Looking for a pair to buy and saw on Dick's website 2 models for the monarch 5. $299 for model 7543 and $329 for model 7577. I cannot find any info on the web telling me the difference. Old model new model?, black vs camo? Nothing. Does anyone on this forum know the difference?
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Monarch 5 (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Paul-150
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mikefreiberg
Well-known member
The new MONARCH 5s have a soft rubber armor grip and upgraded rubber objective lens covers and eyecups. At that price point it is the newest MONARCHs 7576 and 7577. Feel free to check out the website for more clarification.
http://www.nikonsportoptics.com/en/Nikon-Products/Binoculars/7576/MONARCH-5-8x42.html
All the best,
Mike Freiberg
Nikon
http://www.nikonsportoptics.com/en/Nikon-Products/Binoculars/7576/MONARCH-5-8x42.html
All the best,
Mike Freiberg
Nikon
brocknroller
porromaniac
Mike,
No information on the Website about whether or not the new Prostaff 5 series has phase coatings? Could you please let us know? Thanks.
Brock
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Thanks, Mike. I thought that would be the case.
The new Nikon Monarch 5 is certainly very easy to handle, nice and light, the grip is good and the new rubber objective lens covers are a very good tight fit, both around the barrel and on the objective, nice quality rubber too.
I think that the rainguard still needs a little work though, on my pairs it's too loose. Vanguard have it just right on their clone of the NM5, worth a look !
Best wishes,
mikefreiberg
Well-known member
Samandag,
The constructive remarks are always welcomed and noted. Thanks so much. Enjoy the M5s.
Brock,
No phase coatings on the new P5. Also, the lenses are fully coated not fully multi-coated.
Best,
Mike
brocknroller
porromaniac
Thanks, Mike. I suspected they didn't have p-coatings at that low price point although it's been years since I've seen new binoculars that were "fully coated". A lot of vintage porros were "fully coated" and the old style Aerolite porros that Swift still sells.
Personally, if I were on a tight budget (and I am, thanks to the Grinch), and I were looking to buy a 10x50, I'd go for the 10x50 Action EX porros over the 10x50 P5 roofs. The Action's prisms don't need p-coatings and the lenses are multi-coated. So they are bound to produce sharper images.
Plus, the 10x50 Action EX is "fogproof, waterproof, and shockproof" and has a degree wider FOV. The P5's ER is listed at about 2mm longer, though the 17mm of the Action EX might be long enough for most users, depending on how much of that is useable.
Amazon sells both the porro and roof for the same price - $199.
The single spec where the P5 excels is weight. The 10x50 P5 weighs 28.7 oz whereas the 10x50 AE weighs 35. The roof design might also be more comfortable for users with smaller hands and for kids.
I had a Japanese-made 8x36 Sporter 1, and the build quality was very impressive for the price point. It also had twist-up eyecups - the first bin I had with this convenient feature. The image was good, and the edge performance was better than I would have expected for the price, but the lack of phase coatings made the image a bit soft compared to my Nikon porros and it also had some "veiling glare." I always wish Nikon had upgraded the Sporter 1 (i.e., the Japanese-made model) with phase coatings and FMCs. They were otherwise very nice binoculars and my first birding roof.
At $200 and under, I'm sure Santa's helpers will be delivering many P5s this year and next. A lot of noobs who post to BF for advice have a price limit of $200, and its often hard to recommend something to them - other than inexpensive porros - at that price point. Now they will have a roof option. That is Nikon's forte, offering something for everybody, from entry level to mid-price to second tier to alpha level.
Good Luck! with the P5 launch.
Brock
Mike,
Nikon states on it's 2013 website that the "New" Prostaff 5 binoculars have multi-layer coated lenses. The quote below is linked from the comments on the 10x42 P5. Product 7571.
"Multilayer-coated lenses for brighter images
Multilayer coatings, which provide higher light transmittance across the entire visible light spectrum, are applied to the lens and prism surfaces that transmit light. This minimizes the loss of light due to reflection, thereby ensuring a more natural, clearer view." (The underlining is mine.)
