Brief comparison berween MHG VS EDG '8X42' (1 Viewer)

[jackjack]

First, I have to apologize for being late and making this review briefer then I planned...

so busy lately....

but I'll post the every main points of my thoughts.


Nikon EDG is discounted in most of the countries including South Korea.
so, Monarch HG AKA, MHG is taking place of the most expensive Nikon binocular in Korea. (does not consider WX)

few month ago, I had a time to compare each MHG ans EDG in 8x42 format.


EDG is bigger (although it is one of the most compact 42mm at the market.), thicker and heavier

EDG has bit bigger ocular lenses and eyecups


EDG has lens cap made with more stronger rubber and have it's own name 'EDG' on it

but EDG's lens cover has some flaws.
first, objective cover is too tight so I have to press to fit it.

at the other hand the ocular cover is to loose that it come off much easier then MHG

as you see above, EDG has more room between eyecup and lens cover then MHG.


Also EDG has thicker strap with more convenient buckles.


EDG seems to have bit smaller real magnification then MHG

(x3 Zoom photo of MHG / EDG)

the magnification difference also cause exit pupil size diffrence.
MHG is significantly smaller then EDG

EDG has less light leakages

MHG / EDG


color is more neutral at EDG.

MHG has more distinctive yellowish - green hue and EDG has slight yellowish - red hue

(MHG top / EDG bottom)



Central sharpness is better in MHG

(MHG / EDG)


while edge sharpness is better in EDG

MHG about 82% and EDG about 92%

(MHG / EDG)


CA is better in EDG. both center and edge.

(MHG / EDG)

(MHG / EDG)


Pincusion distortion is less on MHG

(MHG / EDG)


focus depth seems shallower in EDG

(MHG / EDG)


stray light control is better in EDG

(MHG top / EDG bottom)


others.

[Ghosting]

Much better on EDG.
MHG (Especially 30mm), has some significant ghosting at night.

[Handling]

for small hand, MHG is much easier.
it has thinner barrel, smaller hinge and lighter weight.
but EDG has more pleasent feel in it's thick ans smooth rubber covering.

[Eye placement]

much better in EDG.
to Asian face like me, bigger eyecup of EDG was much better. I have few blackouts from MHG but almost none using EDG

[Focusing]

EDG has less rotation amount. about 1.1 turns form one end to other whie MHG is about 1.6 turns.
and also EDG has more shallow depth of focus.
it make EDG focus more delicate than MHG.
(for birding, I prefer deeper field. because I can focus faster on the moving objects).

and EDG has much fluid focuser the MHG.

[Comfort of View]

much better on EDG.
it's smaller FOV and worse pincusion distortion make panning lot easier then MHG.

I think EDG has one of the mose pleasent panning among field flattener binos.

 

[jackjack]

[conculsion]

Nikon Monarch HG ans EDG is not the brightest and sharpest bino of the price range.

in terms of brightest and centeral sharpness, they are both significantly below Zeiss conquest 8x42.

It can be obvious for MHG because it is much cheaper the conquest (in South Korea and Japan.) and MHG have Mich bigger FOV then 8x42 conquest.

for EDG, it can be a disappointment.

but EDG have to be praised by other advantages.

as said in many reviews, it have fascinating stray light control despite it's small size.

and it have one of the easiest eye placement and pleasent panning among other bino such as Zeiss SF, Leica NV, EL&NL.

and also most fluid focuser among them.

to me, EDG is not and Alpha optically.

(in Korea EDG was sold around 1500$. and recently being sold at similar price at Japan too.
much cheaper then big 3 flagships. so it's not even an alpha price after all...)

Edge sharpness is good, but not close to perfect.
CA control is good but not as the same level of SF, EL, NL at center.
the level of brightness and central sharpness at that price point can also be criticized.

but It gives me more comfortable viewing even compared to big 3 binos.

so I think that's what make EDG special.
not all users wants sharpest and brightest and widest optic.
there are many birders that want to have comfortable viewing for long time even in harsh light situations.
and EDG will be there for them.


I don't know how much the EDG 's price is at Europe and America but I think the price of EDG right now on Japnese market (around 1500$) is fairly resonable price for it's performance.

 

[[email protected]]

Nice review! You have some of the best, most accurate and most objective reviews I have ever seen on Bird Forum. Your pictures tell the truth and are much better than all the subjective reviews we see all the time. Please keep them coming. Interesting that the MHG is sharper on-axis than the EDG and that you don't consider an EDG an alpha optically.

