Meade TravelView - any good?

[Perene]

Guys, do you know what can be expected from the MEADE TRAVELVIEW models?

http://www.meade.com/travelview-binoculars-10x50.html

I saw both 7x50 and 10x50 and was thinking about buying, however I saw such comments:

I'll preface this by saying I've owned well over 100 pairs of binoculars, could be close to 150, in my life as a casual collector. I just can't resist buying them when I see a used pair that look interesting. I will resell them, or give them away if they're really bad, or the good ones I keep for awhile. So I have seen quite a few and got to know them.

I picked up a pair of these Meade 10x50's on a whim yesterday at my local thrift store. They're in pretty good shape cosmetically and functionally, enough to make an accurate impression.

Build quality is pretty good for its price point. The all important center focus mechanism functions pretty well, not a lot of wavering side to side as you dial in in and out.

The oculars are convex on the viewing side, not sure what the significance is of that but it is rather unusual, most are flat glass on the outside. This brings me to the issue that's pretty obvious in these, the glass, is just... glass. There's a light blue coating, but overall the optics feel kind of lifeless and it's reflected (and worsened by its 10x magnification vs a 7x) in a pretty abysmal depth of focus performance. This is an important factor I look at in binocs as it relates to how much fiddling you have to do as you use them. They just are not a pleasant instrument to use. The 3d effect expected of a good quality binocular is largely absent in these. Holding them at arm's length pointed at a bright light, there is noticeable squaring of the image by the prisms- an indication of poor quality glass.

I will counter by adding that given the MSRP of these when new, let alone the fraction of that I paid for them, one should expect marginal performance to come with the territory. However given that Meade puts its name on a lot of products that perform well, you'd think you'd be getting more than something you find in a plastic clam shell at a big box store for a half day's wages of a fast food worker.

They're binoculars. You can see things through them at about 10X power.

Don't expect a lot more.

http://www.amazon.com/Meade-Travel-10x50-Porro-Binocular/dp/B00008IOVP/ref=dp_ob_title_ce

http://www.amazon.com/Meade-Travel-10X50-Porro-Binocular/dp/B00005M2BT/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top?ie=UTF8 (in here, only positive reviews)

However, you may have noticed the photos differ from what we see in the MEADE homepage. It seems the comment above is from an earlier model.

I found in Amazon two pages with the same images from the MEADE site:
 

http://www.amazon.com/Meade-125002-Travel-Binoculars-Black/dp/B00LY8JCK6/ref=pd_sim_sbs_p_3?ie=UTF8&refRID=0PES60XRQH4KS822TF1B

http://www.amazon.com/Meade-125003-10x50-Travel-Binoculars/dp/B00LY8JCNI/ref=pd_sim_sbs_p_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=1HKKF08EAMWE24CWH8SQ

Notice the lack of reviews.

And finally, we have these three messages posted 10 years ago, in another online board.
 

I was at Radio Shack the other day looking for something and noticed they had a set of Meade TravelView 10x50s on sale for $25. They peaked my interest so later that night I looked around on here and read some reviews on them. Most folks seemed to think they were alright for the money for kids or an extra pair to keep in the truck.

As an aside, I'm a newbie when it comes to using binos more than casually. My current best binos are my Nikon Action Extreme 10x50s. So, while I think they're great for the time being though you may not, but these are what I have to compare to. 

So, the next day I went back up to Radio Shack and looked them over. Fit and finish was so-so. You could see some grease around the joints and bits of adhesive on the retaining rings for the objectives. The frame was nice and the rubber had a good feel to it. No scratches, dings, or any other obvious blemishes. I had trouble seeing any internal reflections in the store so I can't say much about the coatings. Next I tried moving and focusing them. The binoculars were stiff to open and close and the center focus wheel had some slack in it. The right diopter was stiff as well. 

I looked through them around the store and through the store's front window to the building across the street. First, I looked through the binos at the flat horizontal doorframe and noticed that it appeared to bow looking through the binos. I looked across the street and around the store some more and noticed the image looked all right. Not great mind you, but acceptable. The image was fairly sharp in the middle and got softer near the edges. They weren't the greatest binos I'd used but I figured for $25 they'd be good. So, I bought them and took them home.

Later that night (last night) I pulled them out to look at some of my current favorites M42 and M45. There were patchy clouds but holes managed to open up for me. I pointed them at M45 and noted the 6 or 7 really bright stars that stand out to me the most and that was about it. I messed with the focus some but couldn't seem to resolve the images as sharply as I'd have liked. I settled for the best I could get out of them and looked again. Same stars as before but none of the background stars I was used to seeing.

Disappointed I turned towards M42 and looked at it. Like before I could not get the image to sharpen. The best I was able to get looked like a blue smudge with the other bright stars to the side. I couldn't see the 3 bright stars in Orion's Nebula or the regular background stars. I thought that perhaps there were some thin clouds that were obscuring my view so I ran inside and got the Nikons out. Through the Nikons everything looked like I expected it to, sharp points of lights for stars, background stars, etc. Back to the Meades...same as before. Back to the Nikons regular view...Meades fuzzy. 

In conclusion (bet you were waiting for these words) I can't recommend the Meades for Astronomy. The focuser was loose and moved if you pushed on the eyepieces too hard. While the image looked sharp terrestrially (in the store) I could not get a good image looking at the night sky. I wouldn't want to use them or make anyone else use them. So, this morning I took them back. I know other folks have had luck with them but I wasn't one of them. If you're interested in them be sure you keep the receipt. 

Thanks for that report David .

The message has ( or ought to have ) true value for everyone who reads it .

The conclusion came as no surprise to THIS reader , but may well have done so to SOME members here .

Better luck with your next " compulsive purchase " ! 

Regards to you , Kenny 

It's the TravelView 7x50s this time. 

I got them as a "freebie" when I recently purchased my telescope. First night I used them I noticed EXACTLY what you described. Back to my "ordinary" bushnells - everything is much sharper. 

So, the TravelView 7X50 seem to have the same "glitch" as the 10x50. I am going back to the store to return them. 

I kept my receipt!!! 

I don't know what to think. Perhaps MEADE improved the binoculars (and they were talking about older models, a lot can change in a decade, besides the first two links from Amazon were added on the site in 2001, while the newer ones recently), perhaps they remain cheap (as in "bad" for stargazing), even though these comments are not new...

Can you guys tell me if these binoculars are any good?

I appreciate your input.