Meopta is a Czech Republic-based company that is known for producing European designed highest quality optics for hunting, tactical uses and nature observations. They offer a wide range of optical products ranging from rifle scopes for any type of use to binoculars and spotting scopes.
Meopta has offered its products in the US since around 2013 even though their overall history reaches back to the beginning of the 1930s. The US branch specifically designs and produces optics for the US market while the glass and lenses are sourced in the Czech Republic.
Technical Specs
Optics
The optics in the Meopta MeoPro 80 HD are outstanding. The optical setup consists of 8 optical elements to provide the best image across the whole range of magnification and light surroundings.
The lenses are prepared with Meopta’s MeoBright coatings. These are ion-assisted multi-coatings that are applied to all glass surfaces that get in touch with air. These coatings are designed to eliminate reflections and glare and achieve a 99.8% light transmission. That’s the highest transmission you can find today with the current technology available.
All glass and lens surfaces that are exposed to the outside world are also treated with Meopta’s MeoShield coating. This ion-assisted coating increases the resistance to abrasion and scratching. It even meets or exceeds common military specifications with regard to surface hardness and durability.
Meopta also painted the inside of the spotting scope in black to further reduce glare and reflections. One would think that such an easy and obvious improvement would be used in any higher-end scope but that’s unfortunately far from the truth. This slight improvement might not add too much to the overall optical performance but it does indeed help a little. In bright conditions on long distances, it can make the difference between a good image on a target vs. a blurry one.
The high definition objective lens is made from extra-low dispersion glass. This is supposed to eliminate chromatic aberration or color fringing in not-so-perfect light conditions. It bundles light wavelengths into a single focus along the optical axis. This results in an optimized resolution as well as increased contrast and vivid colors.
You get what you pay for is a saying you can often hear. In this case, it is true. You get perfect colors with great contrast and resolution. They are practically flawless. At the top level of magnification you might end up with some reduced contrast but that’s, unfortunately, nothing that can be avoided.
The sharpness on the edges is great. It’s just one of the puzzle pieces that make the overall image on the MeoPro 80HD so superb. You’ll have a hard time finding any spotting scope that will beat the image quality.
Adjustments
The Meopta MeoPro 80 HD comes with CentricDrive. This is a focus control that sits mid-body on the scope. It is oversized which allows use and adjustments even when you wear gloves.
The wheel is rather large and rubberized for a good grip. It makes it easy to adjust when you change quickly from close targets to extended ranges.
The only downside with only having this rather large wheel is that you at times might miss some fine-focus control. While it is great to use CentricDrive to switch from near to far or vice versa, it’s a little cumbersome to do accurate small adjustments specifically when you’re getting into the higher magnification ranges.
The magnification adjustment control is easy to control and adjust. There are clear markings for the 20x through 60x settings in intervals of 10x. Internal positive stops make it impossible to over-rotate at the endpoints.
Other Aspects to Consider
This is not a scope that you want to compare with some cheap spotting scope you can get at your local warehouse. Be aware that this is somewhat reflected in the price as this is not a cheap scope.
The eyepiece is angled at 45 degrees. Depending on the use this can be an issue compared to a straight spotting scope. It is easy to use and overall comfortable to look through though.
The body is made from tough magnesium alloy. This scope is definitely built to survive pretty much anything. It won’t let you down in challenging hunts or on the range. The inside is, as already mentioned, painted in black to reduce any glare or reflection from inside the scope.
The tripod of the 80 HD rotates a full 360 degrees which allow viewing in any orientation. Once rotated into the best position for your needs, you can simply lock it into place. There’s no need to perform yoga-like poses in order to look through the scope!
The MeoPro 80 HD comes with a built-in sunshade. It’s integrated yet retractable and will help to keep direct sunlight out of the optics when you’re dealing with challenging light conditions. It also is useful to keep moisture away from the lenses.
The weight is over 4 pounds. That can get a little cumbersome on longer trips through the brush. You might consider using a higher quality set of binoculars instead if you don’t want to or can’t carry this rather heavy and bulky spotting scope around. You won’t beat the image quality of this spotting scope with a set of binoculars though!
Pros and Cons
The MeoPro 80HD is not perfect. Yet, it’s a great spotting scope to get. Better than nearly all the others you can get.
The glass quality and light transmission are outstanding. The image itself is crisp and clear and the colors are vivid. There’s barely any distortion towards the edges.
The adjustments are overall easy. The magnification is easily adjusted and works flawlessly. The focus wheel is large which makes it great to use even if you wear thick gloves. The downside is that the fine adjustments can sometimes get a little tricky!
With the scope being built quite sturdy, this sturdiness does come with a downside. It’s a little on the heavy side. If you don’t want to carry the little more than 4 pounds for hours then consider using a high-end set of binoculars instead when you go on those trips. You might end up regretting though that you didn’t bring the 80 HD instead if you’re tracking targets and animals over long distances!
Conclusion
The Meopta MeoPro 80 HD is one of the best spotting scopes you can get. It’s not cheap but you do get what you pay for!
The magnification range between 20x and 60x allows to use it for targeting and viewing of anywhere between 100 yard up to beyond 1,000 yards. You can at times experience a mirage effect at higher magnifications when the conditions are not calm and cool. However, that would happen with any scope and is not a negative to only the MeoPro!
If you are looking for a high-quality spotting scope then there’s pretty much nothing better you can get. The quality and performance are outstanding and worth the price. If you’re using a cheaper spotting scope now then you’re definitely in for a treat the first time you look through this spotting scope. There simply won’t be a comparison and your current scope might end up as a paperweight instead!
