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Nikon Prostaff Binoculars 10x43 (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter trw
- Start date
If you mean 10x42 and you are shopping on price you can probably knock £30.00 off your target here : http://www.cliftoncameras.co.uk/Nikon_10x42_PROSTAFF_7_Binoculars?gclid=CJf79aLyjLsCFWzItAodhzEAQA.
I have a few pairs of Nikon bins but not the Prostaff. They are nice and light though for their size.
It worth shopping around and looking at other brands as the £150-£200 bracket is very competitive and you could probably get a pair with ED glass for your money.
I have a few pairs of Nikon bins but not the Prostaff. They are nice and light though for their size.
It worth shopping around and looking at other brands as the £150-£200 bracket is very competitive and you could probably get a pair with ED glass for your money.
I've compared the Prostaff 7 to the rest of the Monarch range a couple of times and I rather like it. I found them sharper which counts most for me. I think it has a simpler ocular design with more field curvature, and most likely, a more basic prism coating, but overall I thought them very good for the price. It's true you can find models like the Vanguard Spirit ED for similar money boasting more technical features. The one I tried was quite good but there have been rather mixed reports on the forum.
David
David
Just by way of comparison :
Uttings have the Nikon Monarch III 10x42 @ £199.00, and the Opticron ED-X 10x42 for the same price
£209.00 will get you the Vanguard Endeavor ED 10x42 here :
http://www.fotosense.co.uk/vanguard-endeavor-ed-10x42-binocular.html.
Uttings have the Nikon Monarch III 10x42 @ £199.00, and the Opticron ED-X 10x42 for the same price
£209.00 will get you the Vanguard Endeavor ED 10x42 here :
http://www.fotosense.co.uk/vanguard-endeavor-ed-10x42-binocular.html.
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I've not seen the Prostaff 5 but I'd certainly avoid anything without phase coatings if budget allows.
Pratincol, have you tried both the 8 and 10x? Everyone is different, but many here would choose an 8x for the better steadiness, bigger field of view and low light performance. I see the the 'P7' 10x42 can be found for around £170 and the 8x42 about £150 from well known stores.
David
Pratincol, have you tried both the 8 and 10x? Everyone is different, but many here would choose an 8x for the better steadiness, bigger field of view and low light performance. I see the the 'P7' 10x42 can be found for around £170 and the 8x42 about £150 from well known stores.
David
peatmoss,
I think the Pro-Staff 5 does have phase coatings. On the new Nikon website they often are not mentioned when they discuss the coatings on the lenses and prisms. You will find a comment about multi coatings on the prisms along with the comments of multi coatings on the lenses. See the comments on the coatings on the lenses of the Pro-Staff 5 below:
http://www.nikonsportoptics.com/en/Nikon-Products/Binoculars/7571/PROSTAFF-5-10x42.html
Even the comments on the coatings on the EDGs do not mention phase coatings on their prisms. On the old Pro Staff 7 phase coatings are mentioned.
On the Monarch 5 they don't mention phase coating either, in fact, they show a picture of their prisms without mentioning it! See below: Scroll down to look at the prisms.
http://www.nikonsportoptics.com/en/Nikon-Products/Binoculars/7581/MONARCH-5-8x56.html
On the Monarch 7 ATB phase coatings are mentioned but on the new Monarch 7 8 x 30 they aren't mentioned.
http://www.nikonsportoptics.com/en/Nikon-Products/Binoculars/7549/MONARCH-7-10x42-ATB-.html
Go figure.
Bob
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It is probably based on the fact that the lower the number assigned to the different Nikon binocular series the cheaper they are priced: ie; Monarch 7s cost more than Monarch 5s so the new Prostaff 5s should cost less than Prostaff 7s.
Just speculation on my part though.
Bob
Hi ceasar. Thanks for pointing that out. I guess I'm conditioned to read spec sheets conservatively, as in, if a feature isn't mentioned then it's not included. I guess we won't really know until some user reviews come out.
brocknroller
porromaniac
I suspect the Prostaff 5 replaced the Trailblazer, which is absent from the Website. Cost-wise, it makes sense to use the same body as the Prostaff, but what doesn't make sense is to produce binoculars without phase coatings in this day and age. The cost is negligible as you can tell by the price of the Prostaff 7 and Prostaff 5. Why not pay the extra $20 and get phase coatings?
And they're offering 10x50s and 12x50s in the Prostaff 5 series, which also makes no sense, other than they save money because the 10x42s and 10x50s probably use the same EP since they have the same FOV (5.6*). I can only imagine that Nikon is counting on the ignorance of people about the necessity of phase coatings on S-P prisms, which is a shame.
Where Nikon should offer 10x50s and 12x50s is in the EDG series, so they can compete with Swarovski, but instead it looks like Nikon wants to win the race to the bottom. Count me out.
I can buy a Pentax 8x36 NV for $150, and it's competitive optically with the P7 except with smaller objectives.
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And they're offering 10x50s and 12x50s in the Prostaff 5 series, which also makes no sense, other than they save money because the 10x42s and 10x50s probably use the same EP since they have the same FOV (5.6*). I can only imagine that Nikon is counting on the ignorance of people about the necessity of phase coatings on S-P prisms, which is a shame.
