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Nikon 8x32 HG users...advice required (1 Viewer)

ellisonwales

Active member
Well i took the plunge and bought a pair of HGs from warehouse express and am delighted with them , however i have a "concern" , and before i contact warehouse express id like some advice in case the "concern" i have is normal for these binoculars.Over the last week ive noticed what i can only describe as slight "play" in the focusing knob.It focuses fine but feels almost as if a grub screw is not tight on a shaft if you know what i mean.Also if you put the focusing knob close to your ear and turn quickly you can hear the play.Is this normal for these binoculars?The SEs i tried had no such play but are obviously not roofs.If this isnt normal and i need to send them off , to whom should i send them ..warehouse express or the nearest dealer on the guarantee card?
Thanks for any advice
ellison
 
ellisonwales said:
Well i took the plunge and bought a pair of HGs from warehouse express and am delighted with them , however i have a "concern" , and before i contact warehouse express id like some advice in case the "concern" i have is normal for these binoculars.Over the last week ive noticed what i can only describe as slight "play" in the focusing knob.It focuses fine but feels almost as if a grub screw is not tight on a shaft if you know what i mean.Also if you put the focusing knob close to your ear and turn quickly you can hear the play.Is this normal for these binoculars?The SEs i tried had no such play but are obviously not roofs.If this isnt normal and i need to send them off , to whom should i send them ..warehouse express or the nearest dealer on the guarantee card?
Thanks for any advice
ellison

I second Tim's recommendation. Contact WE not the manufacturer. In my experience WE are excellent.

Maybe someone with a Nikon HG can comment?
 
Ellison

I have a pair of 8x32 HGs which I have to say I am extremely happy with. My first thought was in accordance with Tim and Leif's suggestion that this is not normal. However, I got out my HGs and found that there is in fact a slight amount of play in the focusing knob, just as you have described, including an audible 'click' with the ear up close. I have to say that I have never noticed it before, and it clearly has not hampered my use of these fine binoculars. If the play is no greater than in my HGs I suggest that you might not notice it yourself after a while, but I would certainly agree that you should take it up with WE if you are not happy about it.

Graham
 
Thank you all for your helpful replies.What you described Graham is exactly the same as my observations including the "click".There are no focusing problems , so maybe it is a design quirk of the binoculars.I only noticed because my magnaloux and the SEs that i extensivley tested have no play whatsoever, so it initially felt a little unnerving.It will be intresting to hear from more HG users to confirm the quirk.The bins are guaranteed for 10 years (25 apparently in the US...now why do we brits always get second best?)so i suppose theres no problem.I may phone WE tomorrow and perhaps they may know whether this is normal for these bins too.
Thanks again
ellison
 
ellisonwales said:
Thank you all for your helpful replies.What you described Graham is exactly the same as my observations including the "click".There are no focusing problems , so maybe it is a design quirk of the binoculars.I only noticed because my magnaloux and the SEs that i extensivley tested have no play whatsoever, so it initially felt a little unnerving.It will be intresting to hear from more HG users to confirm the quirk.The bins are guaranteed for 10 years (25 apparently in the US...now why do we brits always get second best?)so i suppose theres no problem.I may phone WE tomorrow and perhaps they may know whether this is normal for these bins too.
Thanks again
ellison
Well, my 10x32 HGs also have a slight click at the infinity end of the focusing range. It has been there since I first bought them. Was annoying at first as the noise is audible if you really listen out for it. I can also feel something moving at the same time, but I think it is supposed to be there.
The click does not affect the optics - the binocs are brilliant and I haven't had any problems. But if you are worried about the click then get in touch with your supplier (in your case WE) and ask for there advice. Maybe WE could send someone into the warehouse to check several pairs to find out if the click is supposed to be there??
As a customer you have to be satisfied with your purchase. After all it is not a cheap item we are talking about here, and you are purchasing a quality pair of binoculars that are supposed to last a lifetime (which for an active birder probably means a pair that will survive constant use for about ten years).
Anyone on the forum who works at WE or similair and willling to check a few pairs??
 
I have noticed on some brand new nikon bins (perhaps all bins?), which have been stagnant for very long periods, seem to have a slight click feeling at one point in the focus range. It almost feels and sounds like a build up of semi solidified grease that has formed at one spot, and I found that by cycling the focus through this spot a dozen times or more, it disappears completely and doesnt ever return. My 8x32 hg did not have this problem - it had been used as a demo. I do remember noticing it on other freshly unpacked pairs of bins. My 8x20 hg was freshly unpacked, and had this slight click/resistance at one point, but it also disappeared never to return. Is this different to what you are describing?
In general i have found that the nikon 8x32hg focussing is the smoothest and best of any bin i have ever tried - far better than the competitors.
 
I dont only hear the click , but can feel defenite play.If a finger from each hand is placed on the focusing wheel and the wheel is then turned quickly clockwise/anticlockwise (at any point within the focusing range of movement) i can feel the play before the smooth movement.I contacted WE and they gave me the number for nikon.A technician there said there shouldnt be any significant play there ,not enough to notice anyway.I can notice the play every time i focus with them so maybe mine is excessive.Anyway WE said to send them back and theyd look at them , so ill do that first thing on monday.
me
 
Click? What cli.... Oh Bugger!

ellisonwales said:
I dont only hear the click , but can feel defenite play.(snipped)me
My 8x32 HGs are 8 months old; there is a very small amount of play, which if I put my ear to the body, can be heard. I was not aware of it until this thread highlighted this characteristic and, as I tend to put them to my eyes and not my ears, will go back to my previous sanguine state of mind and continue to extoll the optical virtues of these amazing binoculars!
 
zurtfox said:
My 8x32 HGs are 8 months old; there is a very small amount of play, which if I put my ear to the body, can be heard. I was not aware of it until this thread highlighted this characteristic and, as I tend to put them to my eyes and not my ears, will go back to my previous sanguine state of mind and continue to extoll the optical virtues of these amazing binoculars!

Thanks for sharing that zurtfox.Its possible that im being over sensitive with regards to the play.It may seem worse than it is to me because ,i extensivly tried the HGs and didnt notice nothing wrong , then i extensivly tried the SEs which have a much stiffer focus then went back to the HGs.It was then i started to notice the play.Its possible it was there all the time and i just noticed it because of the complete lack of play in the SEs.I dont usually "listen" to binoculars either lol but it sort of came natural when i felt the play :)After hearing from many HG users here perhaps i wont send them back for WE to look at after all.If there isnt anything wrong with them , then im probaly wasting over a tenner in special delivery P+P both ways.And i suppose if there is something wrong and it gets worse they are guaranteed for 10 years.
Thanks again for comments
 
I can't feel any play in my 8x32 HGs, but there is a (barely audible) click when I turn the focus wheel fully clockwise to the far-focus position.

We're coming to Wales next weekend. Depending where you are, you can have a go with mine if you like.
 
digi-birder said:
I can't feel any play in my 8x32 HGs, but there is a (barely audible) click when I turn the focus wheel fully clockwise to the far-focus position.

We're coming to Wales next weekend. Depending where you are, you can have a go with mine if you like.

Thanks for offer.I live near a town called Caerphilly in the south.Im still in two minds whether to send them back to WE for them to check out sometime this week though, so if your nohwere near here let me know.Another kind soul has also offered to compare bins ,as they also have slight play.
Thanks again
 
digi-birder said:
Oh well, that's out then. We'll be in the Cardigan Bay area and also visiting Gigrin Farm at some point over the weekend.
Thats no problem and thank you for letting me know :) , and have a nice time there in cardigan bay.
 
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