• Welcome to BirdForum, the internet's largest birding community with thousands of members from all over the world. The forums are dedicated to wild birds, birding, binoculars and equipment and all that goes with it.

    Please register for an account to take part in the discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.
ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

NIKON introduces new Monarch HG 8x30 and 10x30 Binoculars (1 Viewer)

Dennis,

All you have to do with the Swarovski CL Companion 8x30 B when you use it to get that mathematically created extra area in the FOV that the Nikon 8x30 HG has is to pivot your head an inch or so in the appropriate direction while you are looking through it.

But if you would rather roll your eyes in the appropriate direction rather than pivot your head then I recommend that you get a Nikon 8x30 E2 which has a FOV of 8.8º.

Bob
I personally would rather see a bigger FOV without pivoting my head. That way you take in more FOV at once. If you want to pivot your head you could get by with a 300 foot FOV. IMO a bigger FOV is always an advantage especially with a flat field and sharp edges. You can pick up birds at the edge of the FOV when you have sharp edges and a larger FOV allows you to scan a larger area at one time. The bigger FOV also gives me more WOW effect and a more immersive feeling. Some people are content with a smaller FOV and others live for the big FOV. It is a matter of personal taste. Interesting concept though.
 
If you know something is there you can aim any bino at the subject. If you don't know something is there and are sweeping the sky or land speculatively then an 18% bigger fov gives you more of a chance of snagging something. For me the extra fov comes in useful when sweeping the sea after something (a seal, a loon, a whale, an otter) has dived and I don't know where it will surface.

Lee
 
If you know something is there you can aim any bino at the subject. If you don't know something is there and are sweeping the sky or land speculatively then an 18% bigger fov gives you more of a chance of snagging something. For me the extra fov comes in useful when sweeping the sea after something (a seal, a loon, a whale, an otter) has dived and I don't know where it will surface.

Lee

Lee,

As a practical matter, if I were doing something like that on a regular basis I would not use any 8x30 or 8x32 binoculars which are very useful in closeup work in the canopy or while engaged in general birding.

I would use instead a high quality wide field 7x42 like Jerry Liguori recommends in his books: "Hawks at a Distance" and "Hawks at any Angle." The binoculars he has used since 1994 were the Zeiss 7x45 Night Owl and later the 7x42 Victory FL.

I'm sure that they would be just as advantageous while sweeping the sea for Otters, Seals, Loons or Whales from the land or from a boat. Their large exit pupils are very forgiving.

Bob
 
I personally would rather see a bigger FOV without pivoting my head. That way you take in more FOV at once. If you want to pivot your head you could get by with a 300 foot FOV. IMO a bigger FOV is always an advantage especially with a flat field and sharp edges. You can pick up birds at the edge of the FOV when you have sharp edges and a larger FOV allows you to scan a larger area at one time. The bigger FOV also gives me more WOW effect and a more immersive feeling. Some people are content with a smaller FOV and others live for the big FOV. It is a matter of personal taste. Interesting concept though.


Dennis,

The human neck is a remarkable mono-pod, unmatched by anything man has tried to devise. It can turn a binocular with a FOV of 7.7º into one with a FOV of 8.3º with just a very slight movement. This is invaluable if the first binocular is better than the 2nd binocular.

Bob
 
Dennis,

The human neck is a remarkable mono-pod, unmatched by anything man has tried to devise. It can turn a binocular with a FOV of 7.7º into one with a FOV of 8.3º with just a very slight movement. This is invaluable if the first binocular is better than the 2nd binocular.

Bob

No it can't.

Nick
 
Gee!

If you have a neck why can't you use it to improve the limited specifications of your binocular?

Bob

Why stop at 7.7º, how about 6º or 4º. why just by turning your neck your smartie tubes will have 180º FOV. A wider FOV is better than a narrower FOV in nearly every instance. Just because you like a particular binocular doesn't change things.

Gee.

Nick
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Bob is right here. The fov difference is insignificant. Lee make the point about a 19% increase in viewing area, but that too is, as a practical matter...insignificant. That is my opinion. What is factored out in fov discussions is that while we can change magnifications, fov width, coatings and other things, we are stuck with our narrow focus human vision. Give that same human vision a 19% larger area, you simply are adding a larger area for our narrow vision, central focused vision at that, to contend with. This, again in my opinion, causes observers to rely more on the fov of the binocular and far too little on our own eyes, which are what should be getting ti most use in a birding situation. There is certainly some advantage to adding peripheral vision,m but those who seem to feel they can dart their eyes to the edge are simply exposing various aberrations that are caused by off axis viewing that were never intended to be tin the center field in the first place. Plus that edge darting seems a splendid way to create eye strain. It is very hard to actually look at the edge of the fov.
 
Isn't a wider FOV a potentially significant advantage for spotting birds while scanning through binoculars, making it easier to pick up movement in branches, or to spot a distant hawk in the sky overhead? Often I seem to notice movement peripherally, but then of course I reposition the binoculars so the bird is in the center.

