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Nikon WX 10x50 IF (1 Viewer)

That's one of the points I was attempting to make, I just don't see this binocular being used by modern day birdwatchers given how often one has to adjust the focusing when looking at wildlife from a range of a metre and a half to say, infinity. I've only experienced seeing mounted binoculars on Finnsticks in Finland, seaside resorts, coastwatch lookouts and on large ships.
When I see someone out birding with a pair of these, I'll eat my words.
I'm exhausted now but thanks anyway.
Pat
 
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I have viewed the WX 10X50 on many occasions (a friend of mine owns one), both daytime and primarily for astro. I have the EL SV10X50, the Leica UVHD 10X50, and the FL 10X56 , the WX 10X50 is not a versatile glass, weight, and of course cost, but from an optical perspective it crushes the aforementioned glass- just my 2c.

Andy W.
 
dries1 said:
I have viewed the WX 10X50 on many occasions (a friend of mine owns one), both daytime and primarily for astro. I have the EL SV10X50, the Leica UVHD 10X50, and the FL 10X56 , the WX 10X50 is not a versatile glass, weight, and of course cost, but from an optical perspective it crushes the aforementioned glass- just my 2c.

Andy W.
Click to expand...

And - I suspect it’s not the first time - I fully concur with all of your your 2c, Andy (I have the privilege of owning the WX).
 
Pat, sorry I did not clarify that, but Paddy7 now has.
I meant for open terrain, like wetlands in a waterbird survey
--or the wetland at the British Bird Fair (as I picture it)--
or the view from a lodge of a grassland with taller flora...
The WX 7x and 10x-- and the Higlander at 32x--can be of
frequent use for bird observation in my own two examples above
and other places I have been to--maybe also at Rutland Water?
I certainly did not think of carrying around except in a vehicle.
 
Thanks adhoc........that was also my thought of when one might use this instrument in association with birding or panoramic viewing. As paddy7 suggested, a "birding implement ",for a specific task I guess. And as he commented on another thread, a unit celebrating many years of Nikon science and research. Yes, it will be interesting to see who stocks them in the UK, let alone demonstrates both models. My guess would be special order only with perhaps a very limited number of specialist outlets handling them.
Pat
 
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Tringa45, post 16,
Our test data were originally published on the WEB-site of the Dutch Bird Protection Association, but when a particular dealer threatened to "punish" the Association because he did not like the results we found for his particular instrument, we looked for a dealer who is fully independent and who does not care one moment if a dealer or company does not like the results of our investigation since they might hamper sales figures. We came out at House of Outdoor and I can assure you that this dealer does not care one bit if a company likes or dislikes the determined data and in that way we were assured that we could publish as desired by scientific standards. This is the way University science shops generally work.
Gijs van Ginkel
 
PYRTLE said:
So, why is it being demonstrated at essentially a birdwatching event and being discussed on a birdwatching forum?

Pat
Click to expand...

My guess for the former is as a technology demonstrator - to show what the company is capable of when size and price are removed from the equation. I will admit I'd love to have used it to scan the Rutland area as I enjoyed doing with Swarovski's BTX last year. As to the latter, the Binoculars forum always seems to have attracted much more of a "broad church" shall we say than the site in general. Quite a few regular contributors here use their binoculars primarily for stargazing - many are not primarily birders and there are (or have been) a fair few binoculars discussed (eg. Zeiss 15x60) that would be very seldom used by modern day birders. I practically only ever use mine for birding, but must confess I find the observations of the more optically learned posters very interesting.
 
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Patudo said:
My guess for the former is as a technology demonstrator - to show what the company is capable of when size and price are removed from the equation.
Click to expand...

I think so too ...

Patudo said:
Quite a few regular contributors here use their binoculars primarily for stargazing -
Click to expand...

Here technical aspects are often discussed!
Stargazing is an excellent way to visualize certain optical deficiencies of binoculars that are not very noticeable in "normal" observation, stargazing can be very helpful.

Andreas
 
Binoscoper said:
Probably astronomy, on a parralellogram mount.
Click to expand...

There are many long threads on CloudyNIghts-binoculars section about the WX.
The consensus , in my opinion, is the WX is the best optics in binoculars ever;
but not very practical due to cost, too heavy to hand hold, and if mounting just use something bigger.

Still-very interesting. I would love to have one, but do not know what I would do with it-maybe mount it in a glass case in the house and view it as fine art.

edj
 
PYRTLE said:
...... Yes, it will be interesting to see who stocks them in the UK, let alone demonstrates both models. My guess would be special order only with perhaps a very limited number of specialist outlets handling them.
Pat
Click to expand...

While they can be ordered through any dealer, the Nikon rep told us that the only UK place you can currently buy them over the counter is Harrods! Why doesn't that surprise me. ;)

I had set WX up on a cluster of comorants, perhaps about 150m away, for comparison with the EDG. I found it difficult to believe the difference in the quality of detail definition between the two instruments. Then there is the 9° vs. 6.5° FoV, and all of it usable. Just amazing. The rep persuaded us to give it a go hand held. I was really surprised how steady the view was... if only for a minute or so. I could imagine it being pretty effective from a hide with support for the elbows.

