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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Nikon 8x30 EII (1 Viewer)

Hi,

I have lately seen 8x30 E2s being sold by reputable stores in germany (which I assume to not offer grey market stuff) again too, but unfortunately the going price seems to be €699 (about the same amount in greenbacks atm). So maybe Nikon has changed the Japan only policy?

Joachm
 
binomania said:
Hi from Italy, Brock! I'm very sorry for your cat. Mine was invested last year from a young madman, in front of my house, and my daughter Ersilia saw all: It was a real tragedy. Now we've got another kitten of two months.
I had for some time, both the SE and the EII, but using the SWAROVISION , I chosed to sell the SE, ‘cause I love the E II for its wide field of view. Two years ago I had a course as a voluntary ranger and I give 14 hours of my time per month to volunteer. I am responsible for the oversight of an oasis near the lake of Varese (with another colleague) and we often go on a watchtower, about 20 meters high, to look across the marsh. In this case the EII is really excellent: great panning, large field of view, light and very correct.
I think that we preferred to cease production of the SE, because they had a rival at home, compared to their EDG and HG.
Ciao!
Pier
Click to expand...

Not sure what you mean by "invested" and I'm not sure I want to know since its tragic, but sorry for your loss and that your daughter had to see it. I've seen photos of her on your website, she's very young. Glad to hear she has a kitten now.

You mentioned being a voluntary ranger makes me realize that I missed my true calling in life. What better job than to be in the Great Outdoors using binoculars to look for forest fires and getting paid for it, that is, as a state or national forest ranger. Those Smokey the Bear hats are cool, too. ;)

You probably never saw Smokey in Italy. He's a cartoon character who appeared in public announcement TV commercials, and was based on a song. The TV announcements would always end with Smokey saying, "Remember, only YOU can prevent forest fires."

Smokey the Bear

Brock
 
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jring said:
Hi,

I have lately seen 8x30 E2s being sold by reputable stores in germany (which I assume to not offer grey market stuff) again too, but unfortunately the going price seems to be €699 (about the same amount in greenbacks atm). So maybe Nikon has changed the Japan only policy?

Joachm
Click to expand...

Hello Joachm. The E2s that were recently sold in the US were grey market. Examining the warranty information provided with mine, I believe that it's original/intended destination was Europe (all of the Nikon Service Centers listed on the warranty sheet are in Europe). So it would seem that the E2 is being officially imported into the EU.
 
brocknroller said:
Not sure what you mean by "invested" and I'm not sure I want to know since its tragic, but sorry for your loss and that your daughter had to see it. I've seen photos of her on your website, she's very young. Glad to hear she has a kitten now.

You mentioning being a voluntary ranger makes me realize that I missed my true calling in life. What better job than to be in the Great Outdoors using binoculars to look for forest fires and getting paid for it, that is, as a state or national forest ranger. Those Smokey the Bear hats are cool, too. ;)

You probably never saw Smokey in Italy. He's a cartoon character who appeared in public announcement TV commercials, and was based on a song. The TV announcements would always end with Smokey saying, "Remember, only YOU can prevent forest fires."

Smokey the Bear

Brock
Click to expand...


Brock excuse for my bad English. It has been a car to kill my cat. I'm not paid to do the ranger, I have a main job and this is a form of volunteering.
Me too, would have liked to do a professional. But as a young man had other passions :)
We have various functions, not only forest fires, but wildlife protection, mushrooms, fishing, illegal dumping and more. The difference with a professional ranger (forester) is that we are "public official" only during the hours of service. Ah. We do not have that hat :)
 
peatmoss said:
Hello Joachm. The E2s that were recently sold in the US were grey market. Examining the warranty information provided with mine, I believe that it's original/intended destination was Europe (all of the Nikon Service Centers listed on the warranty sheet are in Europe). So it would seem that the E2 is being officially imported into the EU.
Click to expand...

Interesting - but when I was looking for one in May and June, none were to be had - not listed or out of stock everywhere. So I ordered from Japan despite german mail being on strike at the time.

