Nikon Hg and Premier (1 Viewer)

I have had the HG/LX 8X32 for a while now, and as Roger Vine stated it is a nice glass, a bit heavy some and some will say left behind, but to my eyes Nikon really did a good job with them, gobs of ER and a flat field only Nikon could deliver on.
I have looked for a mint HG/LX in 8X42, I have one in 10X42 but could never find a mint 8X42 sample. Well I found a mint Premier 8X42 a later model and to my eyes there is not a better flat field in the 7 degrees FOV, with the intuitive Nikon focus.

awesome glass.

Andy W

Andy. I had a couple HG/LX's and it depends upon how sensitive you are to CA but I found them to have a bit of CA especially on the edges. Do you notice that? That is one reason I like the EDG's a little better. CA shows a little less. Other than that the HG's are an excellent binocular.

I really do not notice it, once it was with the original 10X42 HG/LX, under gray skies, other than that not at all in the 8X32. The premier 8X42 has a bit more neutral color than the original HG/LXs, I noticed it right away, and much lighter than the HG/LX 10X42. How is the EDG 8X42 ?

Andy W.

"How is the EDG 8X42 ?"

I think the color rendition of the 8x42 EDG is pretty much perfect. That is a big advantage of the binocular. With such a flat transmission curve across the whole spectrum it appears brighter than higher transmitting binoculars with less flat transmission curves like the Zeiss FL 8x42. The HG/LX tranmission's curve is flat also and similar to the EDG that is probably why you like it so much but it's tranmission is slightly lower than the EDG.

"Firstly and foremostly the EDG transmission curve is very flat so even at both ends of the visible spectrum the high transmission level is kept. It’s worth noticing here that on the border between blue and purple light the transmission reaches almost 90%.Only few sets of binoculars can boast about such a value. Overall, when you integrate the values for the whole visible spectrum it turns out the Nikon is able to deliver more light than binoculars with higher maximum transmission but weaker results on the edge of the range."

dries1 said:

I have had the HG/LX 8X32 for a while now, and as Roger Vine stated it is a nice glass, a bit heavy some and some will say left behind, but to my eyes Nikon really did a good job with them, gobs of ER and a flat field only Nikon could deliver on.

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I agree. Only two things I don't like about the 8x32 HGL: It's a bit on the heavy side, and the focuser is a wee bit too fast. But that focuser is still just about the best focuser in any of my binoculars - very precise and very, very smooth.

Still, an excellent binocular, even by today's crazy standards.

Hermann

dries1 said:

I have had the HG/LX 8X32 for a while now, and as Roger Vine stated it is a nice glass, a bit heavy some and some will say left behind, but to my eyes Nikon really did a good job with them, gobs of ER and a flat field only Nikon could deliver on.
I have looked for a mint HG/LX in 8X42, I have one in 10X42 but could never find a mint 8X42 sample. Well I found a mint Premier 8X42 a later model and to my eyes there is not a better flat field in the 7 degrees FOV, with the intuitive Nikon focus.

awesome glass.

Andy W

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Hermann said:

I agree. Only two things I don't like about the 8x32 HGL: It's a bit on the heavy side, and the focuser is a wee bit too fast. But that focuser is still just about the best focuser in any of my binoculars - very precise and very, very smooth.

Still, an excellent binocular, even by today's crazy standards.

Hermann

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I agree with both of you! I've had the Premier 8X32 for almost a year. It's a great binocular. I actually use it more than the EDG 8X32.

I tried a HG LX 8x42 many years ago and remember I was very impressed. And it would be nice to try the new EDG!
But I am interested in your opinion: do Nikon's high grade models belong to premium grade of binoculars? I have got the impression that they do. In this video they don't think so. I wrote a comment.

https://youtu.be/t0GTeZ9cCAQ

Yes Nikons high grade models are premium binoculars, and truthfully that video was a joke.

Andy W.

I have owned and used Nikon's 8x32 LX L and 10x32 LX L for years. I purchased the 8x32 LXL from Eagle Optics in January of 2006 for $849. Nikon identifies them on the box as 8x32 HGL DCF. The box cover simply says PREMIER LX SERIES. Identification on the Binocular is: 8x32 7.8º L.

I purchased the 10x32 on 3/31/2008, also from Eagle Optics, for $699.00. Nikon identifies them on the box as 10x32 HGL DCF (same as the 8x32). The box cover is the same as the one the 8x32 has: PREMIER LX SERIES. Identification on the binocular is 10x32 6.5º L., the same kind of ID as it is on the 8x32.

It should be noted that the Premier HGL's sold in North America were designated LX L. In Europe they were designated HG L.

It appears that Nikon has been using the word or term "PREMIER" to identify their HG and HGL binoculars since at least 2006.

To respond to Swedpat above my comment about these binoculars are that they are "Premium" Grade binoculars in my opinion. For all practical purposes they are as good as my Nikon 10x32 EDGII.

I have been able to compare the 10x32 with a 10x32 EDG I which I obtained in 2010 and then later with an 10x32 EDG II that was replaced for me by Nikon 2 years later. The EDG has dielectric prisms and is brighter as a result and it has ED glass. The diopter is integrated with the focus wheel in the new EDG. It is on the right objective in the Premiers. The body structure is virtually the same. Eye relief is 1.3mm longer in the EDG.


Bob

I used this bin (8x32 LX) a lot in the past and almost bought it on numerous occasions. For me, the deal breakers were weight for size, chromatic aberration, and very poor "hang".

--AP

Alexis Powell said:

I used this bin (8x32 LX) a lot in the past and almost bought it on numerous occasions. For me, the deal breakers were weight for size, chromatic aberration, and very poor "hang".

--AP

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Their "weight" and "hang" always drew many complaints as I recall.

Bob

ceasar said:

Their "weight" and "hang" always drew many complaints as I recall.

Bob

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I have used Nikon 10x42 HG glasses from around 2005. The first pair were US market LX glasses. The next pair, which I still use, are LX-L glasses — also US market.

I have impaired vision. Their main virtues for my use were the relaxed view and faintly warm colour, particularly in the HG LX and the outstanding contrast. The view of seascapes, gave one the impression of having stepped into the picture: for some, the ultimate accolade in field glasses. For birding, they lacked the ultimate central sharpness of several porros, far cheaper than the LXs at their original price. There was noticeable false colour (CA) in the LX-L, even near the centre of the field, but changing the eye position improved the CA. The CA was rather prominent on cloudy days but was far better on bright days. Birdforum experts attribute the CA to the eyepiece design of roof prism binoculars.