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Nikon 8x30 E2 vs Zeiss conquest hd (1 Viewer)

The Kern Pizar 8x30 was produced in the nineties and I have chosen it to compare with theEII because it is in Holland just as difficult to get as th EII.
As I wrote my observations are: the Kern Pizar has better resolution, better contrast transfer and higher brightness (combination of color reproduction and light transmission as I have written before) as the EII and combined with the much better handling comfort the Pizar is in my opinion a better choice, but that is of course a matter of taste. I did not have the Conquest at my disposal at the moment so I could not say anything about resolution differences and I will not draw conclusions about it performing better or worse than the EII before I have actually measured it.
If I look at the interest of customers for porro's nowadays it does not matter which brand or performance they have; there is hardly any interest in them anymore except for a small group of users for example astronomers and the military. In my opinion that is a pity, since there are many fine instruments around from among others German, Austrian, Polish, Russian, Japanese and Chinese factories and some of them I really prefer over the EII both for their optical performance as well as for comfort of handling.
Gijs
 
Allbinos overall ranking places the 8x30 EII and the Swarovski 8x32 EL wb as equal.

Not bad.... there is a small handful of other binoculars that rank better.

CG
 
Gijs van Ginkel said:
The Kern Pizar 8x30 was produced in the nineties and I have chosen it to compare with theEII because it is in Holland just as difficult to get as th EII.
As I wrote my observations are: the Kern Pizar has better resolution, better contrast transfer and higher brightness (combination of color reproduction and light transmission as I have written before) as the EII and combined with the much better handling comfort the Pizar is in my opinion a better choice, but that is of course a matter of taste. I did not have the Conquest at my disposal at the moment so I could not say anything about resolution differences and I will not draw conclusions about it performing better or worse than the EII before I have actually measured it.
If I look at the interest of customers for porro's nowadays it does not matter which brand or performance they have; there is hardly any interest in them anymore except for a small group of users for example astronomers and the military. In my opinion that is a pity, since there are many fine instruments around from among others German, Austrian, Polish, Russian, Japanese and Chinese factories and some of them I really prefer over the EII both for their optical performance as well as for comfort of handling.
Gijs
Click to expand...

According to this post from classic binoculars blog spot, the Pizar was discontinued in 1991. Nikon converted to FMCs in 1992, so the last Pizar might have had FMCs or at least MCs, I don't know. But in any case, the reviewer agrees with you about the brightness (although he says it matches that of the 8x30 EII, however, I don't think he's done controlled tests like you have, sounds like he's "eyeballing it.")

He wrote:

"You have to push your eyes as close as possible. Otherwise, this is the binoculars with the most neutral colour, even by today's standards and it's brighter than all vintage 8X30 binoculars I've ever seen. It matches the brightness of Nikon EII! Its pin sharp image goes almost to the borders."

http://classicbinoculars.blogspot.com/2014/02/kern-pizar-8x30-ar.html

The sample he has illustrated must be older than 1991 from looking at the hard eyecups.

There are a lot of discontinued Porros with good optics, but most that I've owned have had inferior coatings to today's roofs, which makes them lower in contrast, and that was one of the two queries in the OP, comparing the Conquest HD and EII in contrast and resolution, rather than brightness. I'd be surprised if the Conquest HD beats the newest black body EII in either contrast or resolution even if the light transmission is slightly higher.

Brock
 
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Gijs van Ginkel said:
Lee, post 18,
Schott glass is not so expensive when I look at the price lists I have, but it may be a little different for the high transmission glass.
Gijs
Click to expand...

How much does the Schott glass needed for a pair of roof prism bins cost? I have no idea but if it costs €20 that doesn't leave much cash out of your €30 for all the other components and manufacturing and labour and shipping costs no matter how cheap they are.

Lee
 
Lee, I do not know about the Schott HT prices so I can only speculate and that is not a good ground for exchanging ideas. I will see if I can find information about it, that must be not that difficult.
Gijs
 
Gijs van Ginkel said:
Lee, I do not know about the Schott HT prices so I can only speculate and that is not a good ground for exchanging ideas. I will see if I can find information about it, that must be not that difficult.
Gijs
Click to expand...

Hi Gijs

We were talking about Terra ED and that has Schott extra-low dispersion glass not the HT glass.