Now that I got mine from customs, they started appearing again. On the other hand even after customs mine were 200€ cheaper than what they're going for here... not sure if the european Nikon warranty (no no-fault warranty over here, just 5y parts & labour plus 5y parts only) is worth that much money...

Joachim
 
Clifton Cameras here in the UK has the Nikon 8x30 EII in stock for £325 (about 460 euros or just over $500).

I bought mine from them in 2010 - they're decent people to do business with.

Graham
 
:smoke:
brocknroller said:
Not sure what you mean by "invested" and I'm not sure I want to know since its tragic, but sorry for your loss and that your daughter had to see it. I've seen photos of her on your website, she's very young. Glad to hear she has a kitten now.

You mentioned being a voluntary ranger makes me realize that I missed my true calling in life. What better job than to be in the Great Outdoors using binoculars to look for forest fires and getting paid for it, that is, as a state or national forest ranger. Those Smokey the Bear hats are cool, too. ;)

You probably never saw Smokey in Italy. He's a cartoon character who appeared in public announcement TV commercials, and was based on a song. The TV announcements would always end with Smokey saying, "Remember, only YOU can prevent forest fires."

Smokey the Bear

Brock
Click to expand...

Brock
I had a Smokey Bear book when I was a little kid and loved it. He was a good and upstanding bear. He always had a fair yet 'don't dare mess with me' look on his face.

My insolent side likes to Imagine an undiscovered chapter in his book where some idiot flicks a smouldering cigar butt in Smokey's face while Smokey sternly counsels them on fire safety. He'd mess them up big time.....end up using their arms and legs as toothpicks no doubt.

Following his rules in his forests kept Smokey a happy chap.
He was a top bloke.

Rathaus
 
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Rathaus said:
:smoke:

Brock
I had a Smokey Bear book when I was a little kid and loved it. He was a good and upstanding bear. He always had a fair yet 'don't dare mess with me' look on his face.

My insolent side likes to Imagine an undiscovered chapter in his book where some idiot flicks a smouldering cigar butt in Smokey's face while Smokey sternly counsels them on fire safety. He'd mess them up big time.....end up using their arms and legs as toothpicks no doubt.

Following his rules in his forests kept Smokey a happy chap.
He was a top bloke.

Rathaus
Click to expand...

Ratfink,

I didn't realize that Smokey was known Down Under. I think he took care of the bad guys by giving them a bear hug that would knock the wind out of them, and like the cowboys in the serial films that my dad watched when he was a kid, he never got his hat knocked off. ;)

Here's another one of my childhood heroes:

Ed "Big Daddy" Roth

<B>
 
brocknroller said:
Ratfink,

I didn't realize that Smokey was known Down Under. I think he took care of the bad guys by giving them a bear hug that would knock the wind out of them, and like the cowboys in the serial films that my dad watched when he was a kid, he never got his hat knocked off. ;)

Here's another one of my childhood heroes:

Ed "Big Daddy" Roth

<B>
Click to expand...

I've only heard of that Rat guy through the rat rods etc. A fascinating and influential character I see. Didn't you say somewhere you had a muscle car? I always liked the look of the more sinister cars like the black Dodge Charger with blanked grill...or the HemiCuda which I had a toy version of. Also the Chev Chevelle. All In black...like the last Nikon 8x30EII, which I have on order...keeping things on topic here. :smoke:

Prius drivers and Quinoia munchers, do not open the following link. Your sensibilities will be offended! But, How can something with a carbon footprint larger than Krakatoa be so gooood? :D

http://youtu.be/JUUqkVkm5cg

Rathaus
 
Last edited:
Rathaus said:
I've only heard of that Rat guy through the rat rods etc. A fascinating and influential character I see. Didn't you say somewhere you had a muscle car? I always liked the look of the more sinister cars like the black Dodge Charger with blanked grill...or the HemiCuda which I had a toy version of. Also the Chev Chevelle. All In black...like the last Nikon 8x30EII, which I have on order...keeping things on topic here. :smoke:

Prius drivers and Quinoia munchers, do not open the following link. Your sensibilities will be offended! But, How can something with a carbon footprint larger than Krakatoa be so gooood? :D

http://youtu.be/JUUqkVkm5cg

Rathaus
Click to expand...

