I made the 100 mile trek up to the Norfolk coast yesterday in the hope of comparing the Monarch 7 to the Kite Lynx..... only to find they'd sold out of the Nikons the day before.
The only time I've tried the Nikon 8x30 was a pre-production sample on the stand at BirdFair last summer. It impressed me at the time, but I'm quite aware it may not of been representative of the production run. I wouldn't trust my memory to make any serious comparison to the Kite I tried yesterday, but there is one point of difference that was a show stopper for me. The available ER is definitely shorter on the Lynx. The Lynx is listed as 15mm and the M7 15.1 but with my glasses on I know I could see the full FOV with Nikon but definitely couldn't with the Lynx. We know the eyecups are different and I suppose it's down to the more rounded edge of the Lynx design eating into an extra millimetre or so of the ER.
Other than that the Lynx was pretty well behaved. The sharpness was good but not exceptional. Colours and contrast were good for the price point. In the sunshine the sweetspot was very good. With my glasses on, I was getting more glare than I would like, but I think that was linked to the ER problem. Without glasses it seemed much better controlled. How it would do in trickier light I couldn't say. All the internal surfaces looked well blackened to me.
The focus had perhaps more resistance than I personally like but it was smooth and the action precise and no issues with the other mechanical elements. The Lynx is listed as about an ounce heavier than the Nikon but somehow it didn't feel quite as dainty as I recall the Nikon did, but as I said, I wouldn't trust my memory on that.
Just a mention for One Stop Nature Shop on the Norfolk coast. A good if not extensive range of optics on offer but unlike some other places they have toys for a broad range of natural history interests. They had a few cheaper microscopes on show. I was amazed how good the GMX stereo zoom was for the money.
David
The only time I've tried the Nikon 8x30 was a pre-production sample on the stand at BirdFair last summer. It impressed me at the time, but I'm quite aware it may not of been representative of the production run. I wouldn't trust my memory to make any serious comparison to the Kite I tried yesterday, but there is one point of difference that was a show stopper for me. The available ER is definitely shorter on the Lynx. The Lynx is listed as 15mm and the M7 15.1 but with my glasses on I know I could see the full FOV with Nikon but definitely couldn't with the Lynx. We know the eyecups are different and I suppose it's down to the more rounded edge of the Lynx design eating into an extra millimetre or so of the ER.
Other than that the Lynx was pretty well behaved. The sharpness was good but not exceptional. Colours and contrast were good for the price point. In the sunshine the sweetspot was very good. With my glasses on, I was getting more glare than I would like, but I think that was linked to the ER problem. Without glasses it seemed much better controlled. How it would do in trickier light I couldn't say. All the internal surfaces looked well blackened to me.
The focus had perhaps more resistance than I personally like but it was smooth and the action precise and no issues with the other mechanical elements. The Lynx is listed as about an ounce heavier than the Nikon but somehow it didn't feel quite as dainty as I recall the Nikon did, but as I said, I wouldn't trust my memory on that.
Just a mention for One Stop Nature Shop on the Norfolk coast. A good if not extensive range of optics on offer but unlike some other places they have toys for a broad range of natural history interests. They had a few cheaper microscopes on show. I was amazed how good the GMX stereo zoom was for the money.
David