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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Nikon 8x30 EII (1 Viewer)

The 10x is only larger insofar that it has longer lens barrels which many people prefer as they are easier to hold.

They are excellent for use over open spaces and while not having the same width of view are in every other way as good as the 8x, at least mine are. Competition has just moved in last week with the arrival of the 10x Habicht, and it will be interesting which gets used most.

To save digging out the old well known links

http://www.allbinos.com/232-binoculars_review-Nikon_10x35E_II.html

Scroll down to get to the meat of the review.

and

http://www.betterviewdesired.com/Nikon-Es-and-Zeiss-Victories-Revised.php

Sum it up for me.

After a year of forcing myself to use roofs most of the time, I am now a happy porro user again.
 
Rathaus said:
The 8EII arrived today. It was a crazy day and I could only spend 30 seconds with the binocs at the post office looking out the open car window at some buildings.

It was dull weather but I got an instant and easy gob of massive crystal clear eye candy. One of the most impressive 20-30 seconds of new bino viewing ever. Collimation is perfect. No critical testing yet. Thanks for recommending this little beauty!

A couple of points of interest.
I had assumed these were a Chinese made Nikon? It clearly says made in Japan...and the case in China. Is the 8SE made in China? I did get the E2 shipped from Japan.

How can they be so cheap?

Why would they stop making these?

Why is the word 'OAF' printed inside the lens caps?

I'm suddenly interested in the 10x35EII! Why is there so little mentioned about it compared to the 8? What's the problem? They can't be that bad? Looks like they probably use the same main body and prisms? What gives?

Rathaus
Click to expand...

Nikon can make EIIs cheaply because most of their parts are modular and interchangeable and they have been making them since 2000. They might have a large inventory of parts for them. Both the 8x30 and 10x35 use the same eye pieces, eye cups, prisms and prism housings. Only the objective tubes and objective lenses differ.

Nikon built the 3 SE models the same way. If they still have parts for them stored away in inventory they could continue making them. It probably wouldn't be hard to make the housings.

Bob
 
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[email protected] said:
I used my EII the other day and was comparing it to my SV 8x32. Truthfully, I couldn't say which one was better. When you put the EII up to your eyes there is just that big easy 3D porro view and it is BRIGHT for a 30mm binocular. Very impressive for a $400 binocular. Nothing has the big FOV like the EII. Great little porro.
Click to expand...

I certainly find the 8x32SV brighter than the EII, but I always found the SE brighter.

My SV is the first 30mm class roof I`v tried that out resolves my EII, only just but it is ahead.
 
Rathaus said:
Arthur
Thanks for your comments, though they probably apply to most unstabilized 10x bins as well.
I don't think i saw mention of the 10xE2 in the 'favourite 10x bin' thread. I'd like to hear more about them.

Rathaus
Click to expand...

That's because I've been too busy working my ass off to post on that thread. It is my favorite 10x bin. Same EWA 70* AFOV as the 8x, sharper edges due to the smaller (but still class leading) 7* FOV and excellent color contrast. Blacks are black hole black, not charcoal black.

The extended barrels makes the 10x35 easier to hold than the 8x30s (which I added #5 Bushwackers). In fact, I can hold the 10x35 EII steadier than any other 10x bin I've tried. The balance is perfect in my hands.

The 7* FOV is very nice for a 10x bin, some 8x roofs only have 7* or a bit more FOV. It also has larger exit pupils than 10x32 roofs and more light gathering power @ 35mm.

It is larger than the 10x32 FL, as Arthur mentioned, but you won't get the immersive 3-D view of the EII from a 10x32 roof.

<B>
 
brocknroller said:
The extended barrels makes the 10x35 easier to hold than the 8x30s (which I added #5 Bushwackers).

<B>
Click to expand...

Brock, I assume the Bushwhackers flip down and hang under the barrels. Can they be pushed back to lie flat against the body without causing discomfort holding the EII 8X30? Thanks.
 