That's how my neighbor speeds on our side street with his 300 hp sports car (I used to have a 240 Z but only let her rip on open stretches of road). He flattened a chipmunk into a pancake, fortunately, it wasn't one of the many children who ride up and down the block on their tricycles (there's no sidewalk) or run across the street to the swings and slides in the park. The parents don't do a good job watching them, because they are young themselves and have between two and four children each. I talked to him about watching for kids, and he slowed down a bit, but still speeds at times. He's 25 and thinks he's immortal.

Before the Z, I owned a '68 Dodge Charger with Rat Fink decals and then a Saab Turbo. Now I drive a compact and have to swivel and contort to get into it. When I hit the MegaMillions, I'm going to buy a full sized car such as a Chevy Impala or Chrysler 300 or Toyota Avalon or Buick LaCrosse. Then I'll buy a Honda scooter to get around town to reduce my carbon footprint. Beep! Beep!

Either that or buy an alpha, which at their increasing rate of price inflation, will cost as much as a compact car in 10 years.

<B>
 
brocknroller said:
That's how my neighbor speeds on our side street with his 300 hp sports car (I used to have a 240 Z but only let her rip on open stretches of road). He flattened a chipmunk into a pancake, fortunately, it wasn't one of the many children who ride up and down the block on their tricycles (there's no sidewalk) or run across the street to the swings and slides in the park. The parents don't do a good job watching them, because they are young themselves and have between two and four children each. I talked to him about watching for kids, and he slowed down a bit, but still speeds at times. He's 25 and thinks he's immortal.

Before the Z, I owned a '68 Dodge Charger with Rat Fink decals and then a Saab Turbo. Now I drive a compact and have to swivel and contort to get into it. When I hit the MegaMillions, I'm going to buy a full sized car such as a Chevy Impala or Chrysler 300 or Toyota Avalon or Buick LaCrosse. Then I'll buy a Honda scooter to get around town to reduce my carbon footprint. Beep! Beep!

Either that or buy an alpha, which at their increasing rate of price inflation, will cost as much as a compact car in 10 years.

<B>
Click to expand...

Brock

Being a YouTube video, I'm sure it was done in a safe and responsible manner.


Re Nikon-Collimation

I'm still waiting for my 8x30IIE to arrive. The only thing I get nervous about buying bins online like this is collimation. How does the little Nikon seem in this regard? Is it a sensitive bin re collimating issues....or is it mostly trouble free?
I see some have had two or three of them so it'd be interesting to hear.

Rathaus
 
Rathaus said:
Brock

Being a YouTube video, I'm sure it was done in a safe and responsible manner.


Re Nikon-Collimation

I'm still waiting for my 8x30IIE to arrive. The only thing I get nervous about buying bins online like this is collimation. How does the little Nikon seem in this regard? Is it a sensitive bin re collimating issues....or is it mostly trouble free?
I see some have had two or three of them so it'd be interesting to hear.

Rathaus
Click to expand...

They probably cleared the road ahead since they were making a video, plus it appears to be a major road, I live on a dead end that runs past a ball field and a kiddie park, not the place for drag racing. At the beginning of the road, there's a sign that says "No Outlet" and in small print underneath "No access to shopping center," but at least five times a day, more on the weekend, drivers of cars and trucks come up the road looking for a shortcut to the shopping center, and when they get to the end of the block and find it's a dead end, they race back in frustration, sometimes at breakneck speeds.

We asked the town to put in a DEAD END sign since everybody knows what that means, but they put a "No Outlet" sign instead, which some drivers apparently think means there's no electricity to plug in your RV.

