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Extending Objective Shrouding - Nikon MHG 10x30 (1 Viewer)

C

crinklystarfish

Well-known member
Ireland
Hi all, I really like the 10x30 format and have tried just about every one available; all come up short.

The most acceptable option, for me anyway, is the Nikon Monarch HG 10x30.

But, I find errant light control really puts a dampener on things. I've tried a few experiments and one that seems to really help is extending the obvective-lens shrouding.

By replacing the standard offering with (spare) eyepiece rubbers from my Nikon 10x35 EII, I find overall performance considerably better. Both diffuse-light veiling glare and near-sun flare are better controlled.

Though the EII eyepiece rubbers work OK, I don't like the fact that they're, frankly, a bit of a bodge.

Can anyone advise if it's possible to obtain any more permanent / professional solution to extending the objective shrouding please? The body at the objective lens (as with most bins) incorporates threaded inserts that would appear (unsurprisingly) to be 30mm internal diameter. Is there any kind of screw-in extension I can get that will utilise these threads? Any other ideas?

I attach a snap of the 10x30 with both the standard end cover and an EII eyepiece rubber just for general information.

Thanks in advance.
 

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Hi,

crinklystarfish said:
But, I find errant light control really puts a dampener on things. I've tried a few experiments and one that seems to really help is extending the obvective-lens shrouding.
Click to expand...

Interesting observation, thanks for sharing!

I've tried my hand at 3D-printing shrouds for 8x25 Nikon binoculars, but I guess that doesn't transfer to your application since I used the fit on the rubber armour to keep the shrouds in place:

20200423_093523_resized.jpg

Printing fine threads is beyond the capabilities of my consumer-grade printer. It might be possible to have them printed by an industry-grade printer service, or to have the prints made from a soft material like Nylon, and then cut the threads into these by simply screwing them into the bincoular threads.

Of course, finding mass-produced shrouds that fit your binoculars would probably be the quickest and least experimental way to go! :)

Regards,

Henning
 
We started talking about objective binocular shroud's once in another thread and Henry Link said a shroud would have to be so long to be effective that it would be impractical on a binocular.
 
Hi Joachim,

jring said:
what about a piece of bicycle inner tube? This is probably as small as it gets...
Click to expand...

I would expect that to be too floppy. I'm also not sure it would fulfill the "more professional" requirement crinklystarfish posted above ;-)

Regards,

Henning
 
Thank's for the comments so far.

Though I have nothing but respect for Mr Link I know what I'm seeing, and I'm seeing an improvement in control of flare / glare.

Perhaps of great significance is something I didn't mention in my opening post (apols). The EII eyecups I'm using have so far not been modified and so, by way of initial experiment, effectively reduce the objective aperture to about 25mm.

I probably have the world's first Monarch HG 10x25.

Though the objective lens now sits at about 19mm behind the end of the (artificial) objective shrouding I do now wonder if it's the reduction in aperture as opposed to the shrouding that's bringing about an improvement.

I intend to open out the aperture of the EII eyepieces but have held off so far as I'd hoped to buy another pair (of eyecups) before committing to butchery.

So, for the learned: is the improvement likely to be down to the smaller aperture rather than shrouding? Can I get my scalpel out?
 

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crinklystarfish said:
So, for the learned: is the improvement likely to be down to the smaller aperture rather than shrouding? Can I get my scalpel out?
Click to expand...

I have the MHF 8x30 and tried adding quite long shrouding as an experiment (about 3 inches) and it made no real positive difference to contrast that I was hoping to improve a touch. I have in the past reduced the aperture of a Zeiss SF 8x42 in a similar way to yourself and saw a noticeable benefits in contrast and sharpness of that pair.

So before getting the scalpel out I would try with a couple bits of cardboard tube blackened on the inside with felt-tip pen or whatever (or bike inner tube as jring suggested) before getting the scalpel out. If you prefer the bins with the EII extenders on perhaps just use them like that in good light and then in poorer light you've the option to take them off to improve brightness.
 
crinklystarfish said:
Though I have nothing but respect for Mr Link I know what I'm seeing, and I'm seeing an improvement in control of flare / glare.

Perhaps of great significance is something I didn't mention in my opening post (apols). The EII eyecups I'm using have so far not been modified and so, by way of initial experiment, effectively reduce the objective aperture to about 25mm.

I probably have the world's first Monarch HG 10x25.
Click to expand...

Hi,

yes indeed, stopping down optics will usually help quite a bit optically but unfortunately not with brightness in less than bright daylight...

By stopping down, you have generated a much narrower ray bundle which will not come anywhere near possible reflective surfaces inside... and will also avoid the parts of the lenses farthest away form the optical axis - where the problems usually show themselves...

Unfortunately a good part of the beneficial effect might be due to the stopping down instead of just having a lens hood...

By all means test if just a lens hood is good enough for you... if not, you can also keep the eyecup solution as a quick plug on fix in bright daylight and remove when there is no danger of reflections on a gray day...

Joachim
 

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Hi,

[email protected] said:
A Carson FlashShield Binocular Sunshade will actually be as effective for reducing glare as a 7 inch long shroud.[/url]
Click to expand...

Interesting concept ... my shrouds were actually meant to prevent getting fingerprints on the front lenses, and it might be that the honeycomb grid might achieve the same purpose in a more compact package, albeit at the cost of blocking a tiny bit of light from entering the binoculars, depending on how thin the honeycomb walls can be made.

