Optics4Birding.com:
Meade Reviews
The following comments are the opinions of the writers. We're publishing
them here with the permission of their authors, with minor edits for
clarity or brevity. If you would like to submit a comment, send me an email.
I've been using the Meade 8 x 42 Safari Pros for about four months now.
They are truly superior quality, very high resolution birding binoculars.
These porro prism glasses are light weight (25.5 oz.), have long (19 mm)
eye-relief and the type of rubber eye cups that can be folded to different
heights to suit your glasses. Somehow, they managed to do this with a
wide-angle lens (8.2 degrees) that gives the feeling of looking without
binoculars. The eyepiece outer lens is a full 7/8" diameter. On the con
side, the case offers little protection and the ocular rain guard was
assembled from two molded plastic parts, one of which has now fallen out
and is lost. I can't see a need for the focus lock but it hasn't been a
problem. There is occasionally an annoying flare around the bottom of the
image when looking in the sun's direction. But none of these problems
effect joy I experience when looking through these binoculars. Once I saw
the view I wasn't satisfied with any of the under $400.00 binoculars
(including Canon, Swift, Pentax, Celestron, and Nikon). They're priced at
about $280.00 in stores and $180.00 mail order (Adorama). The higher
priced Rain Forest Pros handle flare better and are water proof but seem no
more sharp, are heavier, and offer a narrower angle of view.
Eric Sifford, 24 November 1998
Over the past few years, my wife and I have developed a growing interest in
birding and noticed (me first) the faults of our old binoculars: a pair of
Tasco 10x50 wide angle binoculars, fully coated, but with weak color
rendition, especially peering in shadows, and not quite close enough focus
to get a good look at birds on the nearest feeder to our window. First,
without much information about optics we purchased a pair of Bushnell 8x40,
fully coated binoculars, which deliver brighter and better colors, but with
an annoying, very distracting halo around objects sometimes.
After some reading about birding and optics in general, and of reviews on
the Better View Desired website, I selected a pair of binoculars that I
thought had the right combination of features for me: full size, modestly
priced, fully multicoated glasses, with a wide field of view, good close
focus, and not much weight. I have found, over the last nine or ten months,
that the Meade Safari Pro 8x42s are quite satisfying. I am not an expert at
optics, but I don't find myself missing views that other birders can see
through their much more expensive glasses. I have no trouble making out the
field marks of various sparrows and female finches, and so on; and I can see
the yellow tips of cedar waxwing feathers that I used to miss or just pick
up on birds in bright sunlight. They fit my hands comfortably for a steady
view. The oculars fog on the exterior sometimes, but folding the eyecups
down eliminates that.
My wife finds the Safari Pros just a bit heavy to carry on a walk, so we are
looking for something that will deliver similar economy and performance with
a few ounces less weight.
Mark Balcom-Wolf,
30 August 1998
I bought a pair of Safari Pro 7x36s for my grade-school-aged daughter. I
wanted the wide angle (these are really wide) so she could find birds and
animals when she brought them up to her eyes. The seven power means that she
can hold them steadier. And they are fairly light.
They also have great eye relief for folks who wear glasses. A friend of mine
bought a pair, too. She was blown away by the wide, easy view. She said they
were the first pair of binoculars that she ever enjoyed looking through.
On the negative side, they don't have very thick armor and seem a bit
fragile. Also they provide a really cheesy strap with them.
Glen Warchol, 9 February 1998
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