As to the collimation, I've had three eights and two tens, and all arrived well collimated. The EII's Achilles Heel is the lack of armoring on the barrels near the objectives, which are totally naked. You have to watch not to bump them so they don't get dented and so they don't knock the prisms out of collimation since there's no shock absorption. Adding Bushwacker objective covers solves both problems and gives the bins better balance in the hand.

Brock
 
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It is basically a trouble free binocular, optically speaking.:t:

My 8x30 needs the covering over the right prism housing re-glued to the body but that doesn't affect its remarkable view!:king: I haven't had that problem with my 10x35 but I don't use it as much.

The body covering has been changed since I got my 8x30 around the year 2000. The peeling problem has been corrected.

Bob
 
ceasar said:
It is basically a trouble free binocular, optically speaking.:t:

My 8x30 needs the covering over the right prism housing re-glued to the body but that doesn't affect its remarkable view!:king: I haven't had that problem with my 10x35 but I don't use it as much.

The body covering has been changed since I got my 8x30 around the year 2000. The peeling problem has been corrected.

Bob
Click to expand...
I used my EII the other day and was comparing it to my SV 8x32. Truthfully, I couldn't say which one was better. When you put the EII up to your eyes there is just that big easy 3D porro view and it is BRIGHT for a 30mm binocular. Very impressive for a $400 binocular. Nothing has the big FOV like the EII. Great little porro.
 
The 8EII arrived today. It was a crazy day and I could only spend 30 seconds with the binocs at the post office looking out the open car window at some buildings.

It was dull weather but I got an instant and easy gob of massive crystal clear eye candy. One of the most impressive 20-30 seconds of new bino viewing ever. Collimation is perfect. No critical testing yet. Thanks for recommending this little beauty!

A couple of points of interest.
I had assumed these were a Chinese made Nikon? It clearly says made in Japan...and the case in China. Is the 8SE made in China? I did get the E2 shipped from Japan.

How can they be so cheap?

Why would they stop making these?

Why is the word 'OAF' printed inside the lens caps?

I'm suddenly interested in the 10x35EII! Why is there so little mentioned about it compared to the 8? What's the problem? They can't be that bad? Looks like they probably use the same main body and prisms? What gives?

Rathaus
 
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Rathaus said:
...

I'm suddenly interested in the 10x35EII! Why is there so little mentioned about it compared to the 8? What's the problem? They can't be that bad? Looks like they probably use the same main body and prisms? What gives?

Rathaus
Click to expand...

Hello Rathaus,

Those who have used the 10x35 EII, have praised it. I examined one, some years, ago, and rejected it, out of hand. It was noticeably larger, while my interest was in buying a supplement to my 8x binocular. I did buy a 10x32 roof binocular, which I use only when I need some extra reach.

In fact, I still carry my 10x, which gets little use compared to my 6.5x32: far less than 10% of my viewing is through my 10x. I would say that a good many bird watchers find a 10x hard to use, unless it is stabilised, while I find them useless to follow birds in flight. Having written that, there are times when a 10x makes a big difference.

Happy bird watching,
Arthur :hi:
 
Pinewood said:
Hello Rathaus,

Those who have used the 10x35 EII, have praised it. I examined one, some years, ago, and rejected it, out of hand. It was noticeably larger, while my interest was in buying a supplement to my 8x binocular. I did buy a 10x32 roof binocular, which I use only when I need some extra reach.

In fact, I still carry my 10x, which gets little use compared to my 6.5x32: far less than 10% of my viewing is through my 10x. I would say that a good many bird watchers find a 10x hard to use, unless it is stabilised, while I find them useless to follow birds in flight. Having written that, there are times when a 10x makes a big difference.

Happy bird watching,
Arthur :hi:
Click to expand...

Arthur
Thanks for your comments, though they probably apply to most unstabilized 10x bins as well.
I don't think i saw mention of the 10xE2 in the 'favourite 10x bin' thread. I'd like to hear more about them.

Rathaus
 
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