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Is the Nikon HG 8x30 worth twice the price of the new Nikon M7 8x30? (3 Viewers)

I had a Monarch 7 8x30 and currently have a Monarch M7 8x30. Both technically and visually, the M7 is a clear improvement on its predecessor, the Monarch 7. With the M7, the image is clearer and the colours are more natural. The old Monarch 7, on the other hand, was yellowish in direct comparison. The sweet spot of the M7 8x30 is so large that it is difficult to get your eyes into the blurred peripheral area when using it freehand without a tripod.

Is the M7 8x30 better than an HG 8x30? I have no idea.
Is there a better 8x30 binocular for the money an M7 8x30 costs on the Internet? Certainly not.
 
Argent said:
I had a Monarch 7 8x30 and currently have a Monarch M7 8x30. Both technically and visually, the M7 is a clear improvement on its predecessor, the Monarch 7. With the M7, the image is clearer and the colours are more natural. The old Monarch 7, on the other hand, was yellowish in direct comparison. The sweet spot of the M7 8x30 is so large that it is difficult to get your eyes into the blurred peripheral area when using it freehand without a tripod.

Is the M7 8x30 better than an HG 8x30? I have no idea.
Is there a better 8x30 binocular for the money an M7 8x30 costs on the Internet? Certainly not.
Click to expand...
I agree! I have a Nikon HG 8x42 and the new Nikon M7 8x30 and when I compare them in the daytime I see very little difference at the edges or in the overall view. Likewise, I would say if you are going to use your binoculars primarily in the day, just get Nikon M7 8x30 for $300 on eBay and save yourself $700 over the HG 8x42 or HG 8x30. If you want better low light performance and a little easier eye placement, get the Nikon HG 8x42. The HG 8x30 is way overpriced for what it is, as Allbinos said.

Nikon Monarch HG 8x30 - binoculars review - AllBinos.com

The best binocular tests on the net. The comprehensive database of binoculars with their parameters and users opinions. Interesting articles and comparisons.
www.allbinos.com www.allbinos.com

"Nikon HG 8x30 Cons
  • too big decrease of sharpness on the edge of the field of view,
  • blackening inside the tubes could have been better,
  • exorbitant price, especially compared to the performance."
 
Last edited:
[email protected] said:
I agree! I have a Nikon HG 8x42 and the new Nikon M7 8x30 and when I compare them in the daytime I see very little difference at the edges or in the overall view. Likewise, I would say if you are going to use your binoculars primarily in the day, just get Nikon M7 8x30 for $300 on eBay and save yourself $700 over the HG 8x42 or HG 8x30. If you want better low light performance and a little easier eye placement, get the Nikon HG 8x42. The HG 8x30 is way overpriced for what it is, as Allbinos said.

Nikon Monarch HG 8x30 - binoculars review - AllBinos.com

The best binocular tests on the net. The comprehensive database of binoculars with their parameters and users opinions. Interesting articles and comparisons.
www.allbinos.com www.allbinos.com

"Nikon HG 8x30 Cons
  • too big decrease of sharpness on the edge of the field of view,
  • blackening inside the tubes could have been better,
  • exorbitant price, especially compared to the performance."
Click to expand...

Apart from the protective caps for the objective and eyepiece lenses, the the M7 is more of a new development than a further development of the old model. The M7 8x30 focusser is a different and better one than that of its predecessor. of its predecessor and the first glance through the M7 makes it clear that the glass lenses have also been significantly revised. With the Monarch 7 8x30 the image appears somewhat yellowish, with the M7 it is more natural without a colour cast. The resolution and clarity is really impressive and even in twilight it offers a significantly higher contrast. contrast. The ED glass currently used by Nikon in the mid-price segment is damn good. I wouldn't be surprised if Nikon, in order to restore the gap to the mid-range, would soon a new Monarch HG onto the market. The current design design speaks for it, see the bronze-coloured lettering on the M5, the silver silver-coloured lettering on the M7, which means that the gold lettering will probably belong to a future HG.
 
