You say this with Denco clearly all over this thread? What guts... I just got a new 8x32SE a couple days ago, and they are really good but like you say they show a good bit of CA compared to my 10x32 SV's.
John F
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Does Nikon use ED glass in the SE and EII? (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Sandy Leng
- Start date
You say this with Denco clearly all over this thread? What guts... I just got a new 8x32SE a couple days ago, and they are really good but like you say they show a good bit of CA compared to my 10x32 SV's.
John F
Did you get the 8x32 SE's? If so, they may have been the last new ones sold in the US! I thought Optics Planet was showing 'no stock' a week ago when I was looking. B&H was down to 2 (now 0), Adorama none, SWFA none, etc., none available at all that I can see.
John F
Well I can only disagree, except with the first statement.
I have used my Nikon 8x32 SE in all conditions over the past 10 years or more, and I have never seen anything but a trace of CA, whereas the Swarovision 8.5x42 I tried showed quite noticeable purple fringing. I think it is transverse CA. The SE displays a little bit of longitudinal CA, and it does not bother me, and it shows no purpling. I always believe my own eyes, as people never mentioned CA on the previous version of the EL, but it was obvious, so much so that I had to sell mine for a Zeiss FL, which is almost completely free of CA. I had my Zeiss FL for 8 years, so I probably had gained some experience with it.
I do wonder if a lot of people do not see purple fringing. I used to be attacked quite unpleasantly for reporting it in binoculars, such as the Nikon 8x32 HG.
I was briefly chatting with a UK dealer, at Kay Optics in London, and he said Nikon had discontinued the SE 7 times. Make of that what you will. With something like the SE, the way they make them is in batches, and then keep stock. So it might just be that they are coming to the end of current stock. Clearly they have the tooling, and just need to get set up to make a batch.
A2GG
Beth
yes, I am a little concerned about the ergonomics. My Yosemite's are small porros and feel very nice (the right size for me), but they look to be smaller and much less bulky than the SE, so we'll see about that soon enough.
A2GG
Beth
yes, I got them and they should be on their way. I did not receive any message during check out regarding discontinuation or anything. This was on Amazon. But, perhaps Leif is right and they just manufacture them in batches. However, the EII and Prem. SE seem to be scarce in the U.S. in general, so I think it's good I grabbed one. In Europe they may be more abundant (?)
Not in the UK anyway. I got mine used from an amateur astronomer, who rarely used them. It seems they appeared before February 1998, so mine might be a very early one. Not many dealers sell new ones.
A2GG
Beth
I just chatted online with an Optics Planet rep., as I became concerned about stock. Like I said, I am ordering from Optics planet (through Amazon). They are currently not in stock, but they are on re-order and it will take 3-5 weeks for the SE to arrive (to me). I asked if they were being discontinued and he said it doesn't look like it (no mention of it in their system) since they have an order in for new stock.
normjackson
Well-known member
Oh no, could mention of a date be taken as the cue for another recycled discussion on ECO glass? |:d|
Photo here giving some indication of size difference between SE prism housing and old style Yosemite :
http://www.cloudynights.com/ubbthreads/attachments/1416290-leupold 6x30 & 10SE 001resize.JPG
Photo here giving some indication of size difference between SE prism housing and old style Yosemite :
http://www.cloudynights.com/ubbthreads/attachments/1416290-leupold 6x30 & 10SE 001resize.JPG
A2GG
Beth
thank you for that ! that is quite a difference...I did not think they would be that much larger. It's ok though...I don't have tiny little hands...I'm 5'9". I don't think they are very heavy from the specs I read a couple of days ago, so that will be good. Yes, they look like classic style and I find that sort of nice.
normjackson
Well-known member
Don't forget should only be comparing the prism housing. The Nikon shown is the SE 10x42 with the correspondingly bigger objectives. Also the Leupold has the eyecups down in second picture which makes it look smaller. I actually meant to post the front view of the housings (from a thread on CloudyNights forum) :
http://www.cloudynights.com/ubbthreads/attachments/1416304-leupold 6x30 & 10SE 002resize.JPG
http://www.cloudynights.com/ubbthreads/attachments/1416304-leupold 6x30 & 10SE 002resize.JPG
brocknroller
porromaniac
Congratulations! Wonder Woman. You are turning into one of us! Check your cellar, there is probably a giant seed pod with your face on it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRVfGMjdGh8
If you don't experience the dreaded SE image blackouts, I think you will be very pleased with it, and perhaps pleasantly surprised at how "sharp" the image is at the center and at the edges. Of course, a sunny day will make the images look better than the dregs of winter.
I was outside today at lunch for a walk with my 8x32 SE. Spotted some bluebirds, who oddly had buddied up with some gold finches. Everywhere the bluebirds went, so did the gold finches. When the bluebirds went down to drink at a snow melt runoff stream, so did the finches. When they flew to another tree (small trees recently planted near a new development), the finches followed. I guess there's "strength in numbers".
This is the second incidence of interspecies cooperation I've seen. The other was also during the winter when a circling hawk zeroed in on mourning doves and starlings perched on power lines, and the two groups of birds flew away undulating in synch with each other. If you've ever observed doves and starlings flying, you must have noticed they have different patterns while flying, but when grouped together they turned and twisted as one flock when they flew in a serpentine fashion and it worked! It outfoxed that hawk, who gave up and went back to circling in the other direction.
Looking at the tree branches against the bright gray sky, I could see no CA in my 8x32 SE on axis. If I moved the branches or power lines off axis, I could see some red or green fringing, depending which direction I moved the object off axis, but even then, the CA was slight compared to some non-ED roofs I've tried or owned. I could also see some pincushion at the edges.