If your thing is waterfowl surveys from a static position it might be ideal. The Kowa Highlander with it's standard 32x eyepieces has a 38m FoV. The WK10x50 has 157m. I don't think I'm going to remortgage the house to get one just yet, but there no need to panic, we were told it's going to be a catalogue item for some time to come. :-O

David
 
The ISS, International Space Station, seems to be an ideal location for a Nikon 10x50 WX.
The weight is no problem and the cost is no problem, just the view if they have some really good windows.
 
Binastro said:
The ISS, International Space Station, seems to be an ideal location for a Nikon 10x50 WX.
The weight is no problem and the cost is no problem, just the view if they have some really good windows.
Click to expand...

.... windows with no risk of bird droppings on them ....
 
The windows are cratered by micrometeorites, sometimes quite deeply.
I think that the windows are very thick, so I don't know how good they are optically.

Nikon supply NASA with cameras, but I don't know if they have a WX up there.

I don't think that geese or wind blown spiders get up that high :)
About 380km maybe.

Noctilucent clouds reach 82 to 85km, and these are our highest clouds.

P.S.
I have used a 10x25 binocular for astronomy from the front cockpit windows of a B 747 aircraft at night at 37,000ft above the mid Atlantic.
With the captain's permission, (when he woke up), in the late 1980s.
There was a 100 mph tailwind. Our groundspeed about 700mph.
Although the windows are thick, they are optically excellent.
The sky was magnificent with most cockpit lighting switched off.
Stars just vanished near to the horizon while still being bright.
Atmospheric degradation is minimal even close to the horizon.
One sees a bit past a normal sea level horizon.

Nowadays this isn't allowed.

The passenger windows are very poor.
 
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Different glass, as one would say for astro one gives you the nice wide view (WX) the other (>X Kowa) gives more information. The WX with that 9 degree FOV is an anomaly for the 10X format. One can get the same views out of an APM as the kowa at less than half the price. The Kowa is a nice glass however, but like the WX, $$$$$.

Andy W.
 
The Nikon 10x50 WX would have made sense for me thirty plus years ago, as I could comfortably hand hold a same weight selected Japanese Celestron 20x80 for twenty minutes at a time looking at the night sky.
The only problem would be cost.
It would be ideal for telescopic meteors on La Palma at around 8,000ft.
I saw numerous very faint meteors with short trails near the zenith there, although others couldn't quite get that faint. This was with unaided eyes and a limiting zenithal magnitude of 7.2.

As to cost, it is cheaper than most new cars and doesn't need fuel.
Several of my astronomer friends have astro setups costing two or three times the WX cost.

Now it makes no sense for me with light pollution. And I would prefer a 12x50 WX.
I couldn't hand hold it now either, although strong people shouldn't have much of a problem.

For tripod mounted I would indeed go for something bigger, but I have never liked tripod mounted binoculars.
The whole point of binoculars to me is the flexibility of hand holding.

I am pretty sure the Canon 18x50 IS with all its imperfections would outresolve the 10x50 WX, as soon as the IS was engaged.

The Nikon 10x50 WX for me is a white elephant. Maybe interesting, but not something I need.
 
While certainly hand-holdable in terms of weight, it becomes kinda unusable as the IF would be impossible to operate.
If it wasn't for the IF, it would make a great tool for bird observatories on migration counts; or some kind of static display, perhaps in a cathedral with a famous stained glass window, or on the balcony of a mountainside hotel facing some amazing glacier....
I wonder if with time, you'd get quite adept at adjusting IF mechanisms?
Scope users quite often use both hands to zoom and focus at the same time...
I'd have to say that the view through the thing was quite stunning - i don't think i've seen better. Having one set up at Portland, Languard or Spurn Bird Obs would be fantastic!
 
I followed a link which stated on the Nikon website that a limited production of 100 units will be available worldwide ( including both magnifications ). This is a rare beast indeed.
My thoughts on likely splits would be 20 for North America, 20 for Europe and 10 for the Far East including Japan......per magnification. How many premium Nikon retailers in each region, bearing in mind only Harrods in London currently advertise the x 10 in Europe?
Would be fascinating to hear of anyone seeing or using this binocular away from a major optics demonstration event.
 
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Pyrtle,

I understood from the Nikon representative that only 100 would sold as the 100 year anniversary limited edition, but an unlabelled version would continue to be listed in the catalogue. Same with the EII.

David
 
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It's even rarer than a Bugatti Veyron, but I saw one of those 10 years ago in use on the Guildford bypass. Described as a cash cow for VW. Sold for $2.5 million per unit, though over $5million loss per unit after costs for development, production and marketing.
I really should have gone to Birdfair this year. Ah well.
 
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