This means to me at least that they are fully multi-coated because they have "multilayer" coatings on all their lenses and because all the lenses transmit light. (Does Nikon have lenses in their binoculars that do not transmit light?) This is what Nikon is telling me and everybody who wants to review Nikon's Binocular offerings for 2013. If this is a mistake Nikon should correct it.
I am not being picayune here. It is one thing for you to inform the readers of Bird Forum that Nikon Promaster 5 binoculars are not FMC on a website and another thing for Nikon to make a written statement to the world that is counter to your information.
I think you understand this.
On the matter of the lack of phase coatings on the Pro-staff 5 binocular prisms; they are in competition in their price range with the Vortex Crossfire II which, according to Eagle Optics, do have Phase Coatings along with FMC lenses.
http://www.eagleoptics.com/binoculars/vortex/vortex-crossfire-ii-10x42-binocular
Bob
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This one, which is new for 2013 and shown on their 2013 website. If it's not the same one written about above in thread #7 they had better clarify that.
http://www.nikonsportoptics.com/en/Nikon-Products/Binoculars/7571/PROSTAFF-5-10x42.html
Bob
Howard,
My mistake. Sorry! I'll fix it. I should have said Prostaff. (I did write it in my last paragraph which added to the confusion.) I think Promaster was their Astronomy binocular. They have an 18x70 Astroluxe now.
Bob
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mikefreiberg
Well-known member
Bob,
I will look into this. Thanks for bringing this to my attention along with the Vortex competition. I appreciated the heads up. Happy Holidays.
All the best,
Mike
brocknroller
porromaniac
I mentioned this earlier, perhaps on a different thread, the Pentax NV series is at the same price point as the P5, and it's FMC, and the prisms have phase coatings and aluminum reflective coatings. The FOV is also a bit wider than the P5 8x42 (6.5* vs. 6.3*), the NV's FOV is even wider than Pentax's top of line 8x43 ED. These sold for $200 when they first came out, they are now selling for $150
I've used the 8x36 model and liked it. The edge performance is better than the Monarch.
Pentax 8x36 NV
Brock
mikefreiberg
Well-known member
Bob,
After a bit of thought and re-reading the post I was thinking the PROSTAFF 7 binocular is a better comparison to the Vortex Crossfire II. The price is only $20 more and includes FMC lenses and PC prisms. Just throwing a thought out there. The 8x42 PROSTAFF 5 is $159. Take care.
All the best,
Mike
Mike,
I don't think we can do that because there also seems to be an issue of whether or not the Vortex Crossfire II has phase coatings although they clearly state on their website that they have FMC lenses.
(I hope the Vortex rep reads this too because it also concerns Vortex.)
There is a lot of confusion about this. Please see the links below.
Nikon, of course is concerned only with Nikon binoculars and Vortex with Vortex binoculars. And the public is getting mixed messages from them both.
I suggest that Nikon can settle the issue about whether or not the Prostaff 5 binoculars have Phase Coatings and are FMC by stating it in their website. That will end the issue for Nikon.
Apparently Vortex also has the same problem with their Crossfire II. One dealer (Eagle Optics) says they have phase coatings. The other dealer(Cameraland) does not mention whether they have it. This is Vortex's problem to deal with.
Vortex Optics website doesn't mention their Crossfire II binoculars having phase coatings but it does say, very clearly that they are FMC. Nikon's website does not say that the Prostaff 5 has FMC lenses clearly, if at all.
http://www.vortexoptics.com/product/vortex-crossfire-2-10x42-binocular
Cameraland is selling the 10x42 PROSTAFF 7 for $199.95. They are listed as having phase coatings. That is $30.00 more than the equivalent Crossfire II.
http://www.cameralandny.com/optics/nikon.pl?page=nikon7538
CameraLand does not have the Prostaff 5 listed and, of course, neither does Eagle Optics as we all know, so we can't compare retail prices here although the price on the Nikon website is $179.95 for the 10x42. Query: Does this mean that Phase Coatings only add $20.00 or $30.00 to the cost of a Roof Prism binocular?
