Nikon 10x35 E11 (1 Viewer)

[tenex]

The serial #s are based on my experience comparing an 801xxx model to the 100th Anniversary Edition model side by side, and seeing the noticeable differences, and then reading about other's experience with their upgraded E2s and asking them the serial numbers in PMs if they didn't mention it in their posts, and them reporting their upgraded versions had serial #s with 82x.

So, as I previously said, all you/we know is that some serial numbers 801xxx still had the old coatings, while all the reports of new coatings have 82xxxx. That doesn't tell us exactly where the change occurred (how far before or after 820000), or document the kind of gap in S/Ns that you claimed here:

I suspect Nikon changed to lead-free glass in the 8x32 SE 550xxx because of the change in serial #s.

Previous 8x32 SE numbering went from 500-505. Just as Nikon changed the AR coatings (and perhaps glass) in the 8x30 E2 starting with 82xxxx and 020xxx with the 10x35 E2, it makes sense they would make a serial number change with the Eco-Glass 8x32 SE.

So for a third time now you oblige me to ask: where is the evidence of any such deliberate serial number change/gap in any of these cases involving glass types or coatings in any model? It's a small point, but I'm still curious whether real or invented.

 

[Scott98]

The eye cups on the e2 are larger than on the e-criterions. I had the 10x35 e-c and for my tastes at least the eye piece comfort of the e2 is vastly better. Similar to difference between the habicht non armoured and ga versions. The e-c I gave
to a client, the e2 (latest model) is a keeper.

Will

Thanks for the info! I had the 10x35-EC out again yesterday and it seems excellent to me. I had my top bird sighting of the last month - huge immature bald eagle flying right around us on Deer Island. Basically hovering overhead and swooping around looking for fish. There have been fewer of them this winter because of the warm weather. In colder times the ice in northern New England drives them down toward the rivermouths at the coast.

It's a little harder to track them at 10x but the extra details on their faces and markings is very cool. I also had the 7x35 and 10x35 E-C's out last night for astronomy. The optical quality really shows on the full moon's disk and tight dots of stellar images. I do think the 10x are easier to hold steady than longer 10x roofs.

The focusers are a little stiff for me on the E's, sounds like the E2 might be a little easier. It will be fun to see what Nikon did with the up-to-date glass and coatings on a porro. Their 50mm and 70mm are a little heavy for my uses.

 

[Scott98]

OK, I took delivery of the new E2's this week - I love them! Did a showdown with the 10x35 E-C's and they have ended up in the classifieds. They're actually totally different binoculars, I didn't realize this was a rebuild from the ground up. The E2's are much larger in size, while retaining the same weight spec. Bigger prisms and longer objective tubes. The larger body makes holding them even easier and more comfortable than it was before. The contrast and brightness is a little better with the E2, the field is wider and better corrected. William is right - eye comfort is better - more tolerant of placement.

However, the E2 lose some of their compactness, it's more bulk to have hanging on a neckstrap, you lose a bit of the "little jewel" feel of the E1's. And one big score for the older model - color correction. It went downhill, there's more of it in the 10x35 E2 than in the 10x35 or 7x35 E1's which is disappointing. It's a non-factor in the E's, you do catch glimpses of it in the E2.

These 35mm's are just what I was looking for in a compact bino for birding. I haven't been impressed with the various 30's and 32's, I wanted the full 35mm. This season I plan to spend more time with my 7x35E and 10x35's instead of 42's all the time. I find the same thing as Brock, the 10x35 is easier to hold steady than my 10x42 or 10x56.

 

[Scott98]

I'm back to rave a little more about these, after a long club outing on Plum Island yesterday. I can't believe how well the E2's work out there! On a bright sunny day at the coast. It's all about the easy eye placement - I didn't think this was possible in a 3mm exit pupil. Very tolerant of my fidgety eye movement - minimal KB and blacking out. It's better than both the 10x35 E1 and the 7x35 E1.

Over 3-4 hours, the 21 ounce weight and easy grip are so much better than 42mm roofs. I'm starting to realize...that was the big loss moving from the time-tested porro design to roofs. The hold. I've tried a lot of modern binos in the last year. The only one that has the comfort of the 35mm Nikon E's in hand for me is the Zeiss SF 42mm. Perhaps we are seeing the maturation of the roof design there. All the others force your hands & fingers into an unnatural position to some degree. It makes a difference when you're trying to hold a 10x bino steady.