Lee
 
I know this is an "ancient" thread, but both of these binoculars are still available new, so perhaps an additional perspective will be valuable to someone.
I own both the 8x30 EII and 8x32 Conquest HD, and I'm pretty surprised when I read back through this thread. It almost feels sort of slanderous against the EII. My EII is relatively new, post anniversary edition, so it has newer coatings, but I've looked through older models and the difference wasnt that dramatic.
I've sung the praises of my Conquest HD here and elsewhere, and I still think it's a great binocular, but when I go from the EII to the Conquest HD I feel like everything about the view of the EII is superior, especially brightness. In fact, I had always considered the Conquest to be exceptional in every regard, comparing well against the big name "alphas" I've owned and tried, and it has been my most used binocular for the last 8 months or so, but after using the EII for a couple weeks, the view from the Conquest seems dull by comparison. I dont have "measurements" to back me up, but we've had lots of snow and bright days lately, and plenty of opportunity to asses color and brightness in the field, and it's really no contest between these two for me. I will keep the Conquests because they are a great binocular and they will get used (and one of my kids will undoubtedly "graduate" into it), but given the choice and anything but rainy weather, I will take the EII with me into the field.
 
mtn said:
I know this is an "ancient" thread, but both of these binoculars are still available new, so perhaps an additional perspective will be valuable to someone.
I own both the 8x30 EII and 8x32 Conquest HD, and I'm pretty surprised when I read back through this thread. It almost feels sort of slanderous against the EII. My EII is relatively new, post anniversary edition, so it has newer coatings, but I've looked through older models and the difference wasnt that dramatic.
I've sung the praises of my Conquest HD here and elsewhere, and I still think it's a great binocular, but when I go from the EII to the Conquest HD I feel like everything about the view of the EII is superior, especially brightness. In fact, I had always considered the Conquest to be exceptional in every regard, comparing well against the big name "alphas" I've owned and tried, and it has been my most used binocular for the last 8 months or so, but after using the EII for a couple weeks, the view from the Conquest seems dull by comparison. I dont have "measurements" to back me up, but we've had lots of snow and bright days lately, and plenty of opportunity to asses color and brightness in the field, and it's really no contest between these two for me. I will keep the Conquests because they are a great binocular and they will get used (and one of my kids will undoubtedly "graduate" into it), but given the choice and anything but rainy weather, I will take the EII with me into the field.
Click to expand...
I think the Nikon 8x30 EII is superior to the Zeiss Conquest HD 8x32 also and so does Allbinos, so you are not alone. The EII competes well with $1000 roofs, and you have the advantage of the 3D stereoscopic view. Binocular choice is largely personal preference, and you should always try before you buy to see which binocular works best for you.

Binoculars rankings - 8x32 - AllBinos.com
 
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zeiss12286 said:
Is my old E2 equal in contrast and resolution?
Click to expand...
I know the question is old from 2014, but let me update it :)
How old is our Nikon E2? I ask that it is important in performance (the new one appeared after 2017 and seems it has a SN +820*** or may be SN +800***)

New E2 8x30 vs Conquest HD 8x32:
Conquest's durability and comfort is clearly better than E2. Conquest is a much more versatile pair of binoculars than E2.
But I think opticaly E2 (new version with improved coating !!!) has his qualities and strenght: Exceptional contrast/ central resolution, now very bright with new coating, more vivid and natural colors (Conquest has a discreet shade of green). And last but not least Nikon E2 has a 3D pop effect. In my opinion these E2 8x30 porro binoculars have more spectacular view than any 8x32 roof ones (from any price class)!
 
dorubird said:
I know the question is old from 2014, but let me update it :)
How old is our Nikon E2? I ask that it is important in performance (the new one appeared after 2017 and seems it has a SN +820*** or may be SN +800***)

New E2 8x30 vs Conquest HD 8x32:
Conquest's durability and comfort is clearly better than E2. Conquest is a much more versatile pair of binoculars than E2.
But I think opticaly E2 (new version with improved coating !!!) has his qualities and strenght: Exceptional contrast/ central resolution, now very bright with new coating, more vivid and natural colors (Conquest has a discreet shade of green). And last but not least Nikon E2 has a 3D pop effect. In my opinion these E2 8x30 porro binoculars have more spectacular view than any 8x32 roof ones (from any price class)!
Click to expand...

Don't forget the (impressive) FOV of the EII...
When I make it to Hawk Watch sights this Spring I will absolutely be bringing the EII and it's 8.8 degree, 154m/1000m FOV with me.
 
Eii is vastly superior to my eyes…and frankly everyone I know who has experience with both.

Slanderous sums it up nicely.

I don’t know why there is so much hate for the Eii. Perhaps because they are hard to get. Mine were a royal pain to source honestly
 
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