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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Nikon 8x30 and 10x35 E2 Binoculars (1 Viewer)

william j clive

Well-known member
These are still available in the UK, Ace Optics in Bath recommend them as being 'the best at any price'. I used to have the 8x32 SE, but sold them when, after obtaining new spectacles, I had continual blacking out problems.

They were, however, excellent binoculars. Now I am thinking of trying the 10x35 E2. Does anyone on the forum have experience of using the E2's? I would be pleased to hear your opinion of them.

Clive
 
Second hand experience only, but FWIW from a buddy who had some:

Very wide FOV without being quite so consistent across it as SE, less comfortable (conventional porro) body, but at the price (at any price say Ace Optics), outstanding. He traded up for SE (8 x 32). As for your eye relief problem - a 'must try' I guess
 
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pluvanut said:
Second hand experience only, but FWIW from a buddy who had some:

Very wide FOV without being quite so consistent across it as SE, less comfortable (conventional porro) body, but at the price (at any price say Ace Optics), outstanding. He traded up for SE (8 x 32). As for your eye relief problem - a 'must try' I guess

I have never tried the E2 but in the BBC Wildlife magazine a few years back Stephen Moss reviewed a selection of binoculars and concluded that the E2 matched the optics of the Leica 8x32 BN at less than half the price.

I believe the owner/manager of Ace Optics uses a Nikon 8x30 E2 so it must be pretty decent.

My only comment would be to consider the 8x rather than the 10x but that is just my presonal prejudice (my hands shake a bit and I get eye strain at 10x).
 
IMHO the good old Nikon EIIs deserve rehabilitation. They are very sharp (almost as sharp as the SEs), very wide-angled, light and compact - no chromatic aberration ;) as with most roofs. Their eye-relief is slightly less than with the SEs (about 14 mm), which should be just enough to prevent the black-out problems. They have similar floppy eyecups as the SEs, but if you fold them back, they should work well. Absolutely worth trying.

Ilkka
 
iporali said:
IMHO the good old Nikon EIIs deserve rehabilitation. They are very sharp (almost as sharp as the SEs), very wide-angled, light and compact - no chromatic aberration ;) as with most roofs. Their eye-relief is slightly less than with the SEs (about 14 mm), which should be just enough to prevent the black-out problems. They have similar floppy eyecups as the SEs, but if you fold them back, they should work well. Absolutely worth trying.

Ilkka

There's an interesting discussion on the Cloudy Nights site about the SE having something called spherical aberration of the exit pupil (SAEP) which gives rise to blackouts! I have no idea what SAEP is.
 
iporali said:
IMHO the good old Nikon EIIs deserve rehabilitation. They are very sharp (almost as sharp as the SEs), very wide-angled, light and compact - no chromatic aberration ;) as with most roofs. Their eye-relief is slightly less than with the SEs (about 14 mm), which should be just enough to prevent the black-out problems. They have similar floppy eyecups as the SEs, but if you fold them back, they should work well. Absolutely worth trying.

I agree, they're pretty nice optically. However, from what I heard they're not quite as tough as the SE's. Mechanically they appear to be not really up to the standard of the SE's.

Hermann
 
I have a 8x30 EII which is excellent. If you look at Better view desired they come off only slightly less well than the SE's. I have a 10x42 SE which I must say doesn't seem to be much of a leap over the EII certainly in the image department but then i realise its not a direct comparison.
What I particularly like about the EII is the extremely wide field of view which is 461 ft at 1000yds as opposed to 393 for the equivalent SE and is also a couple of oz's lighter than the SE. In addition the best reputable dealer price for the EII was just $289, the equivalent for the SE was $599.
The EII is a little quirky in that it looks fairly ugly but gives a great view, nearly 20% greater field of view, its lighter and half the price of the SE.
Seems like a bargain to me and a great view to boot.
 
Leif said:
There's an interesting discussion on the Cloudy Nights site about the SE having something called spherical aberration of the exit pupil (SAEP) which gives rise to blackouts! I have no idea what SAEP is.

Thanks Leif, that was really interesting. I was very skeptical about the term at first, but some explanations seem to make some sense. I am still not sure if I understood the idea or accept it, but in this glossary (http://www.roboticobservatory.com/jeff/optics/optical_definitions.htm) there was a definition of the "Kidney bean"-effect, which has at least something to grab on:
Kidney bean: a blacking out of parts of the field of view, caused by spherical aberration of the exit pupil. Rays with large exit angles intersect the optical axis nearer to the eye lens than those rays with small or moderate exit angle.

To me that sounds like the exit pupil is not "flat" ie. the eye relief is not the same at the edges and center. If this is correctly interpreted, I don't know why it is called an "aberration" instead of a "curvature" (aplanatic exit pupil). I still think the black-outs can be explained simply as vignetting caused by the eye iris.

To bring this back on topic... it was interesting that this Cloudy night -discussion originated from a thread "Nikon 8x30EII vs. 8x32SE".

Ilkka

BTW I have a pair of 10x32HGs and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend the 10x35s for those who like 10x power.
 
I have the EIIs and wear glasses. They black out on me now and then, unless I hold them slightly away from my glasses, rather than touching them - I can't adjust them much better than this because they only have rollable rubber eyepiece surrounds.
 
I have used the 8x30 E2 since the beginning of the year and continue to think it's the best binocular value out there (mine was $269 from Eagle Optics). Good sharpness and color, and a wide field of view.

