Nikon EII 8x30 (6 Viewers)

[akltsang]

I am not sure if this is appropriate to post the following here.

I have seen fellows here looking for the discontinued EII. I have found a shop in Hong Kong having a few sets in stock (new).

Interested guys please read:
http://www.astromart.com/classifieds/details.asp?classified_id=827402

I will collect orders in these few days.

Albert (Hong Kong)

 

[David Swain]

I just checked with Chinaarts in Hong Kong, and they still have have 8x30E IIs for GBP 295 including 3-5 day FedEx shipping (same as last summer). That works out to USD $450. Their email can be found in the sellers information in the E**y Chinaarts store.

David

 

[etudiant]

The E II, both 8x30 as well as 10x35, are still listed on Amazon Japan for about 42,000 Yen each, about $420.
See: http://www.amazon.co.jp/IIシリーズ-10×3...F8&qid=1375467791&sr=8-18&keywords=nikon+E+II
Tenso.com ( http://www.tenso.com/en/shopping/index.html ) makes it easy to shop Amazon Japan with the required local address. They charge about $25 for shipping and handling.
Tenso was a very helpful recommendation posted on this site that helped me find otherwise unavailable Nikon Fieldscope eyepieces from Amazon Japan. I'm confident they would perform equally well for Nikon binoculars.

 

[RJM]

Tenso was a very helpful recommendation posted on this site that helped me find otherwise unavailable Nikon Fieldscope eyepieces from Amazon Japan. I'm confident they would perform equally well for Nikon binoculars.

Yeah, a few kind well-mannered folks even sent me token "thanks" gifts off my Amazon Wish List for turning them on to this. o

 

[PhilR.]

There must be a reason Nikon doesn't want to market E/SE bins in North America. Any thoughts on this?

It's because the vast majority of binocular buyers in the U.S. do not want a porro design. Eventually you loose dollars/yen/pounds/clams by marketing something that does not sell. Corporations will not continue actions that loose money.

 

[Simon S]

This out of all my binoculars , the 8x32se included is my favorite. It is simply the best Porro ever made in my opinion.

 

[ceasar]

I have read somewhere (here I think) that the EIIs still sell very well in Japan.

Bob

 

[PhilR.]

This out of all my binoculars , the 8x32se included is my favorite. It is simply the best Porro ever made in my opinion.

By any chance, have you had the opportunity to compare the SE to the Habicht porro? I have an 8x30 Habicht, but often think about adding an SE to the collection.

 

[John Dracon]

Phil R. - I have used both extensively. I find the Habicht to have a "warmer" image. It is an excellent glass, to be sure. Some claim the center resolution is superior to the SE. I can't see the difference.

I read once in Swarovski literature that the coatings on the Habicht enhance picking out animals in forest habitats. Possible. I believe it was Mr. Pinewood who found the rubber eye cups to be a problem. They are made of heavy rubber, and when bent to be flush, they can snap erect with some force. Absolutely true.

The non-rubber covered Habichts are very light and gives the impression of being fragile. They are not. They also have been advertised as highly water resistant.
The SEs can fog up internally under very wet and cold conditions, (speaking from experience) but this was in an extreme exposure circumstance. If you get the SE 8x32, you will have another excellent pair of binoculars.

John

 

[steve@37n84w]

Phil R. - I have used both extensively. I find the Habicht to have a "warmer" image. It is an excellent glass, to be sure. Some claim the center resolution is superior to the SE. I can't see the difference.

I read once in Swarovski literature that the coatings on the Habicht enhance picking out animals in forest habitats. Possible. I believe it was Mr. Pinewood who found the rubber eye cups to be a problem. They are made of heavy rubber, and when bent to be flush, they can snap erect with some force. Absolutely true.

The non-rubber covered Habichts are very light and gives the impression of being fragile. They are not. They also have been advertised as highly water resistant.
The SEs can fog up internally under very wet and cold conditions, (speaking from experience) but this was in an extreme exposure circumstance. If you get the SE 8x32, you will have another excellent pair of binoculars.

John

John

I'm curious about you finding the Habicht to have a "warmer" image than the SEs. Earlier Habichts seemed (to me at least) to almost have a yellow tinge and I'm wondering if the one you looked through/used had these earlier coatings? I find the latest Habichts to provide a more neutral color palate than my Nikon porros which have the typical slightly warm Nikon color bias.

I totally agree with you about the build quality of the Habicht. A cursory exam based on its light weight and diminutive size would imply fragility; however, on closer inspection the build/mechanical quality of the Habicht is simply superb. Albeit in a much smaller/lighter package the build quality of the Habicht is reminiscent of a Prostar, FMTR-SX, or PIF....in short the little Habicht is built like a tank.

Steve

 

[brocknroller]

....

I totally agree with you about the build quality of the Habicht. A cursory exam based on its light weight and diminutive size would imply fragility; however, on closer inspection the build/mechanical quality of the Habicht is simply superb. Albeit in a much smaller/lighter package the build quality of the Habicht is reminiscent of a Prostar, FMTR-SX, or PIF....in short the little Habicht is built like a tank.

