the 8x32 Se. By virtue of Zeiss's long focal length, chromatic aberrations are well controlled, and its large field of view provides easy viewing.
Good luck with your search for a binocular.
Happy bird watching,
Arthur
I'm keeping my eye out for a 7x42 Zeiss Dialyt Classic. I was hoping the Meopta was going to be a less expensive option, but based on this review I guess it disappoints a bit, also you never know what kind of deal may pop up on a used Zeiss Classic. I say disappoints, but comparing it to the very excellent 8x32 SE might not be fair.