The Crossfire II 10 x 42 is selling for $169.99 at CameraLand but there is no mention of phase coatings on them.
http://www.cameralandny.com/optics/vortex.pl?page=vortexcrossfire10x42
Eagle Optics is selling it for the same price and they say it has phase coatings.
http://www.eagleoptics.com/binoculars/vortex/vortex-crossfire-ii-10x42-binocular
Will somebody help the poor buying public here? OK?
Thanks,
Bob
NDhunter
Experienced observer
Bob:
Go back to posts # 6 from Mike, and yours #8.
This addressed the Nikon Prostaff 5 coatings. As far as Vortex and
various sellers you have mentioned, have it out with them.
Mike is a representative with Nikon, and does not do advertising copy for
sellers, and would not advise about Vortex.
You are beating a dead horse. |
|
Jerry
Go back to posts # 6 from Mike, and yours #8.
This addressed the Nikon Prostaff 5 coatings. As far as Vortex and
various sellers you have mentioned, have it out with them.
Mike is a representative with Nikon, and does not do advertising copy for
sellers, and would not advise about Vortex.
You are beating a dead horse. |
|Jerry
Bob:
Go back to posts # 6 from Mike, and yours #8.
This addressed the Nikon Prostaff 5 coatings. As far as Vortex and
various sellers you have mentioned, have it out with them.
Mike is a representative with Nikon, and does not do advertising copy for
sellers, and would not advise about Vortex.
You are beating a dead horse. |
Jerry
Jerry,
My complaint is the way Nikon describes the coatings in it's web site. You can't tell whether the Promaster 5 has FMC lenses or not and it is up in the air about whether or not there are phase coatings on it. Just because they do not mention they have phase coating does not mean they don't have it. Nikon doesn't say whether or not the EDG has it either. Check it out here for yourself:
http://www.nikonsportoptics.com/en/Nikon-Products/Binoculars/7566/EDG-8x42.html
If the EDGs don't have Phase Coatings Nikon has developed a revolutionary new coating for prisms!
How in the hell are the dealers going to get things right if Nikon won't put the correct information in writing and in intelligible English?
As for Vortex, if you read my post correctly you would have seen that I stated that I hoped a Vortex Rep was reading it. I didn't expect Mike to act on their behalf.
Mike was the one who suggested that the Promaster 7 was a better comparison to the Crossfire II than the Promaster 5 was.
Maybe Phase Coatings are overrated? What do you think? All other things being equal; between 2 different $150.00 Roof Prisms, one with phase coating and the other without it, which one would you choose? Which one would you advise a novice to buy?
Manufacturers and dealers should be called out on this if they deliberately obscure it.
I've done enough calling now. My advice is to lay low on all cheap Roof Prisms unless they state categorically that they have phase coatings and simply tell anyone who asks about it not to buy them. Steer them to porro prisms.
I thought this was all settled 10 years ago and now it seems that the problem is back again.
Bob
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brocknroller
porromaniac
I tried the new Monarch 5 at Dick's Sporting Goods. The armoring is thicker and more "grippy" than the previous Monarchs. The view is sharp and bright in the centerfield, and the field curvature (which is 1 diopter for my eyes) makes the sharpness fall off gradual enough that I have to take an object off axis to notice it, and then just a slight turn of the wheel is needed to bring it into focus.
They also balance in my hands better than the old Monarch body. All and all, a substantial improvement in ergonomics and slight improvement in optics over the older Monarch. Dick's is selling the 10x42 model for $329, they don't carry either the M5 or P7 in 8x42, at least not at their counter, perhaps online.
I prefer the Prostaff 7 in the 10x42 because the long barrels make it easier to hold steady. In the 8x42, I probably would prefer the Monarch 5 since its more compact and "handy."
Brock
They also balance in my hands better than the old Monarch body. All and all, a substantial improvement in ergonomics and slight improvement in optics over the older Monarch. Dick's is selling the 10x42 model for $329, they don't carry either the M5 or P7 in 8x42, at least not at their counter, perhaps online.
I prefer the Prostaff 7 in the 10x42 because the long barrels make it easier to hold steady. In the 8x42, I probably would prefer the Monarch 5 since its more compact and "handy."
Brock
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