Subzero888 said:
Brock, I assume the Bushwhackers flip down and hang under the barrels. Can they be pushed back to lie flat against the body without causing discomfort holding the EII 8X30? Thanks.
Click to expand...

The first pair I had folded at a 90* angle, so I flipped them up out of my way. Bushwacker no long makes 90* angle covers, only 180*, which work well for riflescopes but not for bins since the open covers get in your way. What I did with my last pair I had was cut the covers off. The rubber barrels still provided protection for the EII's metal objective housings and extensions for to wrap my pinkies around and balance the 8x EII better, but you don't get protection for the lenses.

Butler Creek also makes objective covers, but they look like they extend beyond 90*, too.

butlercreek.com/products

Brock
 
brocknroller said:
The first pair I had folded at a 90* angle, so I flipped them up out of my way. Bushwacker no long makes 90* angle covers, only 180*, which work well for riflescopes but not for bins since the open covers get in your way. What I did with my last pair I had was cut the covers off. The rubber barrels still provided protection for the EII's metal objective housings and extensions for to wrap my pinkies around and balance the 8x EII better, but you don't get protection for the lenses.

Butler Creek also makes objective covers, but they look like they extend beyond 90*, too.

butlercreek.com/products

Brock
Click to expand...

Your vouching for these Bushwacker things got me researching and googling them...then instead of a Bino product, first I got a heap of info regarding the Famous American 'Bushwacker' - the raging Rodeo Bull, reputed to be the greatest bull of all time lol. Never heard of him, so I had to read a bit. Talk about getting sidetracked. It's like watching a one tonne raging chihuahua.
 
I'm sure it would not take too much to modify the 180deg opening covers to 90deg opening. just need to engineer some hard stop right? Luckily I love the small size of the EII, but I'm thinking about some covers to protect them since I love them and the supplied ones have to be close to the worst covers ever on a nice binocular.
 
I'm wondering if the Nikon 8x30 EII is the most discussed binocular on Bird Forum's website ever? I know it isn't practical to go about determining if it is or not but it seems that every 6 months or so someone new discovers it and wants to find out more about it.

Please note that there is a 2nd thread about them directly (at this time) below this thread.

It would be a shame to let the 8x30 EII and its big brother, the 10x35 EII, be relegated to the "archived bins" of history. And that folks, and I say it unabashedly, is a deliberate pun!

Bob
 
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EnjoyTheView said:
I'm sure it would not take too much to modify the 180deg opening covers to 90deg opening. just need to engineer some hard stop right? Luckily I love the small size of the EII, but I'm thinking about some covers to protect them since I love them and the supplied ones have to be close to the worst covers ever on a nice binocular.
Click to expand...

Yes, I suppose if you could figure it out, you could glue a "stopper" on them. You might also think about a new strap, the OEM strap is one of the worst straps ever on a nice binocular. Don't set the EII down on the edge of a table or the neck pad might get caught on the corner, and you will find out whether or not they easily get knocked out of collimation!

P.S. I don't watch The View, but I did catch a few episodes when Jenny McCarthy was a host. Those I did enjoy. :smoke:

Brock
 
brocknroller said:
As to the collimation, I've had three eights and two tens, and all arrived well collimated. The EII's Achilles Heel is the lack of armoring on the barrels near the objectives, which are totally naked. You have to watch not to bump them so they don't get dented and so they don't knock the prisms out of collimation since there's no shock absorption. Adding Bushwacker objective covers solves both problems and gives the bins better balance in the hand.

Brock
Click to expand...

Naked barrels? Like the unarmoured Habicht?
I've posted a link to my unarmoured Habicht collimation test before. It was perfect after a few such beatings on thin carpet glued directly over concrete.
Any thoughts re my new Nikon E2 robustness given the same test? Just wondering before I head into the wilderness with them...

http://youtu.be/SBtTDAB94lc
 
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Ouch, watching that video hurt... I would certainly not do this with my E2 - maybe with my milspec Hensoldt DF 8x30 but that probably was run over by some german army tank before...

I got some rubber barrel protectors for my E2 which are sold on german ebay (just like bushwhackers but w/o the flaps).

