ksbird/foxranch
Well-known member
I just returned from a visit to Michigan. I met an old college buddy who is the lawyer/trustee handling the liquidation of a chain store that must have either sold Nikon Optics in the past or had samples of Nikon products.
He wanted me to buy 3 pairs of what he thought were Nikon Superior E 10x42 binoculars. None of them had boxes, papers or Identifications except that one pair had a very clear store sku label with the Brand: Nikon, the Model: Superior E and the Size: 10x42, and of course the price which had so many crossouts (x-outs) of prices it was not easy to read this area, but the last discounted "Going out of business sale" price was "$725, no box, no papers".
I was told that almost all New Boxed Merchandise had been sold to other retailers or taken back by companies against their accounts payables due from this closed business. He is willing to ship them to me in one lot for $1500+ shipping and Insurance. That might run $50.
I took some time looking at these binoculars and something struck me immediately; while the pebble finish, dimensions, size of eyepieces, weight (these are surprisingly heavy binoculars) and just about everything else is identical for the 3 binoculars, 3 things give me pause. So here I am. I'll list what I noted below and maybe people can respond. The view through these binoculars is razor sharp and very contrasty. Overall they are every bit as good as the 10x42 KOMZ/Baigish IF binoculars that I usually carry in the car on trips because they are so military/waterproof/rugged and are rated the sharpest overall binocular in the world by Holger Merlitz. The Fields of View were comparable between the 2 binoculars as well. All that being said these "possible Superior E 10x42s" are spectacular. The focus is firm, the grip is great (the weight is high but not obnoxious), and the view is spectacular. They even have enough IP distance and I like bins with at least 78mm IP distance/spread.
Here is what I also noticed
#1 Nikon did not seem to mark on the body of the binocular, what the model was, simply Nikon and 10x42. The field of view might be there too but the markings are so understated they almost blend into the body. Is this the way all the 10x42 Superior E bins are marked (or not marked)?
#2 The serial number strip on the 2 binoculars that the store had left completely unlabeled, was slightly different in appearance compared to the pair marked by the store as being a Superior E Nikon 10x42. The size of the serial number slips was slightly different as was the numbering font. Has anyone seen this before?
#3 I am familiar with Nikon coatings (and I'm not always complimentary about what I know about them after selling/and/training-photographers-on Nikon products from 1991-1999). So when I looked at the multicoatings on the "store labeled" Superior E bin and compared them to the 2 bins not labeled, I could detect a subtle difference in the multicoatings. There was absolutely no way to distinguish the difference in the coatings when looking through the binoculars, which all had great views, but I have to wonder about binoculars with slightly different serial number strips also having slightly different multicoatings as viewed during a visual inspection.
I also don't know if $520 a pair for "likely demo", unboxed, Nikon Superior E 10x42 bins is a good deal. The glass in the eyepieces and the objectives look untouched and perfect. The collimation was perfect. The soft rubber eyecups weren't all greased up either. In fact, there was none of that greasy look that bins can get when handled allot.
Compared to New Nikon 10x42 SEs in the box with papers etc. even $715 was a very low price, considering the bins were likely demos. So what do people out there with experience handling Nikons say about the Nikon SE 10x42s they've seen, and does anyone know if the warranty Nikon offers would cover "no papers" bins like these. I did buy a case of Nikon 8x40 Action Extreme bins for $46+shipping each, but these "possible SE" bins are much sharper than the last beat-up pair of Action Extreme 10x50s he had. So let me know if you have answers to these questions. Thanks
Right after I wrote this (while I was posting my question the Eagle Optics post about SEs went up) I read the post about Eagle Optics and the SEs. So now I have the price floor straight. In fact maybe one pair of the SEs that I have is the latest model and the other 2 pairs were the first model, which would explain the subtle differences. The close up view of the 10x42 SEs in the Eagle Optics website also confirmed that the bins I am looking at ARE in fact Nikon 10x42 SEs. But I'd still like to have the advice of people who have handled these bins before throwing $1500+ at them.
