Nikon Attache 10 x 42 . How good they are? (1 Viewer)

Dear members of the Forum:

Has somebody used this binoculars? How good are they?. What is a reasonable price range for and used, good condition pair?.

Thanks in advance.

Jaime

Jaime Garcia said:

Dear members of the Forum:

Has somebody used this binoculars? How good are they?. What is a reasonable price range for and used, good condition pair?.

Thanks in advance.

Jaime

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I tried the Nikon Attache 8x42 a few years ago. They were very good optically. They were weather-resistant rather than waterproof, if I remember correctly. They focussed like a porro, moving the eyepieces in and out. Their one drawback was not very close focussing. Never tried the 10x42s.

Many thanks!!!!!!!!

Regards

Jaime

trashbird said:

I tried the Nikon Attache 8x42 a few years ago. They were very good optically. They were weather-resistant rather than waterproof, if I remember correctly. They focussed like a porro, moving the eyepieces in and out. Their one drawback was not very close focussing. Never tried the 10x42s.

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Jaime Garcia said:

Many thanks!!!!!!!!

Regards

Jaime

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Jaime, I found this mini-review of the 10x42 Attache on Optics4birding.com:

"I recently purchased a Nikon Attache DCF HP 10x42, and shortly thereafter, I made a disarming discovery. The focus mechanism is on the outside of the body, and is highly susceptible to accident, as well as having the appearance and feel of a very fragile assembly.

On one occasion, I went into the field, and discovered that I could not turn the individual right-eye focus adjustment. No matter how hard I tried, it wouldn't budge. Uppon close inspection, I could see that the surfaces of the eyepiece were no longer parallel with each other. Some unknown misadventure had caused the ring of the focus bracket to pry outward, so it held the telescoping eye-piece tube askew. Perhaps unwisely, I slid the end of a screwdriver between the bracket and the edge of the eyepiece, and twisted gingerly. Sure enough, with a sharp snap, the thing popped back into correct orientation.

Upon further examination, I found that by focusing to maximum barrell-length, I could, with very little effort, push with my fingertips and rock the whole bracket back and forth, maybe 3 or 4 millimeters---taking the eyepieces with it.

No doubt this feature is a factor in keeping a high quality optic at a minimum (and very much appreciated) price. I'll just have to remember to be mindful of this structural weakness.

Jim Turner, 16 January 1999"

I rememeber having the same issue with the fragility of the eyepiece bracket.

I found one online merchant selling the Attache 10x42 for 189.99.

I think you could do a lot better for that money.

I'm not sure if Nikon even manufactures the Attache anymore.

I am going to try the Nikon Buckmaster 8x36 at a local sporting goods store. This is the same as the Nikon Sporter that many people on this forum say is a very good binocular for the money. I will let you know what I think.

Hi Trashbird.

Thanks for your time. I greatly appreciate this. I hope to hear of your trial.

Regards

Jaime

Nikon Attache 10X42

Obviously many years past the inquiry but I felt it necessary to say something concerning the Nikon Attache 10X42.
Recently I had the opportunity to compare the Attache to the Swarovski 10X42 EL Swarovision, ect.
My finding were surprising considering all the accolades the Swaro EL receive on these forums.
Price point for Swaro are over $2K. Price point for Attache in 1995 was under $200.
I am not say the Swaro were horrid or the Attache were way better.
What I am saying is the Attache were brighter according to photo's taken on my smart phone compared to the Swaro on three different mornings/evenings.
Now there could be some technically issue going on, but it is what it is.
I am grateful I got a hold of the Swaro EL to compare with my Attache - it basically told me my Nikon Attache are the real deal.

B19000,

Not sure which smart phone you use nor your findings but something to keep in mind is that many phone cameras autocompensate for brightness, white levels, etc... Some do offer the option of controlling these features. Not sure how you took the pics.

I understand the auto compensate feature could be the culprit ...it's always seemed the EL's were brighter but never showed up on the camera that way.
I did another test this morning as the sun rose ( 30 minutes before sunrise )....basically went back forth with the Attache and EL attempting to read a license plate around 75 yards away. I anticipated the EL would allow me to read the plates well before the Attache and to my surprise not the case.
Obviously the EL have other features that blow the socks off the Attache, I guess I had too high expectations for the EL or possibly too low expectations for the Attache.

b19000 said:

I understand the auto compensate feature could be the culprit ...it's always seemed the EL's were brighter but never showed up on the camera that way.
I did another test this morning as the sun rose ( 30 minutes before sunrise )....basically went back forth with the Attache and EL attempting to read a license plate around 75 yards away. I anticipated the EL would allow me to read the plates well before the Attache and to my surprise not the case.
Obviously the EL have other features that blow the socks off the Attache, I guess I had too high expectations for the EL or possibly too low expectations for the Attache.

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@ $2,600, you should have very high expectations of the SV EL.

I am surprised that you could see as much detail with the Attache as with the EL, because I didn't think the Attache was phase coated, which usually makes the image softer, and therefore lower resolution, than a phase coated roof.

If you had compared a Nikon 10x42 LXL/HGL with the EL and found they were about even, that wouldn't surprise me. The LX series, particularly the full sized models, are very sharp and have excellent color saturation and contrast. Since they have silver coated prisms, I would expect the SV EL to beat it in low light, but for daylight, a buyer could save at least $1,000 by purchasing an HGL/Premier vs. an SVL, as long as he wasn't too sensitive to CA.

Brock

After learning a bit more about binoculars the past view weeks I can easily see the benefits of the Swaro. Pretty much every category other than image brightness (and cost the Swaro blew the Attache out of the water. The part that's frustrating is light transmission test say the Swaro are brighter. I didn't see it and I suppose what really matters is my interpretation. I wonder if manufactures are creating transmission levels beyond human ability to interpret...

Does anyone know whether the Vortex Doubler 2X Binocular fits the new 8X42 EDG ?

Find it hard to locate the Bushnell 62-0001 2.5x Universal Doubler at a decent price.

OK, I'll reply to myself. The product fits on the left/right eyepiece of a variety of bino with eyecups measuring from 40 to 43mm in diameter. This info taken directly from the product info sheet. I tried it on an 8x42 EDG and it works brilliant.