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Nikon SE's (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter stereotruckdriver
- Start date
Not unless you broke it.
In birding conditions which require normal reflexes in viewing your typical bird, which often is moving, but sometimes not, you won't be able to tell the differences in the degrees of contrast or color renditions that one Nikon SE SN might show and one with another SN might not show, depending on how the light is now as opposed to earlier or later in the day, or whether or not the sun is out or behind a cloud, or whether the bird is in shadow or not; with or without the background of a boreal forest or of a high plains savannah or of an arid desert landscape or under crepuscular conditions.
The same, of course, would apply to pelagic birding where it applies.
Sharpness of course will not be affected by these differences in coatings.
So, for those reasons, if I were you I would keep it.
Bob:smoke:
BruceH
Avatar: Harris Hawk
.... or not to be seen. This appears to be nothing more than incrementing the serial number after issuing unit 550999. (550999 + 1 = 551000!)
....................
Now I have to sell my "old technology" 550 so I can buy a 551!
Brock
If you do get a 551xxx, be sure and have it hanging from your neck with the bottom side facing away from your chest, exposing the serial number. That way the elite of the elite, with their Swarovision 8X32 EL's, the "best serial number spotting binocular in the world", can peer through the bushes and see that you have the newest of the new.
I would guess only a few people out of a thousand could tell any difference whatsoever. I'm very happy to be a member of the majority in this case.
Has Nikon said they've changed the coatings or are these just guesses?
NDhunter
Experienced observer
Nikon does not comment on coatings changes like this one on the SE.
The reps who do post here, probably do not have much or any experience
with the SE, as they are busy with the main line sellers.
If you want to educate yourself, there are several posts concerning the
great Nikon SE. They have changed the coatings, and I have had
several of those with changes along the way.
You will have to trust the eyes and experience of a few nitpickers who
enjoy these great optics. I have done side by side comparisons, with
older to newer, and as expected the newer ones with the later
coatings do show some improvement, mostly with contrast and
brightness.
The Nikon SE is a very nice binocular with any ser. #, so don't worry.
and be happy, if you get one.
Jerry
CSG,
Nikon never says anything about something like this. These are just educated guesses based on mooreorless common sense observations. It is probably true that a new sequence of numbers changes after 999 is reached but that doesn't necessarily mean that the coatings were changed at the end of that sequence. It could have happened in the middle of the sequence or it might happen later in the new sequence.
It's common sense to figure that more 8x32s are sold than 10x42s or 12x50s. So it may be that the 10x42s and 12x50s will get a new SN sequence before #999 is reached?
My theory is that when Nikon changes the coatings they make a group of objective lenses in each size and use them up as new orders come in. They can do this because these binoculars have modular construction. The eyepieces, the prism housings and the prisms are the same for all 3 models so when they change the coatings on the eyepieces and/or the prisms all three versions of the SE made from them will be affected. Only the objective lenses and the objective tubes are different.
As you can see, there is really no way to tell when they made coating changes from analyzing the serial numbers.
Bob
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perterra
Well-known member
The two best hawkwatchers I saw yesterday were using porros: a Viven 7X50 and an 8X32 SE. Sorry, I didn't get serial numbers on either bin. Maybe porros are making a comeback!
steve@37n84w
Well-known member
Bob
I'm glad to see that someone else agrees with my assessment of the difference between the SE series. I have both versions of the 8x SE and I can not discern any difference in sharpness (resolution).
I have spent many hours not just under the stars but also doing side by side resolution testing with charts (boosted and non boosted) and I can't detect any disparity whatsoever between my older leaded glass version and my latest 550xxx version as far as sharpness is concerned.
I do however notice a warmer color balance in later production Eco-glass version. I don't think there is any doubt about the warmer color palette of the later version, it seems to be the conspectus among everyone that has commented that there is an appreciable difference in this regard.
Steve
brocknroller
porromaniac
CSG.
I had a 501, it's a classic. Best bin I had tried up to that point. The guy I bought it from only had it for a few months. He had read Stephen Ingraham's review of the SE and bit. However, he also had a Leica Trinnie BN and he didn't get the big fuzz Ingraham had made over the SE. He liked his Trinnies better and thought it showed better contrast and snappier colors.
