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Nikon Monarch Fieldscopes (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Boris Flaccus
- Start date
Alexis Powell
Natural history enthusiast
Good to see Nikon back in the game, and that they've resurrected the Fieldscopes with presumably better zoom eyepieces. Wish the eye-relief spec were better than given in the announcement. I wonder how different these are from the Fieldscope III series. It seems the modular design (similar to that of Swarovski) that was described in the original retracted Monarch announcement of a year or two ago is no more. Hope we see these manufactured.
--AP
--AP
henry link
Well-known member
Good news and bad news there. Good news is a widefield zoom eyepiece and the return to Nikon's offset Schmidt prism. Bad news is the lack of 75x capability.
Vespobuteo
Well-known member
Holy Cow!
2 year to late...or more.
no modular stuff, but otherwise it seem to be the same specs.
Don't understand why they do two different EP:s.
A single 25-60x or even higher would have been better as pointed out.
Also a fixed 24x/30x would have been better.
Doesn't make me jump really.
But I guess it will be a very good midrange scope
at a decent price.
2 year to late...or more.
no modular stuff, but otherwise it seem to be the same specs.
Don't understand why they do two different EP:s.
A single 25-60x or even higher would have been better as pointed out.
Also a fixed 24x/30x would have been better.
Doesn't make me jump really.
But I guess it will be a very good midrange scope
at a decent price.
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Vespobuteo
Well-known member
larger photos of EP:s here
http://www.nikon.com/products/sportoptics/lineup/scopes/eyepieces-mep/index.htm
And PDF:s here on both the new scopes and bins:
http://www.nikon.com/products/sportoptics/lineup/dl/index.htm
http://www.nikon.com/products/sportoptics/lineup/scopes/eyepieces-mep/index.htm
And PDF:s here on both the new scopes and bins:
http://www.nikon.com/products/sportoptics/lineup/dl/index.htm
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DRodrigues
Well-known member
Bad news also with the loss of what seemed the 1.25" astro standard for the eyepieces... I was waiting for the wide zoom, before the previous cancel, but now already purchased a Baader zoom. The advertised eye-relief for the wide zoom also seems short. Will see what future users think about it...
Yes, a 2.5x factor zoom as the Kowa would be more appealing.
Yes, a 2.5x factor zoom as the Kowa would be more appealing.
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henry link
Well-known member
Another nice feature mentioned in the brochure, but not the press release, is a variable speed focuser, faster up close and slower at longer distances.
Vespobuteo
Well-known member
Yes, 1.25'' seems to be dropped,
Would there be any optical/technical reasons for that? Any limitations? Size or weight?
Or is it a commercial decision, forcing people in buying proprietary EP:s?
The later feels a bit stupid, most people would probably select the Nikon EP:S any way. But people who already own astro EP:s might want to buy the scope.
So perhaps loosing customers instead.
Would be nice if the wider angle zoom would work on the previous Fieldscopes; especially since they dropped the 1.25 plans. Would have been nice to put the newer zoom on my Fieldscope.
Other than that, cannot see anything here that would make me want to change from my 82 and 50 Fieldscopes with my zoom and fixed EP. I have good samples of both and would be surprised if the new scope bettered them in the areas of importance to me- sharpness, color, etc.
Other than that, cannot see anything here that would make me want to change from my 82 and 50 Fieldscopes with my zoom and fixed EP. I have good samples of both and would be surprised if the new scope bettered them in the areas of importance to me- sharpness, color, etc.
Vespobuteo
Well-known member
The new Zooms have a much wider mount, might complicate things.
Astro zooms would be possible on the new scope with an adaptor perhaps?
DRodrigues
Well-known member
Anyone already looked though one of these?
How is the wide zoom?
How is the wide zoom?
Vespobuteo
Well-known member
Not in stock anywhere around here or even at the national nikon online store.
Seems like the demand for a new nikon scope is just about zero here.
Rather sad.
Nikon had a solid franchise at the upper end of sport optics, both in scopes as well as in binoculars. They now seem to be retreating to the mid tier and below, after the failure of the EDG scopes. Given Chinese competition, that seems a risky strategy. Perhaps the pressures in the camera market are impacting the firm's ability to support the sport optics sector.
binomania
Well-known member
Hi from Italy. Today Binomania Team has organized a small meeting to have a first impression of Nikon Monarch HG spotting scopes. Nikon Italy will send to a my collaborator a specimen for a digiscoping test.
You can find other images here: http://www.binomania.it/pranzo_8-settembre_monarch_hg/
You can find other images here: http://www.binomania.it/pranzo_8-settembre_monarch_hg/
Attachments
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Steve O4B
Optics4Birding.com
We received a straight 82mm for review last week. (Un)fortunately, we sold our last Vortex Razor 85mm the day before, so could not do a direct comparison. New version of the Razor shipped to us today, so we will be able to do a comparison when it arrives.
We did a comparison with the Alpen Rainier 25-75x86, and the Monarch FS won handily. We used a resolution chart and Kodak color separation guide to do comparisons. The Monarch was crisper, brighter, and had less CA and better contrast. The different speeds for far and near focusing seem useful, but field testing will help determine to what extent.
The downside is that Nikon hasn't learned that people who want to digiscope with their Canon or M43 cameras will have to go elsewhere for third party adapters.
Steve O4B
Optics4Birding.com
We got in the new Vortex Razor 85 and a Zeiss Conquest Gavia. Surprisingly, the Monarch tested out better than the competition. As with the Alpen, the Monarch won sharpness, contrast and low CA. Still nowhere near the Kowa 880s and Swaro ATX/STX, but a solid scope for $1600. I'll be showing all 3 at the Sea & Sage Audubon Pancake Breakfast in Orange Co. CA tomorrow morning. If you're in the area, stop by and have a look.