Steve

And here's the Sherman Tank version....

 

[PhilR.]

Some claim the center resolution is superior to the SE. I can't see the difference.

Hey John,

Thanks for the reply. I'm glad that you specifically mentioned central resolution, since that is more important to me than most other binocular characteristics.

Since you can't see the difference, I might just skip the SE's......

 

[John Dracon]

Steve - the one I had for years was the earlier model
Phil - My eyesight (at age 78) is not any standard I would rely on. I recommend you compare the two. Surely, you should be able to find someone who would let you make a comparison.

John

 

[JanPB]

It's because the vast majority of binocular buyers in the U.S. do not want a porro design. Eventually you loose dollars/yen/pounds/clams by marketing something that does not sell. Corporations will not continue actions that loose money.

Having said that, it's by their own design. The manufacturers have been bending over backwards for years to create an impression that "roof is better", and that's the result.

An almost identical situation exists in the photography market where an equally false impression is being maintained by camera manufacturers that goes like "SLRs are inherently better quality than mirrorless cameras". In fact the exact opposite is true.

My guess is in both cases the promoted hardware type is simply more complex, hence allowing for larger profit margins. Also more technology means more cutesy buzzwords in the advertising brochures.

 

[Arek]

Sad but true.

Last month we have annual meeting of Optyczne.pl/Allbinos.com readers. There was workshop organized by Nikon Sport Optics division among others. People had opportunity to look through EGDs, HGs, Monarchs and Prostaffs and SEs and EIIs. Most of them were interested in buying EII. It is not true that roofs are more fashionable. People buy these binoculars which are promoted and advertised. Roof are advertised, porros are not.

 

[cappi]

A while back I had been looking for a pair of the elusive Nikon 8x30 EII binoculars with the GREEN coatings on the lenses. Recently there has been quite a few Nikon 8x30 EII bins on the internet (Ebay) however these do not appear to have the greenish tinted coatings. Are these coatings every bit as good as the earlier coatings, or perhaps better ? Has anyone out there done a review or comparison ?

 

[normjackson]

A while back I had been looking for a pair of the elusive Nikon 8x30 EII binoculars with the GREEN coatings on the lenses.

Not sure there is a useful description anywhere of how to distinguish later EII multicoatings from earlier by appearance :h?: Here's a photo of an early grey body EII which shows how, depending on angle, the coating can appear green or purple.

 

[PhilR.]

A while back I had been looking for a pair of the elusive Nikon 8x30 EII binoculars with the GREEN coatings on the lenses. Recently there has been quite a few Nikon 8x30 EII bins on the internet (Ebay) however these do not appear to have the greenish tinted coatings. Are these coatings every bit as good as the earlier coatings, or perhaps better ? Has anyone out there done a review or comparison ?

Sure you aren't thinking about the E? It's the E that has two different lens coatings, with the later green coating being the one you want. Earlier E's had a blue coating, and these are not as good as the later green-coated E's.

 

[Jason Bugay Reyes]

I have read somewhere (here I think) that the EIIs still sell very well in Japan.

Bob

Yes true Bob. Most of my previous client from Japan were using SE and EII plus straight scope with Digiscoping etc :king:

 

[brocknroller]

A while back I had been looking for a pair of the elusive Nikon 8x30 EII binoculars with the GREEN coatings on the lenses. Recently there has been quite a few Nikon 8x30 EII bins on the internet (Ebay) however these do not appear to have the greenish tinted coatings. Are these coatings every bit as good as the earlier coatings, or perhaps better ? Has anyone out there done a review or comparison ?

Yes, I've compared both versions, and to my eyes, the newer black body coatings are better.

Both the gray body and black body versions have some green and magenta reflecting off the lenses, but with the older gray body, the dominant color is emerald green whereas the dominant color coming off the black body model's lenses is magenta.

I took photos of each model posed next to Norm's (Hey! Norm) photo, and the gray body more closely matches his photo (the light isn't at quite as steep an angle, so the photos don't show the difference as clearly as I can see with my eyes). The BB EII shows magenta at the same angle and lighting.

As to what this means in and of itself, I don't know. I have read some reviewers write that the dominate color reflecting off the lenses means that color is being transmitted less. So you would find a dip in that part of the spectrum in a light graph. This seems to hold up in the case of the FL where the dominate color being reflected is red and the light graph shows a steep fall off in the red.

Then there's the Edz Cloudy Nights School of Thought, which says the color reflecting off the lenses doesn't matter.

A third "school" emerged this year when a Swaro rep responded to someone's query about why the colors reflecting off the lenses of the 8x32 SV EL were different than the 8.5x42 model. He said it was because the coatings are matched to the lenses, which implied that the 8x32 has a different lens system than its bigger brother.

Whatever the reason, what matters is what you see in the field, and what I see in the field is better contrast, a brighter image, and less flaring with the magenta reflecting black body EII.

The first photo shows the gray body's reflections and the second, the black body's (click on photos to see them full size, and then click again to enlarge them further).

Brock