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Monarch 5 vs Minox BV? (1 Viewer)

mattie_g

New member
Hi all

I'm a keen photographer and have only recently become interested simply in watching animals rather than trying to photo them!

I'm off on safari next month and thought I'd take this opportunity to buy a sensible set of binoculars that would serve me for both larger animals and for birdwatching - I'm over at the Newport wetlands quite regularly so would be using them in grey, overcast South Wales weather.

I have had a play with a few sets, and the Nikon Monarch and Minox BV in the 8x42 would fit my budget and feel comfortable to use. I'm considering the Nikons, but would be interested in opinions on how these stack up against the Minox - both for the image quality and the 'non-functional' such as longevity and robustness. As sod's law would of course dictate, these two brands are not in stock in the same shop, so side-by-side tests are not possible. The Nikons are £250, the Minox £300, so reasonably comparable on price.

Also, I tried the Nikon Prostaff and Minox BFs which are both £129, I gather the Monarchs have ED glass but I'd be interested in what compromises there are in this lower price bracket - namely, whether I would find either of these as suitable to my needs as the BVs/Monarchs but at half the price. I noticed some slight fringing on all the sets I tried, but nothing disastrous, and I'm not sure I could detect a huge drop-off in brightness but clear, bright mid-mornings perhaps aren't the most indicative times to test this.

All advice gratefully received - please note I know almost nothing about binoculars, so apols if questions are noddy and/or answered elsewhere!
 
Hi Mattie,

Welcome to the forum.

You are a couple of days late with the question for me. I visited both the Minox and Nikon stands at Birdfair yesterday but my attention was focussud on other products. It's a couple of years since I last tried the BV and Monarch 5 and products do evolve over time so things may have changed. Back then I would have picked the Nikon, having better colour and CA control. The down side is the field of view is somewhat narrower than the Minox.

There has been a Prostaff 5 and 7 but I assume that was the 3 you compared to the BF. These will be somewhat dimmer than the first two in poor light.

£300 gives you some pretty interesting alternatives. The Opticron Countryman HD is Japanese made and possibly higher build quality compared to some at the price, but lacks ED glass. The Hawke Frontier ED is relatively big and heavy but offers a wider view and excellent CA control. The Vanguard Endeavour ED and the more expensive EDII with a flat field of view are other sound possibilities and offer a different colour balance option. These can offer quite different viewing experiences in different light and terrain so best to take your time in deciding which might meet your needs best.

Good luck,

David
 
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Hi David, many thanks for reply

I'm heading into town again in half an hour and will stop by LCE, they stock the Opticron and Hawke binoculars you mention. The Hawke were on the shortlist but are (as you note) a little bit bigger than the Nikons. They retail at almost the same price. The Opticron are a little pricier, so unless there's anything compelling I think this might be a shoot-out between the Hawke and Nikon. Both felt comfortable and well put together, both had good image quality - I'll see how the field of view feels in practice, the Nikons are significantly lighter so I'm swaying towards those at present, and most reviews (for what they're worth - for most photo equipment they become a bit self-fulfilling) rate them highly.

Thanks once again, much appreciated!

Matt
 
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I bought a set of the Monarch 5 yesterday, I couldn't discern much difference in image quality but the Nikon pair were a fair bit smaller and lighter which won the day. I see what David meant by the fields of view, it was a fair bit more substantial on the Hawke pair which almost swayed it.

Off to Longleat today so a good chance to give them a go.
 
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