He wanted me to buy 3 pairs of what he thought were Nikon Superior E 10x42 binoculars. None of them had boxes, papers or Identifications except that one pair had a very clear store sku label with the Brand: Nikon, the Model: Superior E and the Size: 10x42, and of course the price which had so many crossouts (x-outs) of prices it was not easy to read this area, but the last discounted "Going out of business sale" price was "$725, no box, no papers".
I was told that almost all New Boxed Merchandise had been sold to other retailers or taken back by companies against their accounts payables due from this closed business. He is willing to ship them to me in one lot for $1500+ shipping and Insurance. That might run $50.
I took some time looking at these binoculars and something struck me immediately; while the pebble finish, dimensions, size of eyepieces, weight (these are surprisingly heavy binoculars) and just about everything else is identical for the 3 binoculars, 3 things give me pause. So here I am. I'll list what I noted below and maybe people can respond. The view through these binoculars is razor sharp and very contrasty. Overall they are every bit as good as the 10x42 KOMZ/Baigish IF binoculars that I usually carry in the car on trips because they are so military/waterproof/rugged and are rated the sharpest overall binocular in the world by Holger Merlitz. The Fields of View were comparable between the 2 binoculars as well. All that being said these "possible Superior E 10x42s" are spectacular. The focus is firm, the grip is great (the weight is high but not obnoxious), and the view is spectacular. They even have enough IP distance and I like bins with at least 78mm IP distance/spread.
Here is what I also noticed
#1 Nikon did not seem to mark on the body of the binocular, what the model was, simply Nikon and 10x42. The field of view might be there too but the markings are so understated they almost blend into the body. Is this the way all the 10x42 Superior E bins are marked (or not marked)?
#2 The serial number strip on the 2 binoculars that the store had left completely unlabeled, was slightly different in appearance compared to the pair marked by the store as being a Superior E Nikon 10x42. The size of the serial number slips was slightly different as was the numbering font. Has anyone seen this before?
#3 I am familiar with Nikon coatings (and I'm not always complimentary about what I know about them after selling/and/training-photographers-on Nikon products from 1991-1999). So when I looked at the multicoatings on the "store labeled" Superior E bin and compared them to the 2 bins not labeled, I could detect a subtle difference in the multicoatings. There was absolutely no way to distinguish the difference in the coatings when looking through the binoculars, which all had great views, but I have to wonder about binoculars with slightly different serial number strips also having slightly different multicoatings as viewed during a visual inspection.
I also don't know if $520 a pair for "likely demo", unboxed, Nikon Superior E 10x42 bins is a good deal. The glass in the eyepieces and the objectives look untouched and perfect. The collimation was perfect. The soft rubber eyecups weren't all greased up either. In fact, there was none of that greasy look that bins can get when handled allot.
Compared to New Nikon 10x42 SEs in the box with papers etc. even $715 was a very low price, considering the bins were likely demos. So what do people out there with experience handling Nikons say about the Nikon SE 10x42s they've seen, and does anyone know if the warranty Nikon offers would cover "no papers" bins like these. I did buy a case of Nikon 8x40 Action Extreme bins for $46+shipping each, but these "possible SE" bins are much sharper than the last beat-up pair of Action Extreme 10x50s he had. So let me know if you have answers to these questions. Thanks
Right after I wrote this (while I was posting my question the Eagle Optics post about SEs went up) I read the post about Eagle Optics and the SEs. So now I have the price floor straight. In fact maybe one pair of the SEs that I have is the latest model and the other 2 pairs were the first model, which would explain the subtle differences. The close up view of the 10x42 SEs in the Eagle Optics website also confirmed that the bins I am looking at ARE in fact Nikon 10x42 SEs. But I'd still like to have the advice of people who have handled these bins before throwing $1500+ at them.
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I just like to watch on Ebay once in a while. I bought my 10SE for less than that, a steal really. You don't always see the good deals on Ebay esp. if it is buy it now.
