Nikon HG's, Did Cornell get it wrong? (1 Viewer)

Just spotted that the last pair of Bargain Nikon 10x42 HG's have now been sold at warehouse express, and wondered if any forum members now own them. In light of the recent Cornell binocular survey which placed Nikon well down the list of top end binoculars, does anybody agree that they got it wrong. After much research on Birdforum and other sites it became apparent that the two areas that in many people’s eyes let these binoculars down were weight and apparently C.A. I have to agree the (old version) 10x42 HG's are rather heavy but nothing that a wide neoprene strap didn’t fix and as for Chromatic abrasion, I never seem to suffer from it's effect I'm glad to say. I find the 10x42's to be a brilliant both optically and ergonomically and believe they deserve to be amongst the top contenders in any binocular survey. Any comments from Nikon owners or anyone.

I wasn not the one that bought that last pair from Warehouse Express but I did recently buy an 8x42 HG. I must agree with your comments. I cannot see how they HGs cannot be placed in the top few birding binoculars currently on the market. If I remember correctly there was a binocular review done by the folks at Cornell back in '99 that placed the original 10x42 HGs at the top of the heap. One has to wonder what happened since the chief complaint with the originals was the weight (at least from what I read) and now the HGLs are proportionately lighter with the same optical quality yet they ranked much lower. Has everyone else's products just gotten that much better in the past 5 years?

barontan2418 said:

Just spotted that the last pair of Bargain Nikon 10x42 HG's have now been sold at warehouse express, and wondered if any forum members now own them. In light of the recent Cornell binocular survey which placed Nikon well down the list of top end binoculars, does anybody agree that they got it wrong. After much research on Birdforum and other sites it became apparent that the two areas that in many people’s eyes let these binoculars down were weight and apparently C.A. I have to agree the (old version) 10x42 HG's are rather heavy but nothing that a wide neoprene strap didn’t fix and as for Chromatic abrasion, I never seem to suffer from it's effect I'm glad to say. I find the 10x42's to be a brilliant both optically and ergonomically and believe they deserve to be amongst the top contenders in any binocular survey. Any comments from Nikon owners or anyone.

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Maybe they had an example that was out of collimation, or in some way defective? Do they mention anything about checking the collimation? I agree that in many respects the 8x42 HG is quite superb, and the contrast is excellent. Almost all comparative reviews put them on a par with Swaro, Leica etc. I have owned one (a used example) and agree that they are up there with the best. It could be that the slightly narrower FOV was seen as a serious defect and hence got them marked down. Hard to tell not having read the review! Maybe someone would be kind enough to paraphrase the comments on the Nikon 8/10x42 HG?

Leif

I think I might have briefly owned the last pair of ‘sale’ price HG’s. I say briefly because they had to go back due to a faulty focusing mechanism. I opted to buy the new HG – L’s (10-42) and yes they feel noticeably lighter, but not that much. They feel every bit as well made and the image is well up with the best.
The HGL’s have a 20mm eye relief so I can see the whole field with specs on (oh joy!). They are sharp, bright and have a smooth focus.

The weather’s not too good right now, then if you live in the UK you will know this, so haven’t had much of a chance to give them a good work out. Weekend approaching so it’s off to Minsmere for me..javva.

No doubt about it. the Nikon 10 x 42 HG's are one of the best bins on the market. I have owned one for a numer of years and to my mind they are fantastic. Now that there are the new 'L' version out, they are even better overall although the optical quality is only the same!!!! - if you follow that. I think Cornell must have made a mistake.

The Cornell Lab's review is the summary of the opinions of many users (all experience levels) who tested the binoculars at the Lab's headquarters in Ithaca, NY. But I don't see what the problem is here, especially considering that most of you haven't even seen the article!! Among "Top Gun" bins, the Nikon 8x42 Premier LX, which I think is the same as your HG, ranked 13th out of 19 bins. In "Image quality" it got a score of 4.7 out of a possible 5.0 -- a notch below the best in the list, but no worse than, for example, the Leica 8x42 BN. From the text: "Nikon, which now leads in all of our less-expensive categories, sent us a prototype of their brand new 8x42 Premier LX, a reworked, more lightweight version of their acclaimed Venturer. Although the image offered by these new Nikons is excellent, it didn't quite match the top-ranked models (one reviewer noted slight color-fringing), and some reviewers did not care for their heavier and bulkier feel (ironic, because the Nikon Venturer set the standard for usability five years ago)." What really shot down the Venturer LX in overall ranking was an "Overall feel" score of only 3.6 and a "Field of view" score of only 3. Note, too, that they tested a prototype; maybe the production bins are better.

I have mixed feelings of Nikon LX series after I tried one 8x20 model and 10x42 (demo) model . Let me start by saying that the 8x20 model is, optically, possibly the best mini roof in the market.The view is bright and crystal clear, and sharp enough to hurt my eyes. However, the 10x model is quite a disappointment. The image quality in board day light is not very good. There are 3 major problems I can detect: 1. chromatic aberration (yellowish halo according to my memory) around high contrast objects. 2. the image isn't sharp enough. 3. the color tone is somewhat dull yellow, little hazy, in contrast to neutral color tone in SE. :C Interestingly, the performance is quite good for star-gazing.

Maybe it is just due to individual variation. However, some of my friends report similar findings in 8x32 models. Some are very satisfy with their 8x42LXs. However, nearly all of them concurr in one thing: the mini LXs are optically better than their siblings. :bounce:

Mechanically, the LX is absolutely first rate: solidly built and first grade craftsmanship, absolutely on par or above with European models, with the possible exception of Swarovskis.

After trying out almost every 8x42's and then 8x32's by all the leading names I opted for the Nikon HGL's 8x32's because I found the image quality as good as any and better than most,the focusing easy and smooth, particularly when compared to the Leica Ultravids for example.They are small and light and easy to handle. They were the best choice for me simply because in the end they 'suited' me the best.

Stu

Nikon HG bins

barontan2418 said:

Just spotted that the last pair of Bargain Nikon 10x42 HG's have now been sold at warehouse express, and wondered if any forum members now own them. In light of the recent Cornell binocular survey which placed Nikon well down the list of top end binoculars, does anybody agree that they got it wrong. After much research on Birdforum and other sites it became apparent that the two areas that in many people’s eyes let these binoculars down were weight and apparently C.A. I have to agree the (old version) 10x42 HG's are rather heavy but nothing that a wide neoprene strap didn’t fix and as for Chromatic abrasion, I never seem to suffer from it's effect I'm glad to say. I find the 10x42's to be a brilliant both optically and ergonomically and believe they deserve to be amongst the top contenders in any binocular survey. Any comments from Nikon owners or anyone.

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I recently bought my 8x42 HG bins back in January 2005 at a second hand price of 300 notes and I must say I find them very good for the money. For my self I don't find the weight issue a problem and the picture is very clear to my untrained eyes. After my purchase I researched second hand values of 8x42s on www.kayoptical.co.uk, which are 439. I think I have picked up a bargain and would advise others to check out second hand equipment first before shelling out nearly 1000 pounds on the latest bins on the market, so for me and the price I would have to rank the HG's amonst the top end with out a doubt.

Paul