Where Nikon should offer 10x50s and 12x50s is in the EDG series, so they can compete with Swarovski, but instead it looks like Nikon wants to win the race to the bottom. Count me out.
I can buy a Pentax 8x36 NV for $150, and it's competitive optically with the P7 except with smaller objectives.
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Brock, did you mean the P7? To be honest I didn't pay the NV a lot of attention but my impression was the P7 was sharper, had better, contrast, colour rendition and CA control and also sells for $150 your side of the pond. If you are OK with the size and weight it looks like a better buy to me.
David
Brock
You may be on to something here!:smoke: Or you may not be on to something which is why I am responding in depth.
It is because Nikon does not mention having Phase Coatings on the Nikon EDG series prisms either! Their website doesn't have them listed as a "Key Feature" in their prisms, just like with the new Prostaff 5 which is the subject of your complaint.
That doesn't make sense does it?
See Nikon's statement about the multi coatings on the lenses and prisms of the Prostaff 5. Phase coatings are not mentioned.
http://www.nikonsportoptics.com/en/Nikon-Products/Binoculars/7571/PROSTAFF-5-10x42.html
There is NO mention of phase coatings on the prisms of the 10 x 42 EDG:
http://www.nikonsportoptics.com/en/Nikon-Products/Binoculars/7567/EDG-10x42.html
I was about to conclude that Phase Coatings were no longer important then I found out that somehow Nikon decided to put them on the Monarch 7 ATB prisms.
http://www.nikonsportoptics.com/en/Nikon-Products/Binoculars/7548/MONARCH-7-8x42-ATB.html
Phase coatings are mentioned way down at the bottom of the binocular features on the new Monarch 7 8 x 30s like an afterthought:
http://www.nikonsportoptics.com/en/Nikon-Products/Binoculars/7579/MONARCH-7-8x30.html
And I notice that they are mentioned as a "Key Feature" on the old Nikon 10x42 Premiers:
http://www.nikonsportoptics.com/en/Nikon-Products/Binoculars/7536/Premier-10X42.html
But they aren't mentioned on the Monarch 3 Realtree binoculars even though the prisms are pictured therein:
http://www.nikonsportoptics.com/en/Nikon-Products/Binoculars/7574/MONARCH-3-8x42-Realtree-APG.html
Nor are they mentioned as being on the Monarch 5 See photo of prisms therein:
http://www.nikonsportoptics.com/en/Nikon-Products/Binoculars/7577/MONARCH-5-10x42.html
There seems to be a problem of consistency on the Nikon website, as usual.
IMO unless we hear from Nikon otherwise I think we can be confident that all of the above binoculars have phase coated roof prisms.
It's time for Mike from Nikon to make a comment here before this accusation of "lack of phase coatings" on modern Nikon roof prism binoculars becomes an "internet legend!":eek!:
Bob
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In case anyone finds this thread looking for information about the new Prostaff 5, I just heard back directly from Nikon that they do have phase-correcting prism coatings.
Thanks Paul,
I expected that. Nikon has been updating it's web site in 2013 and sometimes information gets left out.
Bob
So since we're on the subject (Bob and others), I just want to be sure I'm not missing anything about the Prostaff 5s. Long (19+mm) ER, FMC, phase-coated, lightweight, Nikon 25 yr. warranty…. Just no ED glass. I should have asked what the reflective prism coating is - maybe aluminum? A little narrower FOV that I would have liked, but very close.
Seems quite a deal for $200 list, which should be discounted by the first few months of the new year. It's hard to see a downside, on paper at least.
EDIT: I also notice the new Monarch 5s (10x42) have just over 18mm ER, which should be OK for me. Plus they have dielectric coatings and ED glass. Also a good package for a list price of $329.
Seems quite a deal for $200 list, which should be discounted by the first few months of the new year. It's hard to see a downside, on paper at least.
EDIT: I also notice the new Monarch 5s (10x42) have just over 18mm ER, which should be OK for me. Plus they have dielectric coatings and ED glass. Also a good package for a list price of $329.
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brocknroller
porromaniac
David,
My point was about the new P5, which doesn't appear to be phase coated. What I was saying is that I could by a Pentax 8x36 NV, which is phase coated, for $150, so why would I want to buy a Nikon 8x42 P5, which isn't, for the same price?
Brock
brocknroller
porromaniac
Good point, Bob. Nikon does seem rather willy nilly about listing phase coatings on their bin lines. I know for sure that the Nikon Trailblazer, which the P5 is replacing, was not phase-coated, but they were cheaper than the P5s.
Hopefully, not listing phase coatings for the P5 was an oversight, because given the small cost of adding phase coatings, and the fact that the P5 costs $50 more than the Trailblazer, it should have phase coatings.
http://binoculars.toptenreviews.com/binoculars-review/nikon-trailblazer-atb-8x42-review.html
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Brock,
Now that Paul has been told by Nikon that the Prostaff 5 is also phase coated I'm puzzling over what technical differentiation there is between the P5 and P7 . From the web site the P7 has 3.3' closer focus, 1.9mm more ER, 0.4" longer and is listed at $60 more but I don't know why.
David
