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Nikon EDG (1 Viewer)

JoeJ

Well-known member
I have an opportunity to purchase a used Nikon EDG 8X42 1st version in great shape at a decent price but would like opinions from seasoned bino users as to their optical performance against the EDG II or the MHG's. Any assistance would be appreciated.
 
JoeJ, check out the following thread-
'New Bins arriving in one hour-excited.'

Personally, I've never tried either EDG, but I've got the MHG (8x42) and find they're everything I need.

Bill
 
I've read just about everything there is on the internet concerning the EDG and I was sort of happy when I got the opportunity to purchase a pair of 1st generation EDG but I am hesitant due to the non-transferable warranty. Like most quality products I suspect the EDG would be practically bullet-proof for everybody but me, as ole man Murphy seems to sneak up on me on used purchases.

The original asking price was $1K but he came down to $750 and advised that he would give the EDG to his son before going lower.

I don't have a great need for high-end binoculars but enjoy good optics when available in my price range, which is determined by the War Department, if she gets wind of it.

For the past 30 years my Steiner 7X50's have served me well for my needs. I just sold them last week on a whim. I feel a little lost without them and my Opticron MM3 50 with SLV2 eyepiece is great with a window mount but not so much hand held.

I slept on it all last night and decided to pass on those, partially because the guy seemed like he was a little sorry for offering them to me when his kid was the main user now and he was taking a bath at that price.

I'll probably wait until Christmas and see what discounts are offered and attempt to pick something up in the $1K range - new with a lifetime transferable warranty. Maybe the Nikon 8X32 or 10X32MHG or 8X42's???
 
I have an opportunity to purchase a used Nikon EDG 8X42 1st version in great shape at a decent price but would like opinions from seasoned bino users as to their optical performance against the EDG II or the MHG's. Any assistance would be appreciated.


Joe J.

I think you are wise to not purchase it.

Optically there was nothing wrong with the Nikon EDG 1st version. It was an excellent binocular from that perspective.

I had a 10x32 EDG 1st Version. I was the original owner and registered it with Nikon. After 4 years usage the exterior cover started to bubble and come loose and the corrugated rubber sleeve surrounding the focus wheel stretched and interfered with the focusing.

I contacted Nikon under my warranty and returned it to them as instructed and they replaced it with the new 10x32 version which I have been using for several years without incident. By that time the 1st version had been discontinued.

In your case, since Nikon's warranty isn't transferable as far as I know, it is doubtful if you would get the 1st Rate Warranty service that I got from them.

Bob
 
The diopter would not stay locked. It just arbitrarily "flew open" when the focuser was engaged. Didn't happen every time, but it was way, way too easy to do. It was fixed with the genII version.
 
What well known problem are you referring to?

There is a lengthy discussion about this somewhere in the basement files of this website. To the best of my recollection it involved a "wandering" diopter. In 4 years of use I never experienced a "wandering" diopter problem with my own 10x32 1st version EDG.

I don't recall anything being resolved about the issue of this "wandering" diopter. One of the reasons probably was because it was not a problem in the EDGs that Nikon released in Europe in 2010.

The first version of the EDG was only sold in North America from 2007 to 2010. The second version was first introduced in Europe and then made its way to North America. You can find a short comment about this in the 1911 Allbinos review of the 10x42 EDG here:

https://www.allbinos.com/215-binoculars_review-Nikon_10x42_EDG.html

Bob
 
I see. Thanks. The original EDG wasn’t sold in Europe (at least I’ve never seen one). So I wasn’t aware of this problem.

I briefly had the 10x32 EDG. It was optically superb, but the eyecups didn’t work well for me with glasses on: I would have needed another click stop between fully retracted and the first click. For some reason, Nikon thinks wearers of eyeglasses don’t need fine adjustment of eye relief.

My 8x32 HG-L has the same long dead zone between fully retracted and the first click, but this happens to work for me with this model’s different (shorter?) eye relief.



Edit: I hadn’t read Bob’s comment when I posted the above. It clarifies Nikon’s slightly peculiar launch of the EDG range.
 
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I briefly had the 10x32 EDG. It was optically superb, but the eyecups didn’t work well for me with glasses on: I would have needed another click stop between fully retracted and the first click. For some reason, Nikon thinks wearers of eyeglasses don’t need fine adjustment of eye relief.

I've owned several EDGs, Type I and II, and I've never had a problem with the diopter control slipping or "wandering". They do have an eye relief distance that's a bit too long for my eyeglasses and facial conformation, so I've been in the habit of placing a thin rubber o-ring over the shaft of the eyecup tube, to lift the cup 2 or 3 mm above the factory-standard bottom position. The x32s get 2mm rings and the x42s need 3mm. Works great for me. I use the same trick on Swarovski binos, which also have more eye relief than I need.