My concerns about false color were mostly alleviated - it wasn't a problem in real use, I barely noticed it, probably from focusing on the birds in the middle of the FOV instead of probing the edges as I look at bright objects in my yard. The brightness, contrast, and sharpness all match the highest quality I've seen. I was able to spot and ID some eagles soaring miles in the distance. 42's are nice but this has helped me realize I need lighter binos for long days that involve miles of walking. I'm hanging onto my 19 ounce 7x35 E's for the same reason. I'd rather them than more expensive, cramped-feeling 30-32 compact roof's.

 

[Scott98]

One more update - got the E2's out for astronomy last night and was very impressed. If I had to guess, the transmission on these is well upward of 90%. Optics are extremely bright and sharp. Galaxies M81 and M82 visible with details. Venus appeared as a sharp disk with the gibbous shape visible, an A+ on the ultimate torture-test for bino optics. I was skeptical these would be OK with the small exit pupil so I avoided these for years, now they are my favorite small binocular.

Also, I discovered that my diopter has to be set almost to +1 on this pair, right around .8-.9. That is strange as I'm usually right in the middle on 0. I noticed a couple of the older E1's also needed a slight adjustment toward +. This is why I recommend always using a bright star at night to set the diopter. I didn't notice this during the day. Once it's set correctly, everything is better, from edge sharpness to false color. Not sure what causes this - perhaps a slight difference in the focal length of the objectives, or oculars?

 

[henry link]

It's not uncommon for the diopter scale to be off on binoculars, but if you want it truly zeroed or set to zero for your eyesight it can be easily adjusted on these binoculars.

First adjust the diopter for either true zero by moving the same eye back and forth between a centered object in both sides or the usual way for your personal difference. Carefully remove the rubber eyecup being sure not to disturb the diopter setting. Loosen the three tiny set screws just enough so that the diopter ring can be lifted off the eyepiece. Be sure not to disturb the focusing ring or drop any screws. Set the ring back down with the zero aligned with the white mark. Tighten the screws, put the eyecup back on and you're done.

 

[Scott98]

It's not uncommon for the diopter scale to be off on binoculars, but if you want it truly zeroed or set to zero for your eyesight it can be easily adjusted on these binoculars.

Thanks Henry, that's a good suggestion, I'll probably just leave it as it's not too hard to remember where it goes.

It's interesting that the diopter imbalance and miscollimation can be hard to see during the day, but become visible on bright star images at night. It makes me wonder if the diopter being slightly off is partly responsible for people reporting different results, or reviews, of the same bino.

If I de-focus a bright star into a round blob, then slowly move it into focus, it becomes immediately obvious when one side focuses to a point and the other side is still blurry. I'm not sure how you could even do this during the day.

 

[brocknroller]

One more update - got the E2's out for astronomy last night and was very impressed. If I had to guess, the transmission on these is well upward of 90%. Optics are extremely bright and sharp. Galaxies M81 and M82 visible with details. Venus appeared as a sharp disk with the gibbous shape visible, an A+ on the ultimate torture-test for bino optics. I was skeptical these would be OK with the small exit pupil so I avoided these for years, now they are my favorite small binocular.

Also, I discovered that my diopter has to be set almost to +1 on this pair, right around .8-.9. That is strange as I'm usually right in the middle on 0. I noticed a couple of the older E1's also needed a slight adjustment toward +. This is why I recommend always using a bright star at night to set the diopter. I didn't notice this during the day. Once it's set correctly, everything is better, from edge sharpness to false color. Not sure what causes this - perhaps a slight difference in the focal length of the objectives, or oculars?

Either you have eagle eyes or very dark skies to see details in M81 and M82, which from my skies are barely visible blobs with even the 12x50 SE. Andromeda showed good detail. I saw dust lanes with 12x SE. But skies had gotten brighter with the development of 110 acres of woods near the house.

If you bought a 10x35 E2 with a serial # that starts with 02, it has the latest AR coatings, which has improved sharpness and color rendition compard to previous editions.

