I’ve been talking about the Optika6 riflescopes for a little while now and figured I should sorta summarize my thoughts.
I have not tested any low powered Optika6 scopes. The scopes I have tested are one 3-18×50 with MRAD1 reticle and two 5-30×56 with MRAD reticle. I designed these reticles for Meopta, but I did not have anything to do with the design of the riflescopes. A few people asked me, so to clear things up: I have exactly zero inside knowledge on these and everything I know comes from spending time with the three scopes mentioned above. Moreover, Meopta kinda went silent on me since SHOT, so if you ask me a question about a different product I have not tested, my chances of getting any information from them are not very good. We had a nice conversation at SHOT, but I reached out to them a few times since with zero success.
With that out of the way, the Optika6 scopes I have, I happened to like a fair bit and I think they do quite nicely in their respective price ranges.
Optically, both Optika6 models I have seen demostrate excellent, probably class leading resolution, but midpack contrast. Eye relies is long and reasonably forgiving. FOV is midpack, but at a slightly longer than average eye relief. BigJimFIsh had some issues with flare. There must be sample variation since the scopes I have control flare very nicely for sub-$1k designs.
Low light performance is respectable, but if you step up in price to around $1200, that is where you will see improvements, along with contrast.
Reticles are in the eye of the beholder, but I obviously like the ones in Optika6.
Mechanically, none of the Optika6 scopes gave me any issues. There is a slight amount of slop in the elevation turrets due to the locking mechanism, but it did not get in the way. 5-30×56 has an exposed non-locking windage turret, while 3-18×59 has a low profile covered windage turret. I much prefer the latter. The only real problem I have with the turrets is the lack of the rev counter.
Here is the spec table for the 3-18×50. There isn’t really a lot of direct competition for this scope, so most other ones listed are more expensive.
| Tract Toric UHD 4-20×50 | Element Nexus 5-20×50 | SWFA SSHD 5-20×50 | Meopta Optika6 3-18×50 | Burris XTR III 3.3-18×50 | Brownell MPO 3-18×50 | |
| Length, in | 13.7 | 13.8 | 14.65 | 14.6 | 13.3 | 13.5 |
| Weight, oz | 34 | 28 | 31.4 | 30 | 29.8 | 30.5 |
| Main Tube Diameter | 30mm | 30mm | 30mm | 30mm | 34mm | 34mm |
| Eye Relief, in | 3.9 | 3.7 – 3 | 4 | 3.94 | 3.25 – 4 | 3.4 |
| FOV, ft@100yds | 24.5 – 4.9 9.8@10x | 23.3 – 5.8 11.6 @ 10x | 20.1-5.1 10.2@10x | 33.6 – 5.7 10.3 @ 10x | 37.7 – 6.8 12.24 @ 10x | 35 – 6.2 11.16@10x |
| Exit Pupil | 8 – 2.5 | 9.5 – 2.8 | 8.6 – 2.7 | |||
| Click Value, mrad | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| Adj per turn, mrad | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| Adjustment range, mrad | 19 | E: 23.2 W: 14.5 | 30 | 26 | E: 35 W: 16 | E: 40 W:30 |
| Reticle Ill | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Soon | Yes |
| Reticle Location | FFP | FFP | FFP | FFP | FFP | FFP |
| Close Focus, yds | 25 | 10 | 35 | 10 | 25 | 25 |
| Price | $1200 | $1500 | $1500 | $800 | $1700 | $1000 |
With the 5-30×56, there also isn’t a ton of direct competition with the somewhat more expensive Ares ETR being the closest. The big question there is whether it is best to stay around $1k with Ares and Optika6 or step up to Cronus or Stryker. All four are nice scope. In the lower price ranges, only the new Strike Eagle is kinda competitive with Optika6, but I have yet look at the side-by-side. Soon though. Strike Eagle does have really wide FOV and is generally a very competitive design
