Has anybody ever measured their objective diameters in mm for the Nikon 8x30 EII. I wanted to order some Opticron tethered objective covers before I get the binocular. If you could measure your's I would appreciate it. Thanks.
Thanks, John.Dennis
The magic number is 43 mm
John
These are the 43mm Opticron objective covers I purchased on Amazon.com installed on the Nikon 8x30 EII. I was a little concerned if there was enough lip on the end of the objective of the EII for the tether AND the cap but they fit perfectly and there is enough lip to hold them on securely even when removing the binoculars from the case. I find having the tether to keep the caps on preferable to the non-tethered removable caps that come with the EII. Here are a few pictures of how they look installed on the EII and an a Nikon 8x30 EII next to a Habicht 10x40 W and a picture of the 54mm Opticron Objective covers installed on the Habicht 10x40. Both objective covers fit very well. I forgot how BIG the FOV is on the EII's. Mine say MIJ clearly printed on them. The EII's are easily the best binocular value under $500.00. The thing is the EII's and the Habicht's are such high quality binoculars compared to the under $1K roofs that it is amazing. You buy an under $1k roof and it is hit or miss on quality. You buy an EII or Habicht and every time every one of them is perfect. No focus slop or drifting diopter's. Everything works perfect. All the older Nikon 8x30 EII's were a little less bright than the Habicht and the contrast wasn't the equal of the newer alpha roofs but Nikon made some significant coating improvements in these newer Nikon 8x30 EII's around the introduction of the Anniversary Edition as reported by Tobias. These newer EII's are much brighter, have better contrast and color rendition with the famous Nikon red bias gone. If you have an older pair of EII's i would say it is worth upgrading. Here is Tobias's thread.
https://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=364271
Can anyone recommend a light mono pod? No way to use a tripod that I can discover. The EIIs stabilized would be luxurious. Thanks in advance for any recommendations.
Mike
Your welcome. The EII's have about the widest FOV you can get for the money and they are higher quality than most roofs you are going to find under $500.00. Of course the WX's have a wider FOV but they are $6K!
The Nikon 8x30 EII's do look like they have internal threads in the ocular and they are are 32mm I.D. I don't think they are designed to take a lens hood like the Canon 10x42 IS-L. It doesn't look like there is enough room. Anything you put in the objective would reduce the aperture. I think any kind of hood or objective protector would have to be slipped on the outside of the objective. Like this objective protector pictured below.Query: Do the EII's have ocular threads, so that one could attach hoods?
My Canon 10x42 does allow for 52mm hoods, it enhances the overall package nicely.
The Nikon 8x30 EII's do look like they have internal threads in the ocular and they are are 32mm I.D. I don't think they are designed to take a lens hood like the Canon 10x42 IS-L. It doesn't look like there is enough room. Anything you put in the objective would reduce the aperture. I think any kind of hood or objective protector would have to be slipped on the outside of the objective. Like this objective protector pictured below.
It seems that Nikon updated the coatings around the time the time they introduced the Anniversary Edition which was June 16, 2017 although that version seemed to have a different numbering system. I think being made late in 2017 might or might not have the updated coatings. Was it after June 16, 2017? Does it seem to have a red bias like a lot of the Nikon's do or is it more yellow? I just purchased mine and it is definitely improved. It's serial number is 821440. If you could compare your's someway to a brand new EII that would be a conclusive test. Here is Tobias's thread on it. It might help.Dennis,
"All the older Nikon 8x30 EII's were a little less bright than the Habicht and the contrast wasn't the equal of the newer alpha roofs but Nikon made some significant coating improvements in these newer Nikon 8x30 EII's around the introduction of the Anniversary Edition as reported by Tobias. These newer EII's are much brighter, have better contrast and color rendition with the famous Nikon red bias gone. If you have an older pair of EII's i would say it is worth upgrading."
When you say older, how old - the old gray ones like the one that Holger Merlitz shows in his reviews? Mine is a black one with serial # 08210XX. I purchased it in late 2017.
Andy W.