I agree with you 100%. You are right on. I never thought the EDG was quite at the level of the SF, EL or NL. A big advantage of the MHG is its small size, and weight for a 42mm binocular. That is what I like about it so much.

What do you think of the Zeiss Conquest HD 8x32 compared to the Zeiss Conquest HD 8x42?

 

[jackjack]

Digiscoped photoes of birds taken by Nikon Monarch HG 8x42

x3 zoom




x3



x3 zoom

 

[jackjack]

Nice review! Interesting that the MHG is sharper on-axis than the EDG and that you don't consider an EDG an alpha optically. I agree with you 100%. You are right on. A big advantage of the MHG is its small size, and weight for a 42mm binocular. That is what I like about it so much.

there are many sharper 8 power bino then EDG but there are very few (none in my experience) bino that deliver more comfortable? relaxing view then EDG.
I have two close birder friend that like EDG more then EL because of that comfortness.

I prefer 8x42 MHG over 8x42 conquest. much wider and better ease of view. I love 8x42 conquest's sharpness but can bare it's blackouts...

 

[[email protected]]

Digiscoped photoes of birds taken by MHG 8x42
View attachment 1582126
x3 zoom
View attachment 1582127


View attachment 1582128
x3
View attachment 1582129

View attachment 1582130
x3 zoom
View attachment 1582132

WOW! Nice pictures.

 

[[email protected]]

there are many sharper 8 power bino then EDG but there are very few (none in my experience) bino that deliver more comfortable? relaxing view then EDG.
I have two close birder friend that like EDG more then EL because of that comfortness.

I prefer 8x42 MHG over 8x42 conquest. much wider and better ease of view. I love 8x42 conquest's sharpness but can bare it's blackouts...

THE EDG is comfortable, but as you say it doesn't quite have the optics of the EL, NL or SF. I prefer the 8x42 MHG over the 8x42 Conquest HD for the same reasons.

Do you like the 8x32 Conquest HD or 8x42 Conquest HD better? Thanks!

 

[jackjack]

Digiscoped photos of birds taken by NIKON EDG 8x42

x3 zoom



x3 zoom




x3 zoom

 

[jackjack]

THE EDG is comfortable, but as you say it doesn't quite have the optics of the EL, NL or SF. I prefer the 8x42 MHG over the 8x42 Conquest HD for the same reasons.

Do you like the 8x32 Conquest HD or 8x42 Conquest HD better? Thanks!

I prefer 8x32 conquest over all 32 ~ 42 conquest.
It it the around 1000$ bino that I most highly recommend to other birders.

 

[Boogieshrew]

Great review! Thank you for it. And great photos

I have 7x42 EDG and I agree with what you say.

The EDG may not match the SF and NL but it is an older design. I really like it's comfort level that I can use all day long. I also enjoy it's relatively low brightness compared to Zeiss models which can be too bright at times. Dazzling even.

 

[jackjack]

Great review! Thank you for it. And great photos

I have 7x42 EDG and I agree with what you say.

The EDG may not match the SF and NL but it is an older design. I really like it's comfort level that I can use all day long. I also enjoy it's relatively low brightness compared to Zeiss models which can be too bright at times. Dazzling even.

Similar here. I prefer using 8x42 edg and 7x42 trinovid bn under bright light then 8x32 EL and 10x42 HT which is sometime overbright at daylight.

 

[[email protected]]

Similar here. I prefer using 8x42 edg and 7x42 trinovid bn under bright light then 8x32 EL and 10x42 HT which is sometime overbright at daylight.

You're correct. The 8x42 EDG and 7x42 Trinovid BN are nice under bright light.

 

[[email protected]]

I prefer 8x32 conquest over all 32 ~ 42 conquest.
It it the around 1000$ bino that I most highly recommend to other birders.

I prefer the MHG 8x42 a little more at the $1000 price point because it is similar size and weight compared to the Zeiss Conquest HD 8x32, but you have the advantage of the bigger aperture and bigger EP, so it is brighter in low light with easier eye placement.

 

[etudiant]

Jackjack has posted a really excellent review!
It sets the BF standard for discussing optical differences that make a difference to the user, visually documenting the basis for his comments.

