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Hi everyone, my name is Jim. I'm from Long Island, NY. I need help identifying these Nikon 10x42 porros. Thanks in advance. (2 Viewers)
- Thread starter JJacq
- Start date
John Riutta
New member
Hello Jim.
That looks like a very fine example of the much sought-after Nikon Superior E 10x42mm Porro binocular. The Superior E family was one of the best designed binocular product groups of its time and remains a classic among those in the know to this day. I hope you take good care of it.
Cheers,
John
Nikon 10x42 SE, aka Superior E, aka Premier SE. My regular birding binocular. Also see Scopeviews review.
JJacq
Osprey approved, colloquially known as Jim
Thanks John. Whew...Had already pulled the trigger on these & bought them on ebay. Did alot of photo comparisons from the internet. Was pretty sure, not a 100%. Overseas seller wasn't sure either. Now have to wait & see what condition they're in. Looked good online & was a good price so even if I have to have a third party spruce them up I'm still ahead. Really looking forward to using them. Lusted after a pair of these when they were they were new!
Jim
JJacq
Osprey approved, colloquially known as Jim
Thanks Quincy. As much as you can judge these things online the seller seemed pretty legit. Answered my messages promptly & politely. Package is already on its way. If they're even close to the pics I'll be ecstatic!
Jim
JJacq
Osprey approved, colloquially known as Jim
Thanks Patudo. Already did. I like his reviews. Will be great to use them here on LI, lots of coastline. Wanted a 10x, always held back because of weight & hand shake. These seem ideal. Also can't put my finger on it but porros always seemed to be more forgiving to me in that department.
Paultricounty
Well-known member
Hi Jim, welcome.
The SE’s are phenomenal, I have the 10x and 8x as well. Good luck, let us know how you like then when you had a chance to do some glassing.
What are you close to on Long Island? We’re neighbors, I’m in nassau country. I spend time at some of the preserves , and Long Island trails.
Paul
JJacq
Osprey approved, colloquially known as Jim
Hi Paul. In Suffolk, at the moment in Southampton in rehab, or skilled nursing facility, what we used to call a nursing home. Will be out soon & in Speonk. Speonk is almost the Hamptons. Recovering from the big C, SE's are a gift to myself for surviving. Using a rollator to walk for now, a sturdy one. Should be able to manage on some of the pull offs on Dune Rd to test the SE's out. Will give you & the forum a full report! Regarding the cancer my prognosis is excellent minus the damage already done but I should be able to walk again unaided after more P/T.
On a side note my room overlooks a row of pines. Surprisingly with alot of activity! The usual suspects of backyard birding are there, Blackcapped Chickadees, Cardinals, House Finches with some albeit mild surprises too, Hairy Woodpecker, Redtail Hawk, Chipping Sparrows, etc. Using my Meopta Meo Pros in 8x which I still enjoy using. As a someone once famously said, "The best pair of binoculars are the ones you have in your hands." Still looking forward to those SE's though!
Jim
NDhunter
Experienced observer
Jim:
Welcome to the forum, it is good to hear about your new purchase. Best wishes to you for
regaining your health. Keep up your faith and hope. I can tell that by posting on here you
are getting there. We enjoy discussing optics on the site, but more important is sharing things
that are going on in our lives.
God bless you.
Jerry
Welcome to the forum, it is good to hear about your new purchase. Best wishes to you for
regaining your health. Keep up your faith and hope. I can tell that by posting on here you
are getting there. We enjoy discussing optics on the site, but more important is sharing things
that are going on in our lives.
God bless you.
Jerry
JJacq
Osprey approved, colloquially known as Jim
Hi Jerry & thanks! Your 💯 right, about all of it. Posting here, buying a pair of binnoculars that are both a challenge to work harder & a down payment on my recovery. And frankly as someone who has drifted in & out of faith over the years I can't help but see the hand of God in my survival let alone my recovery. To be brief I had stage 4 cancer on my lower spine. After surgery, radiation & immunotherapy & in my view God & the prayer's of my loved ones & friends, nothing appeared in that region on my last Pet-Scan. Yes it could still be there, after all this is real life & not a movie, but so small & insignificant it didn't show up. If it comes back it comes back, but & this is crucial, I'll have an early warning.
OK, enough! Sorry, I know that was too much, but honestly it fairly poured out of me. After all however this is binnoculars on Bird Forum & I can't wait to feast my eyes 👀 on those SEs! Also just simply watching the local avian fauna today reminded me of what is sublime about this past time.
And God bless you too Jerry.
Jim
JJacq
Osprey approved, colloquially known as Jim
Thank you Maljunulo! Porros really are underrated & I can't wait to dive back in. Of course all of us of a certain age started off with porros. I remember when the Swift Audobons & the SE's were at the top of birding optics
I couldn't afford either. Closest I got at the time was an Audobon Society branded Bushnell's I believe was 8x42 & then awhile after that moving up to, at least in my mind, to a pair of Swift Areolite, Herons. One I gave away, forgot what happened to the other. I then caught the roof bug when I could afford a pair of 8x32 old school, built like a brick Habicht SLC's. Still have them. Need to return them to Swarovski for a little TLC, nothing drastic.