As to the diopter setting not being the same as your other bins I've noticed the same thing. My right diopter setting isn't the same with all my bins, which I suspected, and as Henry confirmed, that they were not set up accurately at the factory. I used to put a strip of tape near the diopter setting when I had about 20 binoculars since it wasn't possible to remember where each of them was set properly. Nearly all of them had the diopter on the right EP and few had click stops, so sometimes I would accidentally change the setting with my hands. The best were the kind where you had to pull up the diopter ring to change the setting and then push it down to set it.

I will try your suggestion to set my right diopters using stars once we get a clear night! Early spring and early fall bring long strings of cloudy days, and where I live now, the skies are very light polluted. There is also a 1,800 ft. mountain ridge to the west, so finding new comets is usually impossible.

Glad you like your new 10x35 E2 and find they work for birding and stargazing. I used mine for both, too.

Brock

 

[Patudo]

If I de-focus a bright star into a round blob, then slowly move it into focus, it becomes immediately obvious when one side focuses to a point and the other side is still blurry. I'm not sure how you could even do this during the day.

It's possible to do something similar, I think, by reading small text, or any text at long distance. I agree getting the diopter adjusted correctly is vital, especially in any situation where you are "in the glasses" for long periods of time, and have to admit to liking the classic setup with the diopter on the right eyepiece as it enables easy adjustment. In some situations, especially when viewing without glasses, I find myself having to make slight adjustments to the diopter due to eye fatigue over a long session, or sometimes if conditions change.

PS. delighted at your finding a binocular that works so well for you. Bright sunny days are great for sub 4mm exit pupils, they make everything easier, really let them show their stuff. Not everywhere has the kind of constantly grey overcast that's so common in the UK and northern Europe.

 

[Scott98]

I have noticed things going dark quickly in the 10x35 at the end of the day, maybe not the best choice for viewing in twilight. I'm here at 43 degrees north in New England and it's just as cloudy as olde England I'm afraid. It gets more cloudy as you move northeast in the USA into eastern Canada, similar to the Pacific Northwest of the USA. The one caveat here is that we do get continental air masses in winter that give us occasional blue skies even in the depths of winter which is nice.

 

[brocknroller]

It's possible to do something similar, I think, by reading small text, or any text at long distance. I agree getting the diopter adjusted correctly is vital, especially in any situation where you are "in the glasses" for long periods of time, and have to admit to liking the classic setup with the diopter on the right eyepiece as it enables easy adjustment. In some situations, especially when viewing without glasses, I find myself having to make slight adjustments to the diopter due to eye fatigue over a long session, or sometimes if conditions change.

PS. delighted at your finding a binocular that works so well for you. Bright sunny days are great for sub 4mm exit pupils, they make everything easier, really let them show their stuff. Not everywhere has the kind of constantly grey overcast that's so common in the UK and northern Europe.

Or in central Pennsylvania where one year my college town beat Seattle for the most cloudy days in the nation! I missed my 8x42 EDG.

But like New England, when the jet stream dips, we get cold, dry clear nights, good for stargazing, though sometimes we had to dig holes in the snow to set up our telescopes. This past winter was different, more like a continued cold spring with lots of rain and cloudy days and nights and almost no snow.

With climate change, it's a crap shoot, you never know what to expect but NOAA's forecast is usually right. It could be a mild, dismal winter or a polar vortix pushing fridgid air down from the Arctic Circle, depending on what's going on the middle of the Pacific . It was an extreme La Niña winter for us here.

Brock

 

[dries1]

Climate cycle, not climate change.

 

[Patudo]

Right, so it's totally all right to burn fossil fuels in the dirtiest possible manner then.

 

[Richard D]

Climate Change Science | US EPA

EPA tracks the science on the causes of climate change, observations of climate changes today, and the ways climate change could affect societies and ecosystems in the future.

www.epa.gov

 

[dries1]

Sorry, I worked with the so called experts in the GOV, they are not experts, nor is the UN. Yes the 10X35 is a nice glass with sufficient ER.

 

[Scott98]

Or in central Pennsylvania where one year my college town beat Seattle for the most cloudy days in the nation! I missed my 8x42 EDG.

