Meopta Optika 6 5-30x56mm Initial Review
Of the Optika 6's, I went with the fanciest one - model 653608. bought 'like new' from Euro-optic, the 5-30x illum/christmas tree/FFP/supposedly 'ED' glass model.
Also of note, this reticle, the MRAD RD, was (supposedly) designed by our fan favorite Ilya Koshkin/Dark Lord of Optics.
Total price was $842 shipped to my door, $800 list price, and original optic price was $1250.
It comes with: 4 small screws for filling in the screw holes on the magnification ring, a throw lever, really nice scope caps, a sticker, an allen key, 3 really small screws that I don't know what are used for, a cleaning cloth, and a manual. Weight is 37oz.
If you don't know who Meopta are, they're a Czech based company that has been around for a long time and specializing in making European-style optics with Schott glass.
They have a following among sport shooters in Europe and some headway in the US.
Of their optic lines, most are hunting focused, but the Optika 5/6/ZD are more tactically focused and at difference price points ($500/1000/2000).
Of those, the Optika 6 is the most modern in design and thinking.
The Glass The glass fucks for $1200I have shitty pictures through it (we'll talk about that later), but CA is present while not being a distraction/minimally noticeable, the resolution is really good, the contrast is great with that classic poppy-green look of Euro glass, color reproduction is spot on, depth of field is surprisingly good given it is a 56mm objective, that is all really impressive.
Rated vs the similarly priced Match Pro ED, the MPED CA is a little better, but has 'American' style glass, so to ME, the Optika 6 glass looks more expensive.
Whether it actually is better in some degree, I think they are so close it would be difficult to tell on other parameters like exact amounts of CA or tiny resolution detail differences. Both are great buys for glass, just a little different in what they present.
But CA is there. I think the camera picks it up more than your eye does in this case. The Razor II is the opposite - camera didn't pick it up as much as your eye does sometimes.
The other thing to note the eyebox off a rifle isn't super huge. At 30x, it might even be considered a little tight. Not the worst I've seen and I've struggled more with my ZCO in that regard for pictures while it is still a totally liveable and usable optic.
The reticle is among the best designs I've seen.The christmas tree is my favorite style of tree - consistent markings on the crosshair, open/dotted center, extremely simple tree markings, clear numbers on the outsides of the tree rather than on the crosshair. Consistency, consistency, consistency. No fuzzy mark rangefinders, it is strikingly obvious where the halves and .2s are, the dots are bold only on the integers and clearly distinguishable, and at max power, the lines are not too thick.
The illum is centered on the center +, not the full crosshair, and not the tree. Very smart design (ignore the background appearance, that was taken through a dirty sliding glass door). That is 30x max illum. At 5x, my phone washes it out on white but it is sometimes-daylight-bright tiny + at max illum. This is minimum illum at 30x indoors. And again. Here is a really shitty picture at 5x and min illum against a dark wall, but my camera refused to focus.
The downfall is that the illum is too powerful and there isn't enough baffling or something internal so if you have the wrong mix of settings, you can get illum washout.
Like, don't have it at 30x magnification, max illum, in low light.. Lower magnification is a little better, but still not a smart idea to burn max illum in the dark.
Eyeguides are also very good, small note.
The ControlsThe video of manipulation and sound so you can get a feel for how they are
Turrets10 mil turrets, zero stop, locking elevation, and tool-less cap reset. A great and pretty unique set of features.
The elevation lock is VERY positive. It snaps with authority, not mushes on and off like some other scopes (looking at you, Razor III early models)
Hyper tactile and underdamped. I would have preferred more damping on the turrets. I can live with skipping, but I'd rather not second guess the jumps. This can be overcome as it breaks in and with a firm grip rather than a finger spin grip.
The turret knurling is excellent. Feel is very chonk. Internals also look pretty good.
The markings are obvious, crystal clear, and nicely aligned. Windage has the nice R and L markings on the side - better than some other scopes that have that on the top of the cap.
My only criticisms are:
The windage turret doesn't lock. Between elevation or windage, I'd rather have a locking windage turret and non-locking elevation than a locking elevation and non-locking windage. I don't want to touch the windage almost ever.
I think because of the very snappy elevation lock, it has a bit of play when the elevation turret is locked that you can feel. Is that a problem? No, you're not playing with the locked turrets anyways, but it does lack that certain element of solidity/quality aesthetic that you might want in higher priced optics.
I like that the illum has very positive adjustments. The side focus is stiff, so we'll see how that breaks in. The magnification ring is also stiff - less so than the PST II and not as much of a big deal because it comes with a nice throw lever. Ocular focus/diopter was... fine. Not much to say other than it has a smooth ring.
Other thoughtsThis seems like a heck of an optic at $800. I'd give the MPED an edge in beefiness and quality feel, but I might give the Optika 6 an edge in finish and reticle design.
I think it is a good buy at list price $1250. I think it is a steal at $800 LNIB, and definitely up from the PST II.
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