While I’m definitely not as knowledgable or conversant on optics as a lot of the folks posting here, I thought I’d share some general impressions of the Nikon Monarch 7 8 x 30’s after at bit of field use.
I’m planning a trip to Tanzania with my wife in September. It’s not a birding specific trip, but I’m sure I’ll manage to see a few. My primary glass is a pair of Zeiss 8 x 42 FL’s, and I was going to let my wife use my Leica 8 x 32 BN’s. The Leicas had developed a drifting diopter issue over the years, so that the correct adjustment was about 180 degrees off the neutral hashmark. I had been trying figure out what to do about that, so I decided that rather than send them to in for a probably costly repair, to flip them online and pick up a pair of the Nikons. I haven’t had Nikon binocularsbefore, but while working part-time in a sporting goods store I had the chance to examine many Monarch riflescopes, and was very impressed the optical quality, particularly at their price point. My impression was that they were as sharp as, and brighter than many Leupold scopes costing three times as much.
Other than the known brand quality, the biggest selling point for me on the Nikons was the weight, 15 oz. as opposed to 25 oz. for the Leicas. Weigh is certainly an issue for international travel (and for smaller users, say a 5’1” 100 lb. wife). As I had a very short trip planned to Phoenix AZ to look for some thrashers, I decided to take the Nikons instead of my Zeiss.
Overall, I was very pleased with the handling and optical quality. I have fairly large hands, and holding the binos and operating the controls was not an issue. The focus was fast, but not touchy, and the eye relief for me (I am a glasses wearer) was excellent. Optically, the image was sharp and no color issues were noted. The sharpness appeared good near the edges of of the field, but I am not fanatical about that - after all, what I look at is usually centered. Contrast and low flare on backlight objects was good. And the field of view is phenomenal. A quick comparison shows them to be about equal to my Zeiss in that regard. I estimate close focus to be about 6 feet. The light weigh made them a pleasure to carry, particularly for an old guy at 6,000 ft. Ounces do count.
The only issue that cropped up was that the plastic cover piece for the front on the hinge assembly worked loose. I noticed it before it came off entirely. I’ll wrap the tip of the threaded shank with a bit of teflon tape and see if that does the trick.
To sum up, I am very pleased with them, especially at the price. I’ll probably use them locally when I don’t expect to encounter low light issues, and the size and weight will allow me to pack them as a back-up set on trips.
I’m planning a trip to Tanzania with my wife in September. It’s not a birding specific trip, but I’m sure I’ll manage to see a few. My primary glass is a pair of Zeiss 8 x 42 FL’s, and I was going to let my wife use my Leica 8 x 32 BN’s. The Leicas had developed a drifting diopter issue over the years, so that the correct adjustment was about 180 degrees off the neutral hashmark. I had been trying figure out what to do about that, so I decided that rather than send them to in for a probably costly repair, to flip them online and pick up a pair of the Nikons. I haven’t had Nikon binocularsbefore, but while working part-time in a sporting goods store I had the chance to examine many Monarch riflescopes, and was very impressed the optical quality, particularly at their price point. My impression was that they were as sharp as, and brighter than many Leupold scopes costing three times as much.
Other than the known brand quality, the biggest selling point for me on the Nikons was the weight, 15 oz. as opposed to 25 oz. for the Leicas. Weigh is certainly an issue for international travel (and for smaller users, say a 5’1” 100 lb. wife). As I had a very short trip planned to Phoenix AZ to look for some thrashers, I decided to take the Nikons instead of my Zeiss.
Overall, I was very pleased with the handling and optical quality. I have fairly large hands, and holding the binos and operating the controls was not an issue. The focus was fast, but not touchy, and the eye relief for me (I am a glasses wearer) was excellent. Optically, the image was sharp and no color issues were noted. The sharpness appeared good near the edges of of the field, but I am not fanatical about that - after all, what I look at is usually centered. Contrast and low flare on backlight objects was good. And the field of view is phenomenal. A quick comparison shows them to be about equal to my Zeiss in that regard. I estimate close focus to be about 6 feet. The light weigh made them a pleasure to carry, particularly for an old guy at 6,000 ft. Ounces do count.
The only issue that cropped up was that the plastic cover piece for the front on the hinge assembly worked loose. I noticed it before it came off entirely. I’ll wrap the tip of the threaded shank with a bit of teflon tape and see if that does the trick.
To sum up, I am very pleased with them, especially at the price. I’ll probably use them locally when I don’t expect to encounter low light issues, and the size and weight will allow me to pack them as a back-up set on trips.