I didn't know what he meant until I tried the Nikon HG roofs and was blown way by the superior contrast and color saturation of the HG's coatings vis-à-vis the SE's. Clearly, Nikon was saving its best coatings for its top of the line roofs.
The older SE coatings lacked the higher contrast, color saturation, and apparent brightness of latter day SEs, but otherwise, optically, they are identical to the 550s in terms of resolution, edge sharpness, ergonomics and mechanics.
So your 501s are quite useable. But if you A/B'd your 501 with a 550, I think you'd see the differences I mentioned, and you might want to upgrade to a 550 or 551 (or better yet buy a new one and keep the 501 as a back up).
RBP
brocknroller
porromaniac
Steve,
You probably wouldn't see any difference on stars except perhaps that bright, colorful stars such as Aldeberan, Antares, and the sparkling Sirius might appear a bit more intense. Since your rods rather than your cones are more active at night, the difference won't be significant.
The difference is more apparent (to me and others) when looking at birds or other colorful terrestrial objects in daylight.
Bob and I have quite different eyes/brains, he's immune to chromatic aberration, I'm sensitive to it, so it doesn't surprise me that he sees things differently than I do.
The great thing is that you won't feel the need to upgrade to the 501, because you wouldn't notice the difference with the 550 even if there was one. The view through the 551 is probably very similar if not identical to the 550 (or at least that's the rationalization I'm using for not buying one).
Brock
I guess you have to use smilies when you're being sarcastic here.
I'm not sure I buy the whole difference in SE generations based on the suppositions of a few posters.
It's like the people who claim Old Spice was ruined after P&G's acquisition of the company. I can't tell any difference whatsoever and I suspect the differences, if any, in the SE generations are so miniscule as to be unobservable by mere mortals.
That said, I will likely never have a chance to look at the various generations sxs so I'll muddle along with my obviously inferior coatings on my 501 series. Ignorance is bliss and all...
I'm not sure I buy the whole difference in SE generations based on the suppositions of a few posters.
It's like the people who claim Old Spice was ruined after P&G's acquisition of the company. I can't tell any difference whatsoever and I suspect the differences, if any, in the SE generations are so miniscule as to be unobservable by mere mortals.
That said, I will likely never have a chance to look at the various generations sxs so I'll muddle along with my obviously inferior coatings on my 501 series. Ignorance is bliss and all...
I think there is no need for further words about the optical quality
I really like this binocular, the handling, the ease of view (no black outs for me) and of course the image itself. So far i absolutely dont regret the decision.
Regarding the serial number. Someone here mentioned that maybe there are lots of SE bodys manufactured. It seems that the serial number is just a sticker and not engraved. Maybe there is a nice guy in a Nikon storehouse, sitting the whole day, reading newspaper or watching birds and every 4 weeks he is getting a call "put together a new SE man". After a heavy breath and rolling eyes he stands up, collecting all parts from the shelf, screwing, sticking and glueing everything together. After that he get his big roll of stickers and takes the next number, slaps it on the bino and went back to his chair - happy to have vacation the next 4 weeks B
Ahhh, i wish i had his job :-O
Germans are not working so hard as everyone thinks - psssssttt
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It's like the people who claim Old Spice was ruined after P&G's acquisition of the company.
You´re kidding! They stilll make Old Spice? I still have an unopened bottle of that on a shelf, I think someone gave it to me in a Xmas box 19 years ago. (Must go and check the serial number
).
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I think there is no need for further words about the optical quality
I really like this binocular, the handling, the ease of view (no black outs for me) and of course the image itself. So far i absolutely dont regret the decision.
Regarding the serial number. Someone here mentioned that maybe there are lots of SE bodys manufactured. It seems that the serial number is just a sticker and not engraved. Maybe there is a nice guy in a Nikon storehouse, sitting the whole day, reading newspaper or watching birds and every 4 weeks he is getting a call "put together a new SE man". After a heavy breath and rolling eyes he stands up, collecting all parts from the shelf, screwing, sticking and glueing everything together. After that he get his big roll of stickers and takes the next number, slaps it on the bino and went back to his chair - happy to have vacation the next 4 weeks B
Ahhh, i wish i had his job :-O
Germans are not working so hard as everyone thinks - psssssttt
Odradek,
You may be closer to being correct than you think.:t:
A good binocular repairman could probably put together the new Nikon SEs if he or she had all the parts in front of him or her and a collimator to align them.