John
 
I’ve jailed mine to Canterbury Cameras here in the uk.
Picked up a new pair of Swarovski 8x25CL and think honestly the image is better
 
For some reason, Nikon thinks wearers of eyeglasses don’t need fine adjustment of eye relief.

Don't just blame Nikon for this failing, its common to many brands. If you find binos that are perfect apart from this aspect, then providing the eyecups are removable for cleaning , you can slip a suitably sized rubber o-ring underneath the eyecup, screw it back in and hey presto you have your own fine-adjustment.

Lee
 
The Nikon EDG and HG-L models I’ve used have had:
  • a fully retracted position for eyeglass wearers
  • a long gap until…
  • a tight cluster of positions for fine-tuning observation with the naked eye.
In contrast, the non-Nikon binoculars I’ve used have had a more sensible arrangement of evenly spaced click stops.

The Nikon design strikes me as worse, because it is precisely eyeglass wearers who need the finest adjustment. If you’re bracing the eyecup against your bare face (forehead, eye socket, stabilising thumbs, etc.), it’s easy to tilt your head up and down to fine-tune the eye relief.

This is not reasonably possible when wearing glasses, mainly because glasses introduce optical aberrations when viewing off axis. For the best view you need to look straight through your glasses.

The O-ring is a good trick, though. Not elegant, but some might say Nikons aren’t at the best of times!

(By the way, I think Nikon binoculars are wonderful and have two: an HG L and an SE, both in 8x32. I haven’t had a Teutonic alpha for ages. Out of my price range!)
 
JoeJ,

I have a first gen 7x EDG. I picked it up as a refurbished unit for around $800 from a retailer. Its serial number is under 120 so I suspect one of the first ones. It sees occasional use and I have had it for a few years now. It does have some slight looseness in the rubber body armor in a couple of places, and the diopter does wander ever so slightly (about a half of a tick mark) after 2-4 hours of use/focusing. (To fix it, you just raise the focus knob and turn the diopter adjustment a half tick mark back to where it is supposed to be and repaeat every 2-4 hours of focusing use. It only takes an instant... nothing more... and it hasn't gotten any worse over those few years. I bring this up because many internet people will go on forever about how terrible this is. You can decide what works for yourself).

I much prefer the single hinge design of the 2nd gen model so I would prefer to have one of those.

Given the price, the optics, and the mechanics (including the quirks) - it would be hard to find better.

CG
 
I have an opportunity to purchase a used Nikon EDG 8X42 1st version in great shape at a decent price but would like opinions from seasoned bino users as to their optical performance against the EDG II or the MHG's. Any assistance would be appreciated.

From my readings and personal experience, I believe the optics between the EDG-I and EDG-II are the same. The EDG-II build is more trouble free as the EDG-I has more cover issues and early production has had an issue with a slipping diopter. There have also been some reports of the same issues with the EDG-II but not nearly as many.

I am not sure how Nikon would handle a repair. The warranty is for the original owner but they have a no fault policy that has changed multiple times over the years. A used binocular would fall outside of the warranty but may be covered under the no fault policy. I have called and asked but seem to get different answers from different people. Also being a policy, they can change it at any time. If you ask about the no fault policy, then it would be best to do it via e-mail so you have something in writing.

I have a Nikon EDG-I 10X32 brought new and have not had any issues but it does not get heavy use.

I assume that MHG means the new Nikon Monarch HG model in a 8X42. I have the 8X42 Monarch HG but I have not compared it to an EDG 8X42. I have compared it to an EDG-II 8X32. The EDG has a little more contrast and a larger center view almost edge to edge. The Monarch HG has lens flatteners but it does not have edge to edge sharpness. It does have a nice large center view and it does have a noticeably larger FOV at 435 ft. It is also noticeably lighter and smaller than the EDG 42 mm models but not as small and light as the 32mm EDG. The Monarch HG has great handling and I find the smaller size and lighter weight compared to the 42mm EDG makes it easy to get a steady hold.
 
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Joe J.

I think you are wise to not purchase it.

Optically there was nothing wrong with the Nikon EDG 1st version. It was an excellent binocular from that perspective.

I had a 10x32 EDG 1st Version. I was the original owner and registered it with Nikon. After 4 years usage the exterior cover started to bubble and come loose and the corrugated rubber sleeve surrounding the focus wheel stretched and interfered with the focusing.

I contacted Nikon under my warranty and returned it to them as instructed and they replaced it with the new 10x32 version which I have been using for several years without incident. By that time the 1st version had been discontinued.

In your case, since Nikon's warranty isn't transferable as far as I know, it is doubtful if you would get the 1st Rate Warranty service that I got from them.

Bob
My opticron hr wp did the exact same thing, fixed under warranty
 
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