Regards,

Henning
 
Hauksen said:
Hi,



Interesting concept ... my shrouds were actually meant to prevent getting fingerprints on the front lenses, and it might be that the honeycomb grid might achieve the same purpose in a more compact package, albeit at the cost of blocking a tiny bit of light from entering the binoculars, depending on how thin the honeycomb walls can be made.

Regards,

Henning
Click to expand...
"Depending on how thin the honeycomb walls can be made."

1/100 of an inch.
 
We talked about this about 15 years ago with Brockenroller an avid binoculars supporter. He did Business writing for companies needing professional copy for their public communication needs. He could be onto his next career by now.

He suggested the Flip Cap Cover from Bushwacker. He wanted them for his Nikon 8x30 EII. He said that it gave his hands more to grab onto for holding binoculars.

https://vortexoptics.com/flip-cap-optic-cover-size-3.html
This is the same accessory.

Helpfully, Rob.
 
Highway Dog said:
We talked about this about 15 years ago with Brockenroller an avid binoculars supporter. He did Business writing for companies needing professional copy for their public communication needs. He could be onto his next career by now.

He suggested the Flip Cap Cover from Bushwacker. He wanted them for his Nikon 8x30 EII. He said that it gave his hands more to grab onto for holding binoculars.

https://vortexoptics.com/flip-cap-optic-cover-size-3.html
This is the same accessory.

Helpfully, Rob.
Click to expand...
It is not long enough to help that much. Some hunter's have a 3 inch long shroud on their scopes and the honeycomb cover's though much shorter work better at stopping glare. You can even make a honeycomb flash filter yourself for a scope for less than $6.00 with black straws. I would imagine you could adapt it to a binocular. You could possibly use the Flip Cap Cover from Bushwacker above and put black straws in it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KRMP_FLm48
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=boakMIRH4ZM
 
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Hi,

[email protected] said:
"Depending on how thin the honeycomb walls can be made."

1/100 of an inch.
Click to expand...

Ah, thanks! :)

That's approximately 0.25 mm ... just in reach of my consumer-grade 3D printer.

(I'm running an 0.4 mm nozzle now, but I could change to a smaller one, or just try out the concept with slightly thicker walls.)

Regards,

Henning
 
Thank you all for taking the time to respond. There are a number of useful points arising. Having read a bit more and done a crude 'cardboard tube' experiment, I'm persuaded that it's most likely to be the reduction in aperture that's helping to control the flare / glare that I find so distracting.

It occurs to me that I could modify the standard tethered objective covers that come with the MHGs to further the experiment. I'm going to cut 25mm holes in these to see if the same benefits are forthcoming.

If this works, It'll be a very simple matter of using the bins with this stopped-down arrangement in place for the majority of the time, but with a convenient option to simply open the covers to reveal the 'full' 30mm objectives in very low light.

Thanks again for the help.
 
Hauksen said:
Hi,



Ah, thanks! :)

That's approximately 0.25 mm ... just in reach of my consumer-grade 3D printer.

(I'm running an 0.4 mm nozzle now, but I could change to a smaller one, or just try out the concept with slightly thicker walls.)

Regards,

Henning
Click to expand...
Just buy a bunch of black straws and use a toilet paper roll and some black tape and make a honeycomb filter the way these guy's did on the Youtube for $6.00.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=boakMIRH4ZM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqc4g21NrPU
 
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Hi,

[email protected] said:
Just buy a bunch of black straws and use a toilet paper roll and some black tape and make a honeycomb filter the way these guy's did on the Youtube for $6.00.
Click to expand...

3D printing is not an expensive technology ... discounting the initial investment, printing costs are about 2 cents per gram, so I can probably make a pair of near-industrial quality shrouds for less than a dollar.

However, as 3D printing is a hobby of mine anyway, I'm usually quite happy to 3d print something even when there are better or cheaper ways of creating said item ;-)

Regards,

Henning
 
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I'm curious if anyone has tried these honeycomb devices in real life situations? Seems like they could be genuinely useful on a spotting scope for seawatches and shorebirds, and for binoculars for shorebirds and, especially, for sunny pelagic trips. I might well buy or invent a pair to try for pelagics, where glare can be brutal over the course of a day and really adds to eye strain/exhaustion.
 
pbjosh said:
I'm curious if anyone has tried these honeycomb devices in real life situations? Seems like they could be genuinely useful on a spotting scope for seawatches and shorebirds, and for binoculars for shorebirds and, especially, for sunny pelagic trips. I might well buy or invent a pair to try for pelagics, where glare can be brutal over the course of a day and really adds to eye strain/exhaustion.
Click to expand...

It would be interesting to know how well they work for the viewer. From watching the video, it is made evident that their function is to mask reflections off the objective lens from being seen by a 'target'... Not necessarily improve glare or stray light for the user of the optic, but it seems like it could very well do that.

Since I've been working from home, I'm in a room where the late afternoon sun begins to enter, and I can view out a doorway to a nearby ridge. It is a good spot to test binoculars for glare when I'm practicing work avoidance.
I've come to realize that none of the binoculars I own are glare free. Some are clearly better than others at diminishing the effect, but they all will exhibit it to some degree, when pointed near a low sun. I can easily change the color temperature and contrast of the view by moving my hand above the objectives, switching it on and off. Henry Link appears to be right that some of the glare can be blocked as far as 8-10" from the objective. So, I expect any kind of shroud will reduce some of the glare, but probably not all of it.

For a sea watch or pelagic trip, I wonder if polarizing lenses or simply sunglasses might do the trick.

-Bill
 
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