The 8x30 EII shows more CA. As I speculated above, this could be due to the "faster" EPs and/or the wider FOV since the farther from center you go, the higher the CA, and the EII's FOV is wider @ 8.8* vs. the SE's 7.5*.
I put extensions on the objectives to make the 8x32 SE fit my hands better, but even Bushwackers will help if your palms extend beyond the barrels and reflect light into the bin. More of an issue with the stubby barrels of the EII than the SE.
If you do have problems with image blackouts, let us know and the inventors of the technique to deal with them (MOLCET) will walk you through it, and I also have a photo demonstrating the technique.
Let us know how your impressions of the SEs when they arrive, and welcome to the Nikon SE Owners Club!
Brock (SEOC member since 1998)
Attachments
![Nikon EII and SE 030 CU [].jpg](/data/attachments/396/396791-2975e5c550a65c493f96a27533756d93.jpg)
A2GG
Beth
ahhh...I thought they looked too big for 32mm. got it...thanks.
A2GG
Beth
"Everywhere the bluebirds went, so did the gold finches. When the bluebirds went down to drink at a snow melt runoff stream, so did the finches. When they flew to another tree (small trees recently planted near a new development), the finches followed. I guess there's "strength in numbers".
I vaguely remember from the Cornell home-study course this behavior explained, but I have such a bad memory and can't remember all of the details. But, I do remember one example of shorebirds first arriving on land after migration and following other birds/bird species to food sources since they were unfamiliar with the territory. Following the other birds to the food cut down on the time it would take for them to find it themselves. Not sure if this applies to your observation.
The strength in numbers is also an evolved behavior ... protection from predators. Higher number in group = less chance an individual will get 'picked off'.
I vaguely remember from the Cornell home-study course this behavior explained, but I have such a bad memory and can't remember all of the details. But, I do remember one example of shorebirds first arriving on land after migration and following other birds/bird species to food sources since they were unfamiliar with the territory. Following the other birds to the food cut down on the time it would take for them to find it themselves. Not sure if this applies to your observation.
The strength in numbers is also an evolved behavior ... protection from predators. Higher number in group = less chance an individual will get 'picked off'.
Apparently the way it works is that a predator chases one bird, loses it in the flock, can't find it again because they all look the same, chases another, loses it and so on. The predator gets tired, the birds in the flock don't, as each only gets chased a bit. Some researchers once tried marking the bird they were studying, and it always got eaten, because the predator was able to follow it.
A2GG
Beth
very interesting.
opticoholic
Well-known member
Good choice on the 8X32 SE Annabeth!
My thoughts on the 8X32 SE:
They are a classic, perhaps the best porro ever. Anyone with a passion for binoculars should own at least one SE or the EII, if for no other reason than to know how satisfying a good a porro can be. Another reason is to remind Nikon that we LIKE them so that they will hopefully keep making them... As for owning 5 birding binoculars, yeah, that's probably enough. Eventually unless you just want to just collect without using, you have to adopt a policy to sell a bin before you buy another. That's where I am. Every few years I spend a little more money and improve what I have. I'll be selling one soon and then I'll be at 4 birding bins and 1 astronomy bin plus two birding scopes. I don't see myself ever selling my 8X32 SE's unless Nikon surprises us all and decides to upgrade the SE line (come on Nikon!).
As for the ergonomics of the 8X32 SE, for me they just "fit" and feel better in my hands than any roof ever did, and for this reason I feel I'm able to hold them more steady than any other 8X I've tried. The other thing I'm sure you've read about is the focus knob, which is a little stiff and slow, but OH SO PRECISE. I need a little more time to dial in the focus with the SE, and once in a while I miss a bird because of that, plus in the winter it can get even more stiff; that's another drawback, tho' not so much where I live in California... But I always feel I can perfectly "snap" things into focus with the SE's, and that is very satisfying. The focuser is part of the personality of the SE and I see it as both good and bad, but mostly good for me. I tend to use the SE's when the weather is fair and I'll be out in the open where most of the birds are at a great distance. But I used them all day on this year's Christmas count, some of that in a woodland setting, and they were great.
--Dave
My thoughts on the 8X32 SE:
They are a classic, perhaps the best porro ever. Anyone with a passion for binoculars should own at least one SE or the EII, if for no other reason than to know how satisfying a good a porro can be. Another reason is to remind Nikon that we LIKE them so that they will hopefully keep making them... As for owning 5 birding binoculars, yeah, that's probably enough. Eventually unless you just want to just collect without using, you have to adopt a policy to sell a bin before you buy another. That's where I am. Every few years I spend a little more money and improve what I have. I'll be selling one soon and then I'll be at 4 birding bins and 1 astronomy bin plus two birding scopes. I don't see myself ever selling my 8X32 SE's unless Nikon surprises us all and decides to upgrade the SE line (come on Nikon!).
As for the ergonomics of the 8X32 SE, for me they just "fit" and feel better in my hands than any roof ever did, and for this reason I feel I'm able to hold them more steady than any other 8X I've tried. The other thing I'm sure you've read about is the focus knob, which is a little stiff and slow, but OH SO PRECISE. I need a little more time to dial in the focus with the SE, and once in a while I miss a bird because of that, plus in the winter it can get even more stiff; that's another drawback, tho' not so much where I live in California... But I always feel I can perfectly "snap" things into focus with the SE's, and that is very satisfying. The focuser is part of the personality of the SE and I see it as both good and bad, but mostly good for me. I tend to use the SE's when the weather is fair and I'll be out in the open where most of the birds are at a great distance. But I used them all day on this year's Christmas count, some of that in a woodland setting, and they were great.
--Dave
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