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Monarch HG 10x42 - Bravo! (1 Viewer)

I STAND CORRECTED!

Proof herewith that memory cannot be trusted! (At least mine!)|:$|

Alexis,

I pulled out the boxes for the Nikons I have owned from 2006 through 2015. They include an 8x32 LXL from 2006 and an 8x32 SE from the same year; a 10x32 LXL from 2008; a 9x25 Travelite from 2010; and my original 10x32 EDG I from 2010 which was replaced with a 10x32 EDG II in 2014. They all, including the new EDG II I received in exchange for my EDG I in 2014, have 25 year warranties!

The Monarch 7 8x30 I got in 2015 has the new warranty.

Bob
 
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Note - These comments apply to Nikon USA

PRIOR

ceasar said:
...... My warranty information made no mention about a 25 year limitation ..........

Bob
Click to expand...

Bob ..... During the time of the EDG-I, it came with a 25 year warranty to the original purchaser and a lifetime No Fault Policy. The warranty covered materials and workmanship to the original owner for 25 years. If there was a problem that was not materials or workmanship, or if after the 25 years, or if not the original owner, then it was covered by the No Fault Policy and a $10 fee was charged.

Prior warranty: http://www.birdforum.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=379736&d=1334946180

Prior No Fault Policy: http://www.birdforum.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=379737&d=1334946190

About three or so years ago, Nikon did away with the No Fault Policy and changed the 25 year warranty to a lifetime warranty for materials and workmanship to the original owner. That change was not accepted very well and so the following year they retained the lifetime warranty but returned with an advertising claim of a No Fault Policy with no additional documentation.

Note - The above sample warranty is from an EDG-II 8X32 sold in 2012.

NOW

Nikon offers a lifetime warranty to the original owner for materials and workmanship.

http://www.nikonsportoptics.com/en_...tting-Scope_No_Electronic-warranty-sample.pdf

Nikon also offers a vaguely worded No Fault Policy:

"Nikon is dedicated to quality, performance and total customer satisfaction. If your Nikon binocular, riflescope or Fieldscope requires service or repair not covered by our Limited Lifetime Warranty, just send it to us and Nikon will repair or replace it."

http://www.nikonsportoptics.com/en/nikon-products/no-fault/no-fault.page

It will take a lawyer to say what is or is not covered in the No Fault Policy. It looks wide open to me to the point that it covers everything, similar to Vortex. The difference is that Vortex is specific in spelling it out whereas Nikon may be leaving them shelf with a lot of wiggle room. I suspect it does not cover refurbished because they come with a 90 day warranty, not a life time warranty. The No Fault specifically states it comes into play for problems not covered by the lifetime warranty.

On Edit: Bob, looks like we posted about the same time.
 
Yes Bruce, It looks like we posted simultaneously.

I do have the box that came with my refurbished Nikon 10x35 EII. I bought it in 2005. It says right on the box in big yellow letters that it is a "Reconditioned Product" and on a smaller taped on statement that it has a 90 day warranty. I did register that warranty with Nikon although I never had to use it. The receipt says it cost $351.54.

The binocular still works perfectly and if I'm not mistaken the price I paid was about 60% the price of a new one at that time.

But you know what they say about memory!;)

Bob
 
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I am curious about the eyepiece assembly. It's definitely a serious design flaw in the Monarch 5. Has any reviewer disassembled the eyepieces to check?
 
Borjam said:
I am curious about the eyepiece assembly. It's definitely a serious design flaw in the Monarch 5. Has any reviewer disassembled the eyepieces to check?
Click to expand...

Their eyepieces have to be different. The Monarch 5 costs much less money and its eyepieces give the binocular narrow FOVs .

The HGs are expensive; partly because of the design of their eye pieces which give the HGs very wide FOVs and flat fields.

Bob
 
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Borjam said:
Sorry, I meant eyecups. My non native English has its limitations :)
Click to expand...

The earlier HG models were Nikon's top rated binoculars when they came out. They had rubber cushioned metal eyecups with 4 positions. The eyecups weren't removable.

I would expect that the New HGs will have eyecups at least that good. I never had problems with mine and I never heard of any problems with them.

Bob
 
ceasar said:
The earlier HG models were Nikon's top rated binoculars when they came out. They had rubber cushioned metal eyecups with 4 positions. The eyecups weren't removable.

I would expect that the New HGs will have eyecups at least that good. I never had problems with mine and I never heard of any problems with them.
Click to expand...

Thank you, I was just wondering. My Monarch 5's are great for the price, but I was really pissed off when both eyecups got stuck in Tarifa. It seems that the small rubber ball bearings dried out after three windy days, or maybe it was a combination of drying out and dust.