Neill
 
Bob is right here. The fov difference is insignificant. Lee make the point about a 19% increase in viewing area, but that too is, as a practical matter...insignificant. That is my opinion. What is factored out in fov discussions is that while we can change magnifications, fov width, coatings and other things, we are stuck with our narrow focus human vision. Give that same human vision a 19% larger area, you simply are adding a larger area for our narrow vision, central focused vision at that, to contend with. This, again in my opinion, causes observers to rely more on the fov of the binocular and far too little on our own eyes, which are what should be getting ti most use in a birding situation. There is certainly some advantage to adding peripheral vision,m but those who seem to feel they can dart their eyes to the edge are simply exposing various aberrations that are caused by off axis viewing that were never intended to be tin the center field in the first place. Plus that edge darting seems a splendid way to create eye strain. It is very hard to actually look at the edge of the fov.
As Lee and nmason said the bigger FOV helps you spot movement and potential birds when scanning. A bigger FOV is always advantageous especially when there are no aberrations at the edge as in the Swarovski SV. Even if it is not a flat field binocular you can usually detect movement at the edge which tells you you snagged something so you can move the object to the center. I can easily see the edges of my SV's with out hardly any eye darting. I can also easily see the difference between a binocular with a 400 foot FOV compared to one with a 420 foot FOV and one with a 440 foot FOV. If a bigger FOV is not desired why even have binoculars? We would all be using spotting scopes and twisting our necks around. Heck, they have way more magnification than a binocular. Why do some birders prefer a 7x binocular over 10x? One of the big reasons is it has a bigger FOV.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
When you are out birding in the thick stuff and the birds are close...I can absolutely tell a difference between binocular "A" with 399 ft FOV and binocular "B" with 420 ft FOV. I have proven this to myself time and time again. It's easier to spot a bird quicker....no doubt about it. That's very important because birds usually don't say still! NOW...less FOV doesn't make a binoculars necessarily a unworthy binocular and I can certainly make a binocular with lower FOV numbers WORK...but given the choice...I'll take the one with more FOV and can probably tell the difference in the field.
 
I'm with the side that appreciates a wider field of view and the more usable the FOV the more better.

If I follow the thinking of a smaller field of view with a monopod neck that swivels in all directions as equivalent, then I should be content with any size FOV even down to 1' at 1000 yards???.... I can tell you for me this is not the case.

My .02,

CG
 
BTW Bob....

I WANT one of the 8X32! :t:

Chuck,

They are both 8x30.

One is the new Nikon Monarch 8x30 HG, the other is the Swarovski CL Companion 8x30 B which I own. I use it almost every day and I like very much! :t:

I also have a Nikon 8x42 HG which has the same 8.3º FOV as the new 8x30 HG. Except for size they look very much alike. The oculars on the 8x30, of course, are shorter and smaller than the ones on the 8x42 but they still have to produce the same 8.3º FOV as the ones on the 8x42.

http://www.nikonsportoptics.com/en/nikon-products/binoculars/monarch-hg/index.page

Bob
 
Last edited:
I'm with the side that appreciates a wider field of view and the more usable the FOV the more better.

If I follow the thinking of a smaller field of view with a monopod neck that swivels in all directions as equivalent, then I should be content with any size FOV even down to 1' at 1000 yards???.... I can tell you for me this is not the case.

My .02,

CG

Not really. The Swarovski CL Companion 8x30 B and new Nikon Monarch 8x30 HG have FOVs that are close to each other but the Nikon FOV is wider. All you really want to do is move the Swarovski slightly by "pivoting" your neck to create a similar FOV as the Nikons. It isn't complicated. You probably do it unconsciously with any binocular when following a bird flitting through the branches of a tree. That is what I meant when I commented that the Nikons "38 more feet FOV at 1000 yards was insignificant in normal use" when compared with the Swarovski. See Post #12 above.

It is absurd to think that uncontrolled neck swiveling will make a binocular with a narrow FOV competitive with one with a very wide FOV.
 
Last edited:
Funny discussion this. A FOV of 145m/1000m is almost best in class for a 8x roof binocular, while 132m/1000m is pretty average. If this matters to you, up to you to decide. I certainly appreciate a good FOV.
 
With the "shortish" eye relief the complete FOV might be difficult to enjoy, at least if wearing glasses.
Eye cup rim seem to be rather high as well, stealing some of the ER. The 42mm HG was not optimal with glasses either and to me it looks like the eye pieces are similar in the 30mm version.
 
Chuck,

They are both 8x30.

One is the new Nikon Monarch 8x30 HG, the other is the Swarovski CL Companion 8x30 B which I own. I use it almost every day and I like very much! :t:

I also have a Nikon 8x42 HG which has the same 8.3º FOV as the new 8x30 HG. Except for size they look very much alike. The oculars on the 8x30, of course, are shorter and smaller than the ones on the 8x42 but they still have to produce the same 8.3º FOV as the ones on the 8x42.

http://www.nikonsportoptics.com/en/nikon-products/binoculars/monarch-hg/index.page

Bob

Hey Bob,

I knew what I was THINKING but it didn't get to my fingers! ;)

I want one of the Monarch HG 8X30s! Well I would like one of the new CL 8X30s TOO but will prob just get the Nikon... Of course I don't NEED either! :smoke:
 
Warning! This thread is more than 4 years ago old.
It's likely that no further discussion is required, in which case we recommend starting a new thread. If however you feel your response is required you can still do so.

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top