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Nikon 8x30E11 (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Bencw
- Start date
NDhunter
Experienced observer
Peter:
I have followed your posts, and if you are wanting every post to follow
the subject of the original post, you will find this a very disappointing place to discuss optics.
There are many experienced optics users on here, and you can find some
useful information. So you need to decide if you want to sift through it.
As you may have learned, less than 25% of the posts are on topic.
That means you need to deal with that.
The moderators do well just to stand back and watch, and only you can
decide how you deal with it.
Jerry
perterra
Well-known member
I usually pick up more info from the side conversations.
PeterPS
Well-Known Member
New Convert
I have an EII and had a Habicht, and was hopeful to find some useful info about them in this thread only to find out that very few posts talked about them. My post expressed my frustration at the 1/2h I "wasted" trying to find specific info hidden in some of the posts. Some have agreed with me (either explicitly or implicitly via PMs) that we should have more streamlined threads others have disagreed. What's not cool is that some of those who provided negative feedback preferred to attack the poster (who they do not know) instead of providing compelling arguments why they see things differently. Now for a change you have made some sensible points:
Peter.
I have an EII and had a Habicht, and was hopeful to find some useful info about them in this thread only to find out that very few posts talked about them. My post expressed my frustration at the 1/2h I "wasted" trying to find specific info hidden in some of the posts. Some have agreed with me (either explicitly or implicitly via PMs) that we should have more streamlined threads others have disagreed. What's not cool is that some of those who provided negative feedback preferred to attack the poster (who they do not know) instead of providing compelling arguments why they see things differently. Now for a change you have made some sensible points:
Conclusion: you have converted me! In fact I am the type of "campfire conversation" guy (who isn't after a certain age....) that one of the posters thought that I am not, but I believed that a discussion about optics should be something different. My swan song (I am not fully converted yet): please keep at least 25% of the discussion on topic, and keep the personal attacks out of it.
Peter.
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perterra
Well-known member
:t: No personal attacks from me, just a comment. Pretty hard to have a conversation more than a couple of sentences if you are limited to one bullet point only.
An example, I spent some time looking for info here on 8X40 action ex, several commented on a Leupold 6X30 yosemite. Had they not changed the conversation to the 6X30, I never would have bought one, and I dont think I would have been as happy with the action ex as I am my leupold.
brocknroller
porromaniac
Peter,
Glad to hear about your conversion experience from a "Dedicated Follower of Fashion" to a "Midnight Rambler." Of course, if one veers too far off topic, you will ruffle the feathers of the powers that be and be asked to move the discussion to Ruffled Feathers where I'm told, "Lord Knows, Anything Goes" (btw, you have to sign up to post on Ruffled Feathers, as I found out).
I've had extensive experience with the 8x and 10x EIIs, and I must have written dozens upon dozens of posts about them over the years, which you will find in the archives. You would have been better off spending that wasted 1/2 hr. on digging them out. Sancho, Arthur, Holger and others have also posted comments on the EIIs.
I used to Pete and Repeat my comments when a newbie came on asking about the EII, but then Pete fall off the wall and who was left?
Surprisingly, the EII is not reviewed in the BF review section. When I get the chance, I will remedy that.
In the meantime, if there are specific questions you have about the EIIs, post the questions and I will attempt to answer them the best I can.
Suffice it to say, the EII is my favorite bin for birding close-in and in dense bush where the EWA helps spot birds more easily and the "warm" color bias and 3-D effect "pops" the birds out from the background.
Brock
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PeterPS
Well-Known Member
Brock:
Thanks for posting (in your unmistakable style...). Actually I believe I know "everything" about the EII (I have had 3 of them, both 8x and 10x), I just wanted to confirm that by reading the info on this thread! Now that you got me started, and as a small "proof" of what I've just said, I have found what I believe is a simpler and more elegant solution to the EII bouncing and swinging problem than your Bushwackers #5 idea: simply replace the EII's original rainguard with that of the FL 8x32--the latter sits tight on the eyecups and pulls the binos top towards your chest and, voila, no more bouncing. I also have another solution that prevents the binos from bouncing even when you bend or lean forward (no harness), but it's getting late and I leave it for another post ....
Peter.
Thanks for posting (in your unmistakable style...). Actually I believe I know "everything" about the EII (I have had 3 of them, both 8x and 10x), I just wanted to confirm that by reading the info on this thread! Now that you got me started, and as a small "proof" of what I've just said, I have found what I believe is a simpler and more elegant solution to the EII bouncing and swinging problem than your Bushwackers #5 idea: simply replace the EII's original rainguard with that of the FL 8x32--the latter sits tight on the eyecups and pulls the binos top towards your chest and, voila, no more bouncing. I also have another solution that prevents the binos from bouncing even when you bend or lean forward (no harness), but it's getting late and I leave it for another post ....
Peter.
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PeterPS
Well-Known Member
PS: I know that you also suggested the use of the bushwackers for improving the balance of the binos and their feel in the hand but I have no problem with EII in that respect at all---usually I hold them using the "military grip".
In my opinion the EII is a beautiful set and I would be reluctant to add anything to it that might take away even a small part of its beauty.....
In my opinion the EII is a beautiful set and I would be reluctant to add anything to it that might take away even a small part of its beauty.....
brocknroller
porromaniac
It is a "gem" for sure. My single gripe is that without the Bushwackers, flare can be an issue when the sun is low, which it is all winter. So in the winter, I take the 3" rubber sun shields off the SE since the SE controls flare well, I use the sun shields primarily to keep the SE from tilting and bouncing off my body while carrying them around my neck, and I put the sun shields on the EII. The EII's barrels are smaller than the EII, but the Bushwackers make a perfect adapter. With the Bushwacker/sun shield set up, flare is reduced to the level of the SE.