The Monarch 5's eyecups are a plastic assembly with two concentric rings, it also has three or four positions, and the rubber eyecups are fixed with some mild, easy to remove glue.

I heard that previous versions of the Monarch 5's had rust problems with metal ball bearings.

Good to know that the HG doesn't seem to suffer such problems. I am really tempted.
 
Where is the diopter adjuster on these? Does it lock firmly in place once set - my major gripe with the EDG IIs?
 
Grando said:
Where is the diopter adjuster on these? Does it lock firmly in place once set - my major gripe with the EDG IIs?
Click to expand...

The diopter adjustment ring on the Monarch HG is below the right eye cup. It was also there there on the older, discontinued HGs. If it works like those did then you pull it up slightly to rotate it for the diopter adjustment you need and then push it back down to lock it. It will stay locked. It is very simple and easy to operate.

As for the EDG there isn't much room left for your fingers to turn the diopter wheel after you pull its cover back. It is also difficult to see the numbers on the diopter. Other than that it stays where it is put. I try to adjust the diopter on my 10x32 EDG II as little as possible when I use it.

You have to make sure that the cover over the diopter is completely pushed down after setting the diopter or you can inadvertently move it while you are focusing the binocular.

Bob
 
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Confirming that which ceasar states, the diopter adjuster is situated below the right eyecup and comprises a ring that is released by lifting it towards the eyecup. Adjustment is then made, and the ring re-located to lock the setting: simple but effective.

Eyecups themselves twist to various indented intermediate positions (four positions in total), my own preference is the second-most extended. Time will tell if they are robust but they seem well made. They are smooth and though the various indents are not as positively located as some bins I've used; once set, they do not accidentally move.

It's been interesting to read of the very positive reviews of the Maven B1 and Tract Toric and the postulations that such Kamakura bins are (at least) snapping at the heels of the established 'alphas'.

Once again, anyone about to drop the equivalent of two thousand GBP on high-end 10x42 might want to give this bin a go first.

It's not perfect but show me a bin that is.

[personalopiniononly] The paper spec translates into real-world performance and as a package - depending on your personal perceptions and preference - might go some way to persuading you that the spurious construct of 'Alpha' is little more than a pedlar of unrealistic hope and expectation [/personalopiniononly].

I hope Nikon do that unpredictable-Nikon thing and release a 12x version...
 
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I took the eyecups off a Nikon 7x35 Action EX recently. I found them a bit wide and clumsy for my 60-61 mm IPD. A couple of fixed rubber microscope eyecups for £4 worked better. They are available in all sorts of sizes, winged and straight on ebay.

The current extending Action eyecups are a very cheap and cheerful design. A 2mm metal ball bearing sits in a groove on a plastic band around the ocular. It engages spiral grooves in the plastic eyecup. The detent positions are so weak and feeble that any rough handling and the eyecups come off and the ball bearing is lost forever. Buying a pack of 10 replacement stainless steel or chromed ball bearings costs peanuts on ebay.

The binoculars themselves are well made for the price, with quality rubber armor and an alloy chassis, wide 9.3 degree field of view / 163 m , so it's a shame the eyecups are so cheaply made.

On the more expensive Nikons why do people say they the eyecups are fixed ? They were assembled by people so they must come off !
 
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The eye cups on Nikons expensive EDGs are made to remove easily so users can clean around the oculars if they wish. The folding rubber eyecups on the EII and SE Porros were removable and replaceable. On the earlier HG series the eye cups were not designed to be removable by users and I don't know of any of Nikon's lower priced roof prism binocular that had removable eye cups.

Most binocular manufacturers do not make their lower priced binoculars with removable eye cups.

Bob
 
Maico,
Looking inside the 8x42 MHG from the front, which may differ from the 10x42 MHG.
There are maybe 15 to 20 rifling stops plus several baffles in each barrel.
With a modest torch beam they are black but shiny black, reflecting back to the objectives. I don't know how these multiple reflections then get back to the eyepieces but they do.

Looking at a lit 6ft neon tube there are no ghosts with the neon tube in the field, but as soon as the neon light is just outside the field white flare exhibits.
It is easily seen against a dark background but not seen against the white kitchen ceiling adjacent to the neon tube.

There is modest CA with the neon tube central and quite a lot of false colour with the neon tube near the field edge. This is strong purple/mauve inside, strong green outside. This is with a WHITE surface against dark.
However, with a BLACK surface against white the situation is reversed. Green inside, purple/mauve outside.

This is an early 8x42 and others consider the MHG to have no flare problems etc.
I can only report my findings.
 
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