They are here, I've been using them
Opened up the box, the Nikon box is impressively tiny - 3" x 4" x 6". The leather case is 2" x 3" x 5". The binocs, when adjusted for my IP distance and with the eyecups all the way extended (no glasses) measure 2" x 3.5" , 4 1/8". Folded up and with eyecups screwed in, 1 3/4" x 2 1/2" x 3 3/4". They meet my expectations for size. I'll keep them in a sandwich ziplock and they fit nicely in either a front pocket, or like a wallet in a back pocket.
Mechanically they feel fine - the focus knob is positioned in the front like my Swaro 8x30 SLC, so I'm very used to that and presents no problem at all. The diopter knob is small but well labeled, and seems perfectly accurate, in fact identical to what I have my 2 Swaros adjusted to, -.75. That is impressive. No click or locking of the diopter though, but not a big deal.
Brock will be glad to know that the smoothness of the focus knob, and pressure required in both directions, is superior to my horribly expensive SV's (which I still love BTW.)
Optically, I'm afraid they might make people feel a little odd about the performance of their $2k+ alpha mid to full size 8x glasses. They are extremely sharp in the center, and almost as sharp at the edges. In bright sunlight with contrasty horizontal or vertical edges, the CA is non existent - I'd like to know how they do that. In that regard they seem superior to my SLC's and maybe nearly as good as my Swaro 10x32 SV's. The field is nearly as flat as the alphas advertising 'field flattener' lenses (not mentioning any names.) No rolling ball if that matters, Brock. Less line distortion than the SLC's, but slightly more than the SV's.
Contrasty enough, but they are slightly less contrasty than either the SLC's or the SV's. Color tint is fine - pretty darn neutral in fact. Slightly cooler than the SLC's.
The physical layout is where they fall down a bit, but hey, I'm not likely to be spending hours at a time with them like I do with the open bridge SV's.
At less than half the weight of the SV's, they still feel substantial for their size. They certainly don't feel unbreakable though, but the no-fault warranty makes me feel better about that.
I'll be keeping them. Optically they are a bit of a paradox for the tiny size.
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Just did some comparison in shadows, even on a full sunlight day, the sharpness, color, and contrast do suffer a lot compared to the larger glasses, and in fact that is where you can really tell you are using a small chunk of glass. The SV's resolve perfectly in shadows, the SLC's nearly perfectly, and the LX's, well, not so much. That is were the compromise lies, but it is a compromise I'm perfectly willing to live with.
In the camera world, they say the best camera is the one you have with you. I'll be pretty likely to have the LX with me, even for my evening walk. It is really quite impressive.
John F
