I couldn't resist to buy this green brick, an ex-demo from 2015, which I tried months ago and was still for sale and got it for nice price. Original wool case, new strap (crazy long) and a too large a rainguard, probably from another size Meostar. So I've already contacted Meopta if they have fitting lens caps and rainguard available. I've searched a bit online as well, maybe people here know if this
Meopro rainguard will fit a Meostar x42?
Just tried the 7x42 a bit, comparing to my Nikon MHG 8x42. Yeah, there's a weight difference, but the Meostars are balanced very well, fit the hands nicely and the soft armour gives a good grip, feels good and dampens movement/vibration to some extent. These 7x are steady! It's almost like having IS bins! Even compared to the MHG 8x there's a clear difference. I already found I sometimes couldn't get the MHG as steady as I'd liked and as I was used to from my former Meostar 10x42hd and I still think that's a disadvantage of the light weight. On the Meostar 7x the hefty weight and soft grip enhance the already better steadiness of a 7x til the point of a steady image that's a pure joy.
Optically it was a fun comparison as well. The bit of 'rolling ball' (or is it a distortion..? Sorry guys, I'm not a very experienced optic geek) sensation the MHG gives when panning is totally absent on the Meopta. Its fov is totally flat to my eyes, and gives the same sharpness to the very edge. There's just a tiny outer ring a little bit out of focus (not tried yet if I can refocus to get that sharp). So that's one huge sweet spot!
The colour rendition the Meopta gives seems more neutral than the MHG's. First I missed that sparkle and felt a bit of disappointment creeping in. But when viewing coloured autumn leaves and house sparrows with the Meopta there was a peculiar sensation; because how, why, is it when the one (MHG) shows brighter sparklier colours, the other (Meopta) makes colours stand out more, 'pop' more? The contrast seemed better. Darks are darker, lighter colours...well, every colour and shade jumps out more with its own natural characteristics. When I looked at a bit further off tree (always a welcome reference point for me) with some tits and sparrows in it, the MHG gave nice bright colours and I could see some birds scather about, with the Meopta the individual green and yellow leaves and their intermediary shades were better visible, outlined, and I could clearly distinguish a Blue Tit's cap on it's head... Resolution? The same effect on a few bald branches sticking out against the sky: Meostar showed them tighter outlined, while the MHG showed less details on the branches themselves and even a very tiny bit of ca around...
Another thing which really popped out for me just now in my short experience was the depth of view. I already found that quite nice in the MHG but in the Meostar it went up another level. It's hard to describe that sensation, which Lee also tried to relate earlier, everything seems more 3d layered somehow, it just gives a very nice viewing experience.
So I'm happy to have bought this, as one of the few obtainable 7x42's I'll probably ever be able to afford (Zeiss FL, Edg and Ultravids are over my head). With the MHG I constantly felt to miss some resolution in mid-distance (closer they're fantastic), and it not being sharp to the edge and giving the sense of a curved field of view when panning kept bugging me while I did enjoy the weight, colours and brightness very much. The Meostar 7x42 overall gives me better optical quality; more neutral colour rendition, better contrast/resolution (I know it's not exactly the same but can't wrap my head around that, yet), sharpness in the whole FOV makes me not miss the 8m difference, the DOV is very enjoyable, and the 7x mag combined with weight (balance) and padded armour make an insane steady view.
Nope, there's no one perfect binocular and each has its cons and pros. The MHG might make a better travel companion and are very good birding bins, but the heavier and highly solid Meostar offers a (not crazy big but still significant enough) step up in optical quality and viewing joy. As long as I can keep that hefty brick up long enough I will enjoy these very much!