Here's a closeup on N. America....the whole Northeast is bad, upstate NY, New England, and anywhere near the Great Lakes.

In astronomy we've all noticed 100% clear skies getting harder to find over the last 30-40 years, we seem to have persistent high cirrus more, maybe from the instability of adding 50% more CO2 to the atmosphere...no more stable zonal flow. hopefully we can trade our binos to the local warlord for a bag of rice or something after the sea level rise kicks in....

 

[brocknroller]

Here's a closeup on N. America....the whole Northeast is bad, upstate NY, New England, and anywhere near the Great Lakes.

In astronomy we've all noticed 100% clear skies getting harder to find over the last 30-40 years, we seem to have persistent high cirrus more, maybe from the instability of adding 50% more CO2 to the atmosphere...no more stable zonal flow. hopefully we can trade our binos to the local warlord for a bag of rice or something after the sea level rise kicks in....

View attachment 1501138

Our astronomy club's annual fall star party, The Black Forest Star Party, has been clouded out 4 of the past 6 years (not consecutive due to COVID), either totally or at least one day of the weekend. We found the location by looking at a satellite night map of Pennsylvania and finding a "black hole in north central PA, which turned out to be Cherry Springs State Park. Mag 7 skies when their clear. Our club is helping the Dark Sky Fund provide full cut off lighting shrouds for streetlamps in nearby communities (low population in the area, lots of hunting camps).

Hate to be a downer, but the future doesn't look bright, literally.

Black Forest Star Party

Brock

 

[Paultricounty]

Right, so it's totally all right to burn fossil fuels in the dirtiest possible manner then.

Right or wrong we could at least burn the cleaner stuff not the Russian and Venezuela crap. I think we should concern ourselves with all the fires and garbage in Paris as well.

 

[Scott98]

Our astronomy club's annual fall star party, The Black Forest Star Party, has been clouded out 4 of the past 6 years (not consecutive due to COVID), either totally or at least one day of the weekend. We found the location by looking at a satellite night map of Pennsylvania and finding a "black hole in north central PA, which turned out to be Cherry Springs State Park. Mag 7 skies when their clear. Our club is helping the Dark Sky Fund provide full cut off lighting shrouds for streetlamps in nearby communities (low population in the area, lots of hunting camps).

Hate to be a downer, but the future doesn't look bright, literally.

Black Forest Star Party

Brock

I know a lot of people that have gone to the BFSP, it looks awesome, I've wanted to go but the 10 hour drive is tough, especially when Maine's dark skies are only a few hours away from me. There are some good star parties in northern & eastern Maine in late summer & fall. I've been to Stellafane a bunch of times, it's not that dark anymore but still really fun.

I think BFSP is a full week right? That gives you a better chance of clear skies. It's cool to see momentum growing behind keeping that area of PA dark and seeing the value in that. Your club is doing great work! You know it's going to have a positive impact on birds and many other bugs & animals too. From what I've read, light pollution can be devastating to migrating birds.

 

[brocknroller]

I know a lot of people that have gone to the BFSP, it looks awesome, I've wanted to go but the 10 hour drive is tough, especially when Maine's dark skies are only a few hours away from me. There are some good star parties in northern & eastern Maine in late summer & fall. I've been to Stellafane a bunch of times, it's not that dark anymore but still really fun.

I think BFSP is a full week right? That gives you a better chance of clear skies. It's cool to see momentum growing behind keeping that area of PA dark and seeing the value in that. Your club is doing great work! You know it's going to have a positive impact on birds and many other bugs & animals too. From what I've read, light pollution can be devastating to migrating birds.

I didn't realize the impact of light pollution on migrating birds, so yes, keeping the Cherry Springs area skies dark will help with that, too.

BFSP runs three nights and two days, but most people don't stay over Sunday night. Saturday night has the greatest attendance.

For years, I lined up the speakers for the star party. Our 2001 star party was the weekend after 9/11. I think people were glad to get away from their TV sets and the repeating images of the Twin Towers falling.

I asked Ed Ting, well-known binoculars and scope reviewer, to be our keynote speaker. He lives in New Hampshire and intended on flying in but all planes were grounded. So, he and his buddy drove 11 hours from NH to PA, so he could speak at the party. We were glad to have him.

Brock