These binoculars have remained unchanged, except for the changes in their lens coatings, since 1995 when the 1st 10 x 42 was made. 18 years is a very long time in this market.
And the Serial Number is not on a sticker. It is on a transparent plastic insert which fits into a groove made for it on the SEs housing.
Bob
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I guess you have to use smilies when you're being sarcastic here.
I'm not sure I buy the whole difference in SE generations based on the suppositions of a few posters.
It's like the people who claim Old Spice was ruined after P&G's acquisition of the company. I can't tell any difference whatsoever and I suspect the differences, if any, in the SE generations are so miniscule as to be unobservable by mere mortals.
That said, I will likely never have a chance to look at the various generations sxs so I'll muddle along with my obviously inferior coatings on my 501 series. Ignorance is bliss and all...
CSG,
There is no reason to get upset about this. These SE binoculars have been marketed by Nikon for 18 years without changing one thing on the binocular itself. (Well there was one minor change long ago when they made the plastic insert which has the SN on it somewhat larger.) They have lasted this long because they are one of the best, if not the best, porro prism binoculars ever made.
Certainly Nikon put lenses with improved coatings in them over the years. Nobody can tell when this happened though. It's been a game of sorts to try to figure out when these improved coatings were introduced to the SEs.
Since this game takes place on the largest birding binocular site on the internet it helps to keep Nikon's name in the news.
Nikon could not buy publicity like this!
Assume later models have some differences in their coatings than the earlier ones do. It's a fair assumption. If you can see some differences, well and good. But remember, that is what YOU see. The differences that some people have seen and have described here are not given in terms that can be measured with any precision at all.
So don't worry about it.
I have one of each of the 3 SE's. I got each one at different times, years apart. I have no intention of sitting down and trying to see subtle differences in their color rendition, brightness and stuff like that. All I know is that each one of them is superb.
Bob
I'm not upset, I'm not worried. All I'm doing is pointing out what I think is probably hyperbole that Nikon has changed and improved coatings to the point where some claim significant changes. I suspect there are no measurable differences whatsoever.
Apparently, they have changed the type of glass used but whether there are noticeable optical improvements with this so-called "eco" glass, well, I'm skeptical.
Just playing devil's advocate the some of the claims being made with no proof of them.
Apparently, they have changed the type of glass used but whether there are noticeable optical improvements with this so-called "eco" glass, well, I'm skeptical.
Just playing devil's advocate the some of the claims being made with no proof of them.
As far as we can tell Nikon does not sell many of these SE binoculars in the course of a year and they are in standard formats: 32mm; 42mm and 50mm.
Nikon made, and still makes, many different (lines) models of 42mm and 50mm binoculars and they use lenses of different qualities throughout these models. Go to Nikon's current web site. They make over 100 different binoculars.
But Nikon only made two models of 32mm binoculars until they added the EDG to their line. Previous to that the 8 and 10x32 LXL/HGL roof prisms and the 8 x 32 SE were the only 32mm binoculars Nikon made. They came out with the LX L around 2003. And these are, or were until recently, Nikon's only top of the line binoculars made for use by birders and hunters.
The LXL/HGLs got all the improvements in coatings that 1st Line binoculars would be expected to get just like the EDGs. The 8 x 32 SE would have been treated no differently. Why make cheaper 32mm objectives only for them? It doesn't make sense. Incidentally, Nikon still only makes 32mm binoculars in their EDG, Premier(old LX L) and SE lines and they are still their top of the line.
It's reasonable to assume that Nikon would put the current versions of their best optics in them and into the 42mm and 50mm SE versions when they needed to make new binoculars to replenish their inventories. We just can't tell when Nikon did it.
The issue of the changes caused by Nikon switching from Lead Glass to Eco-glass affected all of the binoculars Nikon was making including the SEs and the affects it had on the glass is another argument than this one; and it has been brought up in Bird Forum many times.
Bob
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It's a depression in the bin and the serial number does look like a sticker...a nice one, but still a sticker.