My dream bins? 8x and 10x EII optics in SE housings. I will have to ask my friend Warren (Buffet) to commission Nikon to build some. :smoke:
Brock
My dream bins? 8x and 10x EII optics in SE housings. I will have to ask my friend Warren (Buffet) to commission Nikon to build some. :smoke:
Brock
Attachments
![Nikon EII and SE 030 [Desktop Resolution] [] [Desktop Resolution].JPG](/data/attachments/490/490876-4ab9183e7b64e8e9350556635d455dfa.jpg)
PeterPS
Well-Known Member
Simple solution to EII, SE etc. bouncing problem
Buy 3 (or 4 if needed) OpTech connector straps with quick disconnect:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007NRCUXI/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s05?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Make a belt out of them that you place over the bins neck strap, just above the bins. Owing to the quick disconnecting "buckle" the belt is easy to put on and take off---in a matter of sec.--and it eliminates bouncing and tilting completely. It acts as a semi-harness, but is much less cumbersome to put on and remove.
Perhaps somebody else has a better idea----if so please share.
Peter.
Buy 3 (or 4 if needed) OpTech connector straps with quick disconnect:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007NRCUXI/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s05?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Make a belt out of them that you place over the bins neck strap, just above the bins. Owing to the quick disconnecting "buckle" the belt is easy to put on and take off---in a matter of sec.--and it eliminates bouncing and tilting completely. It acts as a semi-harness, but is much less cumbersome to put on and remove.
Perhaps somebody else has a better idea----if so please share.
Peter.
brocknroller
porromaniac
Pete,
The flare isn't from side light into the EPs, although that can be an issue, too, with both the SE and EII, due to the mismatch of the wide eyecups and my deep-set eyes (Bob the Contrarian will now tell us how he has deep-set eyes, too, but doesn't have any problem with the EII's or SE's eyecups or for that matter, any bin eyecups ever made). :smoke:
The flare is from light coming in the objectives. Of course, if I lived in the Sunshine State, I might not have this issue, but right now I feel like High North, with the sun hugging the horizon for most of the day. Since the woods and park are to the south of me, I'm always looking in the direction of the sun. Fortunately, I have found a good solution plus the extra weight from the extensions help steady the image better.
Thanks for the tilting tip. I tried your solution with the SE. I have a wide neck strap with break-a-way connectors, which I can use to make a loop. The "belt" does help somewhat, but there is still some tilt to the bins on my belly (if I lost 20 lbs, no doubt, there would be less tilt!). What I do is simply twist the strap once around so that the strap from one side is crisscrossed over the other. It essentially does the same thing as the "belt," which is bring the top of the bins closer to your body, except I don't have to disconnect anything to use the bins or worry about losing the "belt" once it's detached. The bins are useable with the strap crisscrossed. I call it a "poor man's bino harness."
Speaking of crisscrossed... whatever happened to that three-hit-wonder Chris Cross? He won a Grammy for Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do) and then disappeared into Zager and Evans 2525 obscurity. Being chubby and balding, I think it was a case of video killed the radio star.
Chris Cross
Brock
PeterPS
Well-Known Member
Brock:
Thanks for experimenting with the "belt idea" and for improving it by...eliminating the "belt" but keeping the ...."idea".
Regarding the EII and glare, I have tested my sample at sunset almost looking into the sun, and it controls glare very well (anyway much better than the SV). Side light causes reflections into the eyepieces and is indeed an issue, but you can use a hand to shade the eyecups and the issue is solved.
Peter
Thanks for experimenting with the "belt idea" and for improving it by...eliminating the "belt" but keeping the ...."idea".
Regarding the EII and glare, I have tested my sample at sunset almost looking into the sun, and it controls glare very well (anyway much better than the SV). Side light causes reflections into the eyepieces and is indeed an issue, but you can use a hand to shade the eyecups and the issue is solved.
Peter
I think it turned out that that was the best he could do....!
brocknroller
porromaniac
Do you have the newer black body EII? I had one for three weeks but had to sell it due to a steep pay cut. I compared it to my two (now one) gray body samples, and the BB model reduced glare better than the older models. It does have more advanced coatings, with improved contrast, but they are not light years ahead of the older model so I'm not sure if that could explain it, and both models have FMCs. I looked inside to see if Nikon had added baffles, but as far as I could tell, it was the same internally as the older model, but nonetheless, the BB model controlled flare noticeably better.
Brock
brocknroller
porromaniac
Originally Posted by brocknroller View Post
Pete, Speaking of crisscrossed... whatever happened to that three-hit-wonder Chris Cross? He won a Grammy for Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do) and then disappeared into Zager and Evans 2525 obscurity.
Good one! :-O
Pete, Speaking of crisscrossed... whatever happened to that three-hit-wonder Chris Cross? He won a Grammy for Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do) and then disappeared into Zager and Evans 2525 obscurity.
I think it turned out that that was the best he could do....!
Good one! :-O
PeterPS
Well-Known Member
Brock: yes indeed I have the BB EII. I had several samples and kept the one with the largest serial number---but the difference from the others was subtle, if any. From my research on the serial number's link to the production year, I believe that my example was produced some 3 years ago. I have no idea if there are more recent EIIs available. From what I gathered from Nikon EII is not listed as discontinued but rumors say it is not produced any longer.///Peter.
PeterPS
Well-Known Member
I agree that SE handles glare better than EII but I maintain that EII is not outperformed by much. It also depends on your face shape---if you can push the eyecups into your cheeks (as well as into your eye sockets) and look through the upper part of the EP (which is larger for SE, and that might be a reason why SE is better?) then glare is gone. Does anybody know why EII and especially SE control glare so well? If it was just the baffling that could be copied by other manufacturers, but it should be more to it than that. ///Peter
