Best Meade Binoculars: Reviews of Captureview, Travelview & Astronomy

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Meade binoculars have the best digital camera & astronomy binoculars. Read our Meade astronomical & Captureview digital camera binocular reviews to learn why.

Meade binocs are made by a company that has risen from ground-level to amazing heights over the few short decades since its inception–one might even call the heights astronomical.

Meade Instruments got its start on the kitchen table of John Diebel’s single-room apartment in 1972. Originally, Meade was a mail-order supplier of small refracting telescopes, created on a capital base of just $2,500. Over the few decades that separate 1972 from today, the company has grown into one of the world’s leading manufacturers of top-quality telescopes and other optical and imaging equipment.

Their binoculars may not have the fame and respect that their telescopes do, but they are considered to be some of the very best in the sports optics industry.

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Best Meade Binoculars: Reviews of Popular Models

A dozen Meade binoculars are offered in several different categories. Their products range from standard binocular fare to astronomy binoculars to digital cameras binoculars. Here’s a rundown of their three most popular lines.

Meade Astronomical Binoculars

Meade astronomy binoculars are made with the same precision and advanced engineering as the company’s bestselling telescope products. The objective lens in this line is very big, allowing for lots of light to enter the lens. This makes them ideal for nighttime use.

Meade CaptureView Digital Camera Binoculars

CaptureView is the line of Meade digital camera binoculars that feature superb optics and an onboard Meade binocular camera for capturing the images you see through the lenses. These Meade digital binoculars are also capable of taking short video clips.

Meade TravelView Binoculars

These Meade binoculars don’t have all the fancy specialty features of the Astronomical or CaptureView lines, but they do boast some of the best optics in the industry. Just as the name suggests, these binocs are perfect for viewers on the go (hiking, climbing, boating, and nature viewing). They are rugged binoculars that are as durable and versatile as they come.

Focus on Meade Astronomy Binoculars

There is currently only one model in this line of Meade astronomy binoculars, but it’s one of the best binoculars for stargazing.

Made with superior BAK-4 roof prisms and a gigantic achromatic objective lens, these binoculars are the closest thing you can come to a telescope without actually buying one.

Here are some of the Meade Astronomical binoculars’ best features:

• Large objective lens for maximum light transmission
• Extra big design for stable viewing
• Rubber coated body for easy handling and added durability
• Long eye relief for viewing comfort

Obviously, the range of magnification and objective lens diameters isn’t very expansive with a single model in the lineup. But when you need to look at the stars, you can’t get much better than this pair of Meade binoculars without actually having a telescope in front of you.

For those of you new to the binocular game, here’s a brief primer concerning magnification and objective lens diameters. With every pair of binoculars, both of these qualities are listed in the name. It shows up in a format like this: 10×50.

In this example, the 10x refers to the magnification (how many times an objective is enlarged) and the 50 reflects the diameter of the objective lens in millimeters (the smaller the lens, the more compact the device; the bigger the lens, the crisper the image).

With Meade astronomy binoculars, the magnification is 9x and the objective lens diameter is 63mm, which is larger than any other pair of binoculars from any other brand. Specifically designed for stargazing at night, the lens needs to be that big to transmit the most light possible and give the crispest views.

For such a high-powered machine, it’s hard to believe that it costs less than $100. If you want a pair of easy-to-handle binoculars with which you can look at the moon and the stars, you should certainly consider these 9×63 Meade astronomy binoculars.

Meade Binoculars: Range of Abilities

In order to get a fuller impression of the range of binoculars that Meade has to offer, let’s pull back from the Astronomical series and take in the entire catalog.

Magnification

Meade’s range of magnification is quite expansive for a company that only produces a dozen different models. The lowest magnification you’ll find is 7x , which are the 7×35 and 7×50 binoculars in the TravelView series, and the highest is 16X, which is also found in the Travelview series with the 16×50 model.

There is also a selection of zoom magnification binoculars in the TravelView series, including the 8-17×25, 7-21×40, and 8-24×50 binoculars.

Field of View

What you see through the eye pieces of your binoculars is the Field of View (or F.O.V.). This feature is measured in feet and determines how wide your view is while standing 1,000 yards away. Due to the specialized nature of Meade binoculars and the small number of models sold, the F.O.V. range is a bit smaller than average. The smallest is at 220 feet with the TravelView 16×50, and the largest is 376 feet with the TravelView 7×35.

Objective Lens

Aside from the Astronomical model, Meade offers a standard range of objective lens diameters. The smallest is at 22mm in the CaptureView 8×22 binocular and the largest is found in Meade’s astronomical binoculars, which have a 63mm objective lens diameter.

There are quite a few models in the middle ranges as well, including Meade 8×32 binoculars.

Meade Binoculars Review: Consumer Info

Here’s a look at the price tags and warranties.

Price Range

Meade binoculars are highly affordable, which can be surprising given the high quality of their design. The cheapest you’ll find among them is the Meade 8×22 ($20) and the most expensive is the Glacier 8×42 model ($400). All in all, this is a very cheap lineup of binoculars, but they function like some of the most expensive.

Warranty Info

Unfortunately, Meade binoculars come with only a 1-Year Limited Warranty. This really only covers factory error and manufacturer mistakes, and any harm that befalls the binoculars in your hands is entirely up to you.

Consumers are quite unhappy about this limited protection and would prefer at least a Limited Lifetime version, but binoculars are so inexpensive that Meade finds it can get away with this pretty easily.

Meade Binocular Reviews: Consumer Reviews

Let’s hear from the people who have actually owned and used Meade binoculars. Here’s the good and bad news about them:

Additional Meade Binocular Reviews & Ratings

Best Meade Captureview Binoculars: Reviews of Meade Digital Binoculars

Discover the best Meade Captureview binoculars with reviews of Meade Captureview 8×42, 8×30 & other Meade digital camera binoculars & outdoor optics

Best Meade Digital Camera Binoculars: Reviews of Meade Image Capture

Need digital binoculars? Meade digital camera binoculars are among the best! Read our Meade Image Capture binocular reviews as compared to Bushnell & Vivitar

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