Meopta's new HS 75 spotting scope: fortier says you know a piece of equipment is first rate when everyone wants to borrow it

Guns Magazine, Sept, 2002 by David M. Fortier

At the very edges there is a slight amount of spherical aberration. At 30 feet on a Zeiss Test Pattern (ZTP) with the magnification set on 20x, I could resolve down to 12.5 cleanly and 16 so-so. Increasing the magnification to 60x I could resolve down to 20 cleanly. But to be honest, on my photo copy of the ZTP this is the smallest one that copies cleanly. So I toughened the test by posting the ZTP at 50 yards.

Here on 60x I could resolve down to 12.5. As a further test, I placed a dollar bill at 30 feet and checked the HS 75's ability to resolve fine detail at both the center and edges of the image. At 60x every bit of the engraving jumps out at you. Turning the power down to 30x, I could clearly read everything on the bill. Resolution of this scope is excellent.

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Color rendition is very neutral, just as we, and birdwatchers, like it. Eye relief at 20x is quite generous. Cranking the magnification up to 60x caused me to want to fold down the tall eyecups though. Field of view is large at 31m/1000m on 60x. This is comparable to, but 2 meters smaller than, Swarovski Optik's 20-60x eyepiece at the same magnification setting. Zoom down to 20x and the Meopta is within 1 meter of the larger Swarovski's FOV at this power setting.

Size wise the HS 75 is in the middle of the pack. As mentioned, length without the eyepiece is only 13.75 inches. This is 1.5 inches shorter than Leica's Televid 77 and over 2 inches shorter than Swarovski Optik's ST 80. Weight wise, the Meopta is approximately three quarters of a pound lighter than either of these scopes. It's actually only a few ounces heavier than Leupold's new 15-45x60 Wind River spotting scope, yet has a 15 millimeter larger objective lens.

Having used it extensively now for almost a year, I can say I'm very impressed with this new spotting scope from Meopta. My HS 75 has seen extended use not only on the range, but also in the field, and even training at a firearms academy. It's an excellent piece of gear and a splendid unit for the serious rifleman. The optics are definitely upper crust European and handily bested a friend's Kowa.

Resolution, brightness, and contrast are excellent. True to their heritage, color rendition is very neutral. This is greatly appreciated when you spend an extended amount of time looking through your optics. Testing the unit at dawn and dusk showed it to have impressive low-light capabilities. Size and weight wise I feel this unit is more at home on the range rather than in the field. If I'm humping a rifle and ruck over hill and dale I'll take the smaller HA 70. For everything else though the HS 75 gets the nod.

I highly recommend the Meopta HS 75 to anyone looking for a quality spotting scope with excellent optics. So far mine has impressed everyone who's used it. This includes men who spend a good part of their professional careers looking through optics and know quality when they see it. Price wise the HS 75 is not cheap, but quality optics never are. Retail price of the body (either HS 75 or HA 75) is $527, the 20-60x eyepiece is $151, and the fixed 30x is $117.87. For what you get though, it's an excellent value.