[michellerenee]

Hello,

I am needing to know about some binoculars that I have found in my grandparent's lake house and this seems like a fairly knowledgeable place to seek my answer.

They are black Nikon with 8x30 8.3 WF printed on the left side.

I cannot decide if these are a collectors piece, great binoculars or something that my grandpa picked up at a garage sale.

If you have any information, it would be most helpful.

[SteveF]

The Nikon 8x30 WF would be considered very desireable, even collectible for those who do that. There have been a few versions made over at least a couple of decades, and I'm basing my opinion on the last couple of versions. I think that the very last version was labeled 8x30E, but I could be wrong. It is an excellent example of a wide-field, classic porro prism binocular, and with relatively modern multicoatings. It is known to be an excellent performer.

I would guess that, for one in excellent condition (both optically and cosmetically), $200 could be a reasonable price. By "excellent", though, I mean almost new condition.

[brocknroller]

Originally Posted by michellerenee

Hello,

I am needing to know about some binoculars that I have found in my grandparent's lake house and this seems like a fairly knowledgeable place to seek my answer.

They are black Nikon with 8x30 8.3 WF printed on the left side.

I cannot decide if these are a collectors piece, great binoculars or something that my grandpa picked up at a garage sale.

If you have any information, it would be most helpful.

Are the armored? I have a Nikon 8x35 8.3 WF with faux leather armoring. The optics are very sharp, almost on par with my 8x32 SE. They also have very good contrast for single coatings. The bluish-purple coatings Nikon used back then were ahead of their time.

The close focus is long by comparison w/ the SE, which is typical on older models. The shortcoming with these binoculars (literally) is their low ER. I can't see the entire FOV without pressing my eyes onto the lenses. Again, this is something typical of older WF bins.

Check eBay for prices on these binoculars. The 8x30s labeled "Nippon Kogaku" seem to garner a good price if they are in excellent condition, but I'm not sure about that same configuration when labeled "Nikon."

If they need to be collimated (two barrels not aligned, you see overlapping images or experience eyestrain), Nikon will collimate them for about $18.

If they aren't collector's, use them yourself. Nikon made some fine binoculars over the years. Except for the coatings and the better ER and CF, porros haven't really improved drastically. In fact, my old Japanese 8x35 WF is sharper on-axis and off-axis than the new Chinese 7x35 Action Extreme, though it is not as bright.

Brock

[SteveF]

I just dug out my 8x30E model to see what markings it has. On the prism plates, only the left prism plate is labeled, and it reads, "Nikon 8x30 8.3 (degree symbol) WF (copyright symbol)". The only other markings are at the front-end of the axle, and it reads, "Nikon", then a serial number, and then "JAPAN". There is no "E" in the markings. This sounds similar to binocular in question.

[brocknroller]

Originally Posted by SteveF

I just dug out my 8x30E model to see what markings it has. On the prism plates, only the left prism plate is labeled, and it reads, "Nikon 8x30 8.3 (degree symbol) WF (copyright symbol)". The only other markings are at the front-end of the axle, and it reads, "Nikon", then a serial number, and then "JAPAN". There is no "E" in the markings. This sounds similar to binocular in question.

There was no "E" on the 7x35 E I owned or on the 8x30 E2 I have. The left prism plate reads: Nikon 8x30 8.8* WF. So it does sound like the binocular you have could be a Nikon "E" series. Could you upload some photos?

Before I got the E2, I almost bought an 8x30 E off eBay. I think it sold for about $200, but it was in mint condition, and it came with a red hard leather case like my 7x35 E.

Brock

[henry link]

I think you have the last 8x30 E with multi-coatings. There were three Nikon 8x30s that shared the same body, but there are some obvious distinctions. The 8x30 A had hard Bakelite eyecups and purplish MgF coatings. The Nikon logo on the left prism cover was the older version with small thin upright letters stamped into the metal and filled with whiting. The first 8x30 E looked identical, same coatings and lettering, but had soft rubber eyecups. The later multi-coated 8x30 E had green rather than purple coatings and the lettering on the prism cover is painted on the surface rather than stamped. The Nikon logo is the current version with thick leaning letters which are quite large. There is also a white circle surrounding a black "C" following "8x30 8.3* WF". I'm not sure what that means, but it does look like a copyright symbol. The earlier 8x30s don't have that symbol.

[mooreorless]

Hi Henry, I wonder if the white circle surrounding a black "C" means Criterion. I found this on this subject.
http://www.birdwatching.com/optics/binocs1table.html

I should copy your post here, so I can remember this about the Nikon's. I know this comes up once in a while.
I can't remember if we have talked about the Criterion before so please forgive me if we have.:-)

Regards,Steve

[henry link]

Hi Steve,

Your guess is as good as mine. I've only seen that symbol on the multi-coated E series binoculars. I suppose the easiest distinctions among these binoculars would be: Bakelite eyecups=A series; rubber eyecups and purple coatings=E series with single layer MgF coatings; rubber eyecups and green coatings=E series with multi-coatings.

Henry

[SteveF]

Mooreorless has a good memory. I had a mid-1990s Nikon binocular brochure, and it did include the E-series among the binoculars that were called the Criterion series. That may, as he suggested, be the meaning of the symbol that I thought was a copyright symbol. Just a bit of marketing, I guess.

Michelerenee: What now?