Great review, Neil.
Despite costing less than a third of an 8x32 Ultravid HD+ they are every bit as good. In fact, they're even a tad sharper on axis. Granted, they're not waterproof and they do hang at an angle, which I find is their main downside, but they're among the nicest binoculars I have ever looked through. To my eyes, the view is alluring very much in the way Leicas are. Just like some Leicas, the memory of the view through these has an effect on how I perceive nature when I look at things with the naked eye. This makes them very special to me.
I also like how they feel and handle. It would be nice, though, if Nikon applied something like Aquadura or LotuTec to the ocular lenses.
Thank you jafritten,
I'm pretty much in agreement with you regarding the Leica glass. The Nikon seems to be just as sharp as my 8 x 20 Ultravid.
I've recently just begun to think about those short fallings you mentioned. I don't think there is any realistic chance of Nikon adding those hydrophobic coatings, unfortunately.
A few folk have mentioned that the stubby little E II 8x 30 doesn't hang well. I've never seen it as an issue per se, but this afternoon, I was fooling around with a cardboard loo roll( pic attached). I cut off two 30cm sections and placed them over the objectives on the E II. When I put them on, I noticed they solved the hanging problem, as with these extensions the binocular hangs flat against my chest, just like a roof.
Not very glamorous I know lol, but effective nonetheless. You can actually acquire colour matched rubber extensions that should offer a neat solution. If you haven't anything suitable lying around, a pair of these 42mm covers should do the trick:
or maybe these in size # 5:
Earlier this year, during the colder days, I've been experimenting with chemical surfactants that minimise water surface tension. I bought a bottle of this stuff, with the less than inspiring name of 'Spit:'
I tried it out first on a couple of old eyepieces to make sure it didn't damage the coatings and after I was convinced that it was safe, applied some in the same way as one uses lens cleaning fluid to the objectives of a couple of GPO ED 32mm objectives. Conducting a breath test at room temperature showed that it worked very well. Below is an image I took 10 seconds after I fogged up the objectives. The one on the right cleared up while the untreated objective(left) was still fogged up. In other tests, I was able to confirm that one treatment on the ocular and objective lenses lasted about a month. This will be good to use during the coldest days of winter.
Wearing gloves will minimise heat transfer to the interior of the binocular on those cold days out and building a bone dry, water tight chamber with several sachets of silica gel and camphor ( fungicide) might be a good move for long term storage. I hope to use such a 'sarcophagus' during winter, storing it in a cool, dry outhouse to minimise the risk of internal fogging.
Antifungal properties of camphor:
With best wishes,
Neil.