 

[Yarkho]

The EDG is unavailable in Europe, at least in Czechia, for some time now.

 

[Scott98]

interesting, for me the CA control on 8x42 EDG is vastly better than 8x42 SF. I can't even use the SF's in winter snow. For me the EDG is the best is every category except for one flaw - the prism spikes. IMO that is what slightly degrades the sharpness. But all the other more expensive binos have worse flaws....for my use.

I suppose these judgement calls about what constitutes "the best" or "alpha" ("alpha" being exclusively important to birders) is the most personal opinion.....the binocular story is a little different for all of us

 

[agus_m]

interesting, for me the CA control on 8x42 EDG is vastly better than 8x42 SF. I can't even use the SF's in winter snow. For me the EDG is the best is every category except for one flaw - the prism spikes. IMO that is what slightly degrades the sharpness. But all the other more expensive binos have worse flaws....for my use.

I suppose these judgement calls about what constitutes "the best" or "alpha" ("alpha" being exclusively important to birders) is the most personal opinion.....the binocular story is a little different for all of us

Interesting observation, I wouldn't have expected that. I thought the SF was an improvement or equal to the FL, which has almost zero CA. Furthermore, the edg is quite smaller than the SF. But at the same time, the SF has less lenses in the objective, this could compromise the CA correction.

 

[jackjack]

interesting, for me the CA control on 8x42 EDG is vastly better than 8x42 SF. I can't even use the SF's in winter snow. For me the EDG is the best is every category except for one flaw - the prism spikes. IMO that is what slightly degrades the sharpness. But all the other more expensive binos have worse flaws....for my use.

I suppose these judgement calls about what constitutes "the best" or "alpha" ("alpha" being exclusively important to birders) is the most personal opinion.....the binocular story is a little different for all of us

SF 8x42 is especially famouse for high CA on the edge of the fov.
if you consider CA only in the edge, EDG has much less CA then SF. but at the center of the view, EDG has bit more CA then 8(8.5)x42 SF, EL, NL.
those 3 bino has very large gap of CA between edge and center.
what I mean is, if you number binocular's total CA '10' there are some bino that have '2' on center and '8' in the edge and other bino that have '4' on center and '6' in the edge.
SF is former, EDG is latter.

 

[Paultricounty]

An excellent review that covers a lot of bases, thank you. Having both these binoculars for the last few years , and the pleasure of having multiple examples in both 8x and 10 for extended periods , I’d like to add some more subjective opinions that some may agree with. The last couple of days I’ve put the 8’s together with a few other observers.

The first thing that pops out to me in the MHG in comparison to the EDG , is that whites seem to be washed out, too bright, harder to see detail, this is something that I mentioned a while back when I compared the HG to the Ultravid 8x42 and a 7x35 Trinovid. The EDG handles whites in a superior way, fine detail can be seen without the washout. Another thing that pops out is the EDG snaps into focus (like a true high-end alpha), whereas the HG seems to need a little more finesse to get it right all the time. I agree under lower light conditions the HG seems brighter, but I think it has more to do with color palette than light transmission or coating improvements.

That being said the EDG may not check all the boxes of the true so called alphas the NL, EL’s, SF’s, Noctivids, when it comes to sharpness or brightness, but each one of those have some issue of complaint that the EDG’s don’t seem to have, things like globe effect in the Swaro with its field flattener design, Noctivid with more CA, SF’s with some eye box issues and some blue ring in the image circle that many people see.

My subjective summation opinion is that the EDG is a superior binocular to the HG, and it’s much closer to the alpha class (in my opinion it is high end) than the gap between the HG and the true alphas. It all depends on how many boxes one checks to determine what’s a high end binocular. How much weight does one give for binoculars that are one of the best in bright light and have one of the most comfortable eye box’s of anything available.

 

[Paultricounty]

SF 8x42 is especially famouse for high CA on the edge of the fov.
if you consider CA only in the edge, EDG has much less CA then SF. but at the center of the view, EDG has bit more CA then 8(8.5)x42 SF, EL, NL.
those 3 bino has very large gap of CA between edge and center.
what I mean is, if you number binocular's total CA '10' there are some bino that have '2' on center and '8' in the edge and other bino that have '4' on center and '6' in the edge.
SF is former, EDG is latter.

Hmmm, I think specific CA numbers like that could very well be unit to unit variation. And that’s after each individuals sensitivity to the aberration.