| Meopta Optika6 5-30×56 | Athlon Ares ETR 4.5-30×56 | Delta Stryker HD 4.5-30×56 | Athlon Cronus BTR 4.5-29×56 | Vortex Strike Eagle 5-25×56 | |
| Length, in | 15.4 | 15.3 | 14.37 | 14.3 | 14.5 |
| Weight, oz | 36.7 | 36.5 | 35.8 | 35.8 | 30.4 |
| Main Tube Diameter | 34mm | 34mm | 34mm | 34mm | 34mm |
| Eye Relief, in | 3.94 | 3.9 | 3.2 – 3.8 | 3.6 – 3.8 | 3.7 |
| FOV, ft@100yds | 24.6 – 3.65.4 @ 20x | 24.5 -3.7 55.65 @ 20x | 24.8 – 3.7 25.58 @ 20x | 24.8 – 3.8 35.55 @ 20x | 24 – 5.2 6.2 @ 20x |
| Exit Pupil | 9.5 – 1.9 | 8.8 – 1.9 | 8.8 – 1.9 | 8.8 – 1.9 | |
| Click Value | 0.1 mrad | 0.1 mrad | 0.1 mrad | 0.1 mrad | 0.2 mrad |
| Adj per turn | 10 mrad | 10 mrad | 10 mrad | 10 mrad | 10 mrad |
| Adjustment range | 32 mrad | 32 mrad | E: 30 mradW: 15 mrad | E: 32 mradW: 18 mrad | E:31 mradW”23 mrad |
| Reticle Ill | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Reticle Location | FFP | FFP | FFP | FFP | FFP |
| Close Focus | 25 yards | 25 yards | 23m | 25 yards | 15 yards |
| Price | $950 | $1200 | $1700 | $1700 | $700 |
Here are the videos I made about these. Please be forewarned: I speak with an accent and editing videos and sound is not something I do well or a lot of. I am getting better though, so bear with me. For now, combination of less than optimal sound and my accent does not make things easy. THe accent is not going anywhere any time soon, I am afraid.
7 Responses to “Meopta Optika6 Riflescopes”
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Hello Ilya Koshkin,
I hope you are reading this message. I am using an Optika6 with diy digital night vision rear add ons and have a question.
The problem I am trying to solve with rear add ons is, the eye relief of the scope.
Because of the long eye relief of the scope, the rear add on needs to be placed far enough behind the scope in order to see the whole image. And then the whole setup is inconvenient.
I am using a board camera with a 16mm C mount lens in my diy night vision. Between this camera lens and the scope I need about 70mm distance.
Do you know any solution how we can shorten this, maybe by inserting another lens between or so?
Thanks very much!
I think you stumbled onto one of the main reasons why rear in-line NV add on devices are not very commonly used: it isn’t a terribly good idea. It can kinda work if you have a long rail and can move the whole scope forward, but then you have to worry about zero retention as you move it back and forth.
You can try to use a beamsplitter and position the camera at an angle, but that is a bit involved for a DUI setup.
I am afraid I do not have a good solution for you. I have looked into this option a while ago and it just did not seem viable.
ILya
Anyway, thanks very much for sharing your experience!
I know you haven’t look at the 1-6, but would you recommend that for a hunting scope in that price range? Also considering the Noblex-Doctor Inception 1-6, which are pretty close on price.
I have not looked at either one of these, so I can not comment. Honestly, the question to ask is whether you really need 1x on your hunting scope. If you do not, I would go for something with a larger objective. You will often get a same weight or lighter scope with 32 or 40mm objective that will be better in low light.
What rifle are you scoping?
The rifle I’m using is a Model 70 Featherweight. Currently have an older Zeiss Conquest 3-9 on it. The crosshair disappears in low light, so that’s the main reason I’m looking to change scopes. I do a lot of still hunting, so close range, moving targets are common. That’s why I was looking for something with 1x. 2x or 3x can work, but not as fast on target.
There are still a few Vortex Razor LH 1.5-8’s around. Considered that as well, but like the idea of an illuminated reticle.