10 x 35 E II vs contemporary roofs (1 Viewer)

Going on the theme of E IIs, in the absence of SEs, have any of you tried looking through a 10x35 E II and how does it perform against contemporary 10x30/32 roofs of high quality (big three)?

I'm not expecting it to match a Swaro Habicht 10x40W but the wide field of view and reasonably small body seems like an alluring alternative to the Canon IS school bully brick.

I bought my 10x35 EII refurbished about 12 years ago and it still performs well even when compared with my Nikon 10x32 EDG. I've taken it with me on trips to Hawk Mountain and Cape May during the fall raptor migration seasons and would not hesitate to take it there again.

It has a wide 7º FOV, wider than the EDG and in late twilight conditions, when you would normally not use these binoculars it was hard to tell them apart. I saw the spots on doves 80 feet away a little bit better with the EDG. My Nikon 10x42 SE is brighter than both of them under these conditions.

Bob

I have both Ell in 8x and 10x. As good as the 8x is, I prefer the 10x optically. I find it to be an outstanding binocular. It's heavy diminishing returns after a binocular like the 10x Ell.

I actually purchased a new one via Japan on eBay, and when it arrived it had a floppy eye bridge and the centre hing was terribly loose. But, I got some spectacular images through it...so I thought what the heck...took it apart and tightened it all up including the focuser. I prefer it's slightly larger size over the tiny 8x30 Ell.

You're right, it's not quite up to the Swarovski Habicht 10x40, but virtually nothing is in my experience...but in isolation, it is outstanding and you would never know what you were missing. The differences are becoming small at this level. It's fov is larger too.

As long as you can handle a 10x binocular, I honestly can't see how you could go wrong with the Ell. It has no notable flaws in my opinion. (Oh, It's not water tight). A 10x porro is my favourite binocular for genuine wilderness use.

Rathaus

I have a pair and they compare favorably to all the alphas. Fairly bright for a 10x35. Resolution and color saturation are outstanding! If you don't mind the wider grip while using porros versus roofs and don't need water resistance, then these are highly recommended. Nothing better in the $500 - $1000 range.

Just received Nikon 10x35 E II's from Japan.

- For its aperture, it's very bright.
- Field of view is pleasingly wide.
- Eye relief is adequate, even with glasses.
- Some chromatic aberration is noted, but not intrusive when viewing the moon. However color correction falls short of an ED binocular.
- Some coma and distortion are noted at the edges. In this effect it cannot compete with the 10x42 Canon IS. However it is way better than my 8x40 Nikon Action which is near dustbin class.
- It's very light at 21 ounces. Compared to the 10x42 Canon brick it weighs almost nothing. Of course it is still fairly ugly, but much more portable.