[email protected] said:
The relative difference between on-axis resolution and edge resolution is the % blur.
Click to expand...
No, it is not. Read the words on your favorite site again:
"The blur occurs in a distance of xx% +\- x% from the centre of the field of view."
The figure given is the percentage of the field radius where they think blur begins, by some standard not explicitly stated. This is not at all a measure of how bad it gets by the edge, or how gradually that happens, or whether it looks fuzzy or smeary. It is a very limited way of characterizing the loss of sharpness that doesn't capture what Dorubird is talking about here, just as he says.

Paultricounty said:
If you cant see the difference between the Leica BN and UVHD+ then theres no way you'd see the difference between the MHG and M7, so save your money.
Click to expand...
I'm not so sure about this... I can see differences between BN and HD+, but I consider them quite subtle in comparison to the Nikons discussed here where even basic sharpness is in question. So one could plausibly feel that one difference is worth the money, the other not.

Denco's law: It's possible to make an argument of absolutely anything...
 
Pricing with optics is tied to the cost to manufacturer them and the number of units sold (to defray R&D and production line and mold costs). A bino may cost twice as much to manufacture but that does not make it twice as good. Most likely it will be 10% better under certain conditions for certain users.

Eye relief and hand size are factors that eliminate many binos from my own consideration and this has nothing to do with the retail selling price or their performance overall.
 
According to Nikon’s website, the Monarch HG binocular lenses have anti-scratch coatings and the Monarch M7 lenses have dirt and water repellent coatings. A Nikon rep couldn’t confirm if the MHG lenses has dirt and water repellent coatings as well. Does anyone have the MHG binoculars to confirm if the lenses have dirt and water repellent coatings?
 
fazalmajid said:
It's still available for sale:
www.lcegroup.co.uk

Nikon Monarch M7+ 8x30 | LCE

Nikon Monarch M7+ 8x30
www.lcegroup.co.uk
Click to expand...
Good deal on that one. Just as good as the HG 8x30 for 1/2 the price because it has the field flattener.

Dipped (Monarch M7+ 8x30)
"I had a chance to try these out briefly indoors at my local RSPB reserve and I have to say I was impressed. I'm not easily impressed. I liked the bright, wide field with a large "sweet spot". CA was well corrected, and I tested for flare against a low sun and found it very well suppressed. I compared it against the 8x32 Trinovid for flare, a step-up in price, and the Trinovid performed worse. The close focus was impressive too, at least as good as my old Nikon 8x32 HG/LX's and maybe less than the specified 2m. and I didn't notice any problems merging the image at close range. Of course being a Nikon it focuses clockwise to infinity and whilst not as fast as my HG's they were fast enough for birding purposes.

The focus wheel itself was smooth with no slop and did not draw attention to itself. My only gripes were the central hinge which was a little too loose for my buttons and the strap lug position which is a little too low but actually as the barrels are so slim don't really interfere with the hold. I seem to have a thing about strap lugs digging in to my hands where they shouldn't, but these would be passable. It seems we do live in something of a golden age for binoculars. At £499 these aren't cheap, but to my eyes they compare well to binoculars above their price range. Overall a very solid effort by Nikon, great for birding and due to their compact shape as a travel binocular too."

www.birdforum.net

Monarch M7+ 8x30

I had a chance to try these out briefly indoors at my local RSPB reserve and I have to say I was impressed. I'm not easily impressed. I liked the bright wide field with a large "sweet spot". CA was well corrected and I tested for flare against a low sun and found it very well suppressed. I...
www.birdforum.net www.birdforum.net
 
Last edited:
ArchStanton said:
According to Nikon’s website, the Monarch HG binocular lenses have anti-scratch coatings and the Monarch M7 lenses have dirt and water repellent coatings. A Nikon rep couldn’t confirm if the MHG lenses has dirt and water repellent coatings as well. Does anyone have the MHG binoculars to confirm if the lenses have dirt and water repellent coatings?
Click to expand...
No, the MHG does not have dirt and water-repellent coatings. Weird, huh?
 

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