Just don't drop it, use it in the rain, or expect it to give you sex appeal!

-Adam
 
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I did try 8x30E2 and 10x42 SE at the same time and I found myself actually much preferred the former one. For one thing the view is exceptionally large and comfortable; for another thing it seemed to have better penetrating power in hazy conditions. I would consider to trade my old SE for new E2 + a little cash.
 
Leif said:
There's an interesting discussion on the Cloudy Nights site about the SE having something called spherical aberration of the exit pupil (SAEP) which gives rise to blackouts! I have no idea what SAEP is.
Leif,

I have difficulties navigating the Cloudy Nights site. Could you please post the hyperlink?

Thank you and happy bird watching,
Arthur Pinewood
 
normjackson said:
Norm,

Thanks for the hyperlinks. I now can blame my problems with the Nikon SE on SAEP or just high eye point. I will agree with one of the postings on Cloudy Nights or with the link to Mr Strayton, that I cannot use that Nikon for extended periods of time. My real problem was not taking the Nikon out for field testing within ten days of purchase.

Happy bird watching,
Arthur Pinewood :scribe:
 
8x32 SE SCAM on Ebay...

normjackson said:
All this negative publicity must be having an effect; hot off the press
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=6126742697


Sorry guys... I dont think the bad publicity in those other links is the cause for the low price on the 8x32's listed in the auction.

The problem is that the auction is likely a scam. The pics were hijacked from a well known seller by the name of Gary Moss. He is a friend of mine and sells many many pairs of bins on Ebay. His feedback is exceptional, and is an honest and ethical guy. He is also a member of BF.

If you look closely at the link sale... the seller has no feedback and the pics are stolen. Those two things equal TROUBLE on Ebay. I buy and sell lots of stuff on Ebay, and I would never bid on an auction like that one.

As for the 8x32 SE's... a like new pair of them will be bring 400-475 USD on Ebay (assuming the auction is real).

Scams on Ebay are everywhere. Buyer beware.

Don
 
Donzo98 said:
Sorry guys... I dont think the bad publicity in those other links is the cause for the low price on the 8x32's listed in the auction.

The problem is that the auction is likely a scam. The pics were hijacked from a well known seller by the name of Gary Moss. He is a friend of mine and sells many many pairs of bins on Ebay. His feedback is exceptional, and is an honest and ethical guy. He is also a member of BF.

If you look closely at the link sale... the seller has no feedback and the pics are stolen. Those two things equal TROUBLE on Ebay. I buy and sell lots of stuff on Ebay, and I would never bid on an auction like that one.

As for the 8x32 SE's... a like new pair of them will be bring 400-475 USD on Ebay (assuming the auction is real).

Scams on Ebay are everywhere. Buyer beware.

Don
And, if you check the bidding history, there are several consecutive bids from one person!?! Very suspicious!

Andy.
 
A few notes on the SE 8X32 and E2 8X30.

The SE has 17.4 mm ER; the E2 has 13.8 mm ER.
IMO, the difference in eye relief will definitely affect eyeglass wearers.

The SE is built as well as a porro can be short of being totally waterproof. It's construction quality is vastly superior to the majority of porros you'll pick up in stores.

SE "blackouts" can be easily eliminated by backing off the eyepiece...I've verified this with several SE owners. Initially, I rejected the SE due to "blackouts", but later learned to eliminate them with my wife's SE. Shortly thereafter I bought one for myself and have been thankful ever since. The SE is a masterpiece and if Nikon would only package the SE optics in a waterproof housing they'd own a huge share of the birding market, IMHO, of course.

John
 
Andrew Rowlands said:
And, if you check the bidding history, there are several consecutive bids from one person!?! Very suspicious!
Andy.
Agreed Andy, doesn't seem to be any sense in same person making consecutive bids unless they are trying to edge their way towards a hidden reserve price (which isn't case here).
Thanks for the info Don. In all seriousness, I do wonder how clued up many EBay bidders are on the items they bid on. Remember about twelve to eighteen months ago a 20-100x70 zoom binocular would apparently guarantee some sort of a bidding war |:$| Dunno about now though.
BTW a new Nikon 8x32SE retails for ca £440 in UK. Unlike in US, the 8x30EII is not half the price of the SE; more like £60 less (exceptionally AceCameras offer it at £279). And because they have been discontinued, WarehouseExpress are currently offering the 8x32HG for £379; a more typical EII price. Hey, and I thought EBay was complicated.
 
It is odd that there was no bidding war on the ebay SE since they usually go for a high price. I presume this was due to the lack of feedback on the seller and the pictures and description being lifted from elsewhere.

What I have noticed about ebay is that popular items often go for silly prices, sometimes higher than new. Untrendy items are often cheap. I recently picked up a Nikon angle DR3 viewer for £24 which is a bargain. I'm not sure I would risk ebay for buying more expenses items.
 
Leif said:
Untrendy items are often cheap. I recently picked up a Nikon angle DR3 viewer for £24 which is a bargain.
Maybe that's a bit harsh, Leif. At the local disco with a nice big perm and 'tache and a DR3 placed in a strategic spot surely it would be possible to pass oneself off as Jason King...

Like you, haven't made a big purchase on EBay. For me it has been great for for certain things; eg. where knew in advance what wanted, a quick search on key words saved traipsing round loads of shops. Or have bought discontinued items might have struggled to find anywhere else. And of course those brand new Summit 8x26s for my wee nephew after your own recommendation :t:
 
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