Then of course lost in time & the fallibilty of my own memory there were those 10x50 Tasco's my parents either bought me for X-mass or my birthday, either that or they were Jason's. I think to my Dad a huge pair of 10x50s had to be the best. I didn't manage them very well but it was a start & of course at the time I thought there couldn't possibly be anything better than that first pair. It will be nice to go back & in style!
Funny also ordered on ebay what looks to be a decent copy of this little gem of a field guide. The same picked up by my mother at a yard sale all those yeats ago which also helped to get me started. Maybe if it doesn't exist we could start a first binnocular & field guide thread. Or not if that's too nerdy 🤓
Woen
Well-known member
Make that topic, that's not to nerdy. I'll start digging my memory in the mean time.
JJacq
Osprey approved, colloquially known as Jim
Ok people I received the Nikon SE's approx two weeks ago. Have held off on a report because I'm considering putting them in for a cleaning, possibly internal as there seems to be a noticeable haze looking directly into the objectives. Also there appears to be other, albeit minor seeming issues with the occular lenses. No scratches that I can see but there appears to be some slight discoloration around the edges. Cleaned them & objectives gently with lens pen after l lightly brushed them. The pen was from a Nikon lens cleaning kit. Brush was the retractable one in the lens pen. Didn't seem to clear the haze & other issues. Over the years I've learned to be a minimalists when it comes to cleaning lenses myself.
Now here's the thing, they looked good, almost great & otherwise very bright for a 10x & relatively clear. But I have the impression that these binnoculars are not giving their best results. And I don't feel it's because of how much I've read how great this model is but because it is evident that there's something lacking, showing a diffuseness to the image. Build quality is solid & the body seems to be in excellent condition. I just feel I need to get these lenses looked after properly & I have something truly great on my hands so I started to think in that direction. Since this is not my only pair I can send them away when I get out to a place that can handle internal cleaning as well as external.
I hope this made sense. Also as someone who has been very pleased in the past with Nikon's budget porros I really want to see these binnoculars restored as fully as possible. Also before anyone suggests returning them the condition of these binoculars did fall within the seller's description on eBay. Not specifically as far as the haze but I honestly don't think he was a binnoculars guy he gave them a perfunctory once over. Besides unless you are really looking for it none of these issues with the lenses would be obvious. So long story short in they go when I get out! I'm thinking Suddarth's. Read good things about him & was impressed by the website
Now meet me over in the Leica threads where I be describing how I've been whoring myself to a used, but genuinely mint pair of a 7x42 Ultravid hd plus just plucked off of eBay. And I blame you, debauched denizens of the binoculars threads for my moral corruption!
Jim
Now here's the thing, they looked good, almost great & otherwise very bright for a 10x & relatively clear. But I have the impression that these binnoculars are not giving their best results. And I don't feel it's because of how much I've read how great this model is but because it is evident that there's something lacking, showing a diffuseness to the image. Build quality is solid & the body seems to be in excellent condition. I just feel I need to get these lenses looked after properly & I have something truly great on my hands so I started to think in that direction. Since this is not my only pair I can send them away when I get out to a place that can handle internal cleaning as well as external.
I hope this made sense. Also as someone who has been very pleased in the past with Nikon's budget porros I really want to see these binnoculars restored as fully as possible. Also before anyone suggests returning them the condition of these binoculars did fall within the seller's description on eBay. Not specifically as far as the haze but I honestly don't think he was a binnoculars guy he gave them a perfunctory once over. Besides unless you are really looking for it none of these issues with the lenses would be obvious. So long story short in they go when I get out! I'm thinking Suddarth's. Read good things about him & was impressed by the website
Now meet me over in the Leica threads where I be describing how I've been whoring myself to a used, but genuinely mint pair of a 7x42 Ultravid hd plus just plucked off of eBay. And I blame you, debauched denizens of the binoculars threads for my moral corruption!
Jim
You have to be aware with virtually every porro (except the sealed ones like the Habicht and Fujinon) that the action of the focuser (which essentially pumps air into and out of the eyepieces as you work the focuser) can over time result in a light haze on the interior glass surfaces. I try to focus mine as little as possible to mitigate this: fortunately most of my birding is done at quite considerable distances and I don't have to big cycles of the focus wheel.
Nikon apparently will no longer service these, so you'll need to find a competent technician: fortunately a few of these are still in business. Besides Suddarth, Mountain Optics seems to get good reviews; you might want to make more detailed inquiries at the Cloudynights binocular forum.
Nikon apparently will no longer service these, so you'll need to find a competent technician: fortunately a few of these are still in business. Besides Suddarth, Mountain Optics seems to get good reviews; you might want to make more detailed inquiries at the Cloudynights binocular forum.
I'm relieved to see that I'm not the only "Infinity Birder" here.