Joachim
 
Rathaus said:
Naked barrels? Like the unarmoured Habicht?
I've posted a link to my unarmoured Habicht collimation test before. It was perfect after a few such beatings on thin carpet glued directly over concrete.
Any thoughts re my new Nikon E2 robustness given the same test? Just wondering before I head into the wilderness with them...

http://youtu.be/SBtTDAB94lc
Click to expand...

I think the best way to find out is do the same test with your new 8x30 EII. ;)

I don't think a brief thumping on a carpeted floor would hurt it, though the Bushwackers would certainly give the barrels more protection, particularly on hard surfaces.

My impression is that the EII is not built as robustly as the SE. The SE is a more modern design with a rounder body (less sticking out to bang against) and more thorough armoring.

One sample SE I had took a far worse beating than the Habicht due to the neck pad of the strap getting caught on the corner of a cabinet where I had set the SE. When I picked it up, the strap caught the corner, the SE sprung out of my hand and swung down against the cabinet door and bounced off it with some force (caught it before it hit again). After a big gulp, I inspected the bin and tested the collimation, and it was still in perfect collimation and nary a scratch or mark on the armor or exposed metal. Can't say the EII would have survived that trapeze act w/out harm, but you don't buy a traditional style EII porro for its robustness, if you want bulletproof, you buy a Conquest HD.

Shoot This Bin!

<B>
 
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ceasar said:
It would be a shame to let the 8x30 EII and its big brother, the 10x35 EII, be relegated to the "archived bins" of history. And that folks, and I say it unabashedly, is a deliberate pun!

Bob
Click to expand...

Bob

You are killing me today :-O

Lee
 
ceasar said:
I'm wondering if the Nikon 8x30 EII is the most discussed binocular on Bird Forum's website ever? I know it isn't practical to go about determining if it is or not but it seems that every 6 months or so someone new discovers it and wants to find out more about it.

Please note that there is a 2nd thread about them directly (at this time) below this thread.

It would be a shame to let the 8x30 EII and its big brother, the 10x35 EII, be relegated to the "archived bins" of history. And that folks, and I say it unabashedly, is a deliberate pun!

Bob
Click to expand...
A lot of people like to discuss the EII because it is fine binocular and many users are just discovering it. It is probably at least optically equal to your Zeiss for 1/5 the price so can't you get it through your head that some-body else is interested in this thread just because you find it "Old Hat". I find your continual bashing of threads jading and vexatious and I wish you would take your wry humor off this thread. I don't appreciate it and I don't think anybody interested in the EII does either.
 
[email protected] said:
A lot of people like to discuss the EII because it is fine binocular and many users are just discovering it. It is probably at least optically equal to your Zeiss for 1/5 the price so can't you get it through your head that some-body else is interested in this thread just because you find it "Old Hat". I find your continual bashing of threads jading and vexatious and I wish you would take your wry humor off this thread. I don't appreciate it and I don't think anybody interested in the EII does either.
Click to expand...
You must be drunk or need to get out of the house for some bird watching.
 
[email protected] said:
I find your continual bashing of threads jading and vexatious and I wish you would take your wry humor off this thread.
Click to expand...

I find your misappropriation of archaic synonyms from a thesaurus both chucklesome and ingenuous and wish you would get a sense of humor. :-O

And beside, Caesar has owned, and praised, EIIs for as long as anyone. Haven't you gone back to them many times? The stubby little things are a stubborn BF love-affair. Enjoy the ride while we have them.

David
 
Torview said:
Hi Stonesy,


I guess no one is able to help with stockists in your area.

Are you a Porro fan ? accustomed to the handling, slower to use small focus wheel etc ?

If so I`m sure you`d be delighted with the view of an EII if you just took th plunge before they`re all gone forever, mines as sharp and contrasty as anything at any price, and the massive fov is in a class of its own, mine is my only true keeper.

John.
Click to expand...
I wish there were a comparison between these and the opticron HRWP 8x42
 
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