Nice thread, this one and Binastro's one
Chose to post my experiences in this newer one. Because after long with 10x42 I wanted something with wider FOV and lighter, hooked to a Kowa XD BDII 6.5x32... So I found this Nikon MHG nicely priced with condition as new and had an evening and morning testing from my urban garden.
First impressions from the box: verrrry nice ergonomics, beautiful! Leatherlike armour feels nice to the touch, rainguard fits snugly but not too tight, objective caps are very nicely designed although they take a good push/click to fix them and keep them from falling out. But this design tempts to keep the obj caps on and protest the lenses better
Have not unpacked the straps yet but they seem nice, not too wide and normally neoprene padded.
When using I noticed one tiny design thingie that annoyed me, especially when testing one-handed: I put my ringfinger(s) behind the hinge, and there's that screw hiding the tripod attachment. This had a sharp ridge, not only on the side around it (that makes sense) but also protruding somewhat forward. So I have to place my fingers thoughtfully (will get used to, I'm sure) so to not feel the sharp ridge...A small nuisance but when you're tired these can become annoying.
One other slight negative (and then I'm done) is the case... Too wide for the bins, and really thin, offers almost no protection. The closing flap leaves a lot of space on the sides as well. Worst I've seen so far, seems I'll still be stuck with my old Vanguard Endeavor EDII case...nice and snug for bins these sizes with a closing zipper...
Alright, optics: GREAT. Fov is nice and wide, view is really bright, colours are natural (but don't pop) and sharpness is good. Focusing goes somewhat stiff, but feels like in need of breaking in. It turns solid, without any play.
I have the smaller Kowa to compare to, and Meostar 10x42hd. And that makes some nice subtle comparing.
The Meopta is sharper. Next to that the Nikon mhg feels like not exactly getting into focus, lacking that very tiny bit of sharpness...colours on the Meopta are more contrasty, gives a bit more pop, Nikon is neutral.
The Nikon has a tiny bit of colour fringing on high contrast objects that I honestly have to search for, but the Meopta is clearly just lacking it.
Both lack glare in normal situations; in the dark at night, next to a streetlight the Nikon gives some slight glare, Meopta none, period.
A fun thing was how the bigger exit pupil showed in the dark (in town with ambient streetlighting); the 8x42 beat the 10x42 on that, clearly somewhat brighter to my eyes. This was something I found this dreary, dark, rainy morning as well; the Nikon is brighter to me than the 10x42 Meopta in dull conditions... And that something that's important to me, we have a long dark winter season and I want the clarity for forest as well.
All that is in direct comparison and I'm really pushing and searching for the differences, but they're there.
Just using the Nikon as you would without directly comparing and splitting hairs, some birds flying don't give any CA and can be nicely followed due to the fov. Clarity and contrast is just very nice, and the bins feel good to the touch, really light with the Meopta feeling like a big heavy brick next to that.
Compared to my Kowa 6.5x32, about same exit pupil, difference in optical quality to the Nikon is obvious; Nikon is brighter, better colour rendition and contrast. But in sharpness the Kowa is hardly lagging...I don't blame that on the Nikon being sub-quality, more on the Kowa being higher quality than the price suggests. To me the 32 vs 42 question is about clarity in duller conditions and in low-light forest (where the Kowa showed me too little detail/brightness/colour). When focusing on a shaded bit in my tiny garden, and on a tree further away, there was absolutely a difference with the Nikon giving more contrast, colour and detail in the shaded part and lighting up the details in the tree better.
Still...there's that nagging question if (sub)alpha 8x32, with its luring size/weight advantage, gives that much difference in dimmer situations than this bright Nikon 8x42...that little bit of extra sharpness a Meopta Meostar seems to offer might be a factor in that as well...One can only try...? o
^ Oh look, a wall of text! :-O Bottomline: the Nikon has great aesthetics, great clarity, good natural condition, a bit of CA but not annoyingly so, could be a bit sharper but what's to be realistically expected at this pricepoint. The light weight and wide FOV make this a very handy set of bins, and they might prove to be the single one I need in all situations.
