Nikon 8x30 E2 eyecup modification/replacement (3 Viewers)

[fogdart]

I purchased a pair of E2s about 3-4 years ago out of Japan. Loved them! I sold them not too long ago thinking that I had other binoculars that made them redundant. I soon discovered that I really missed them. It's hard to describe the E2 experience. Are they perfect binoculars in every respect?... No, but they excel in enough categories that they make you keep coming back even when there's a pair of 'alphas' sitting on the same table next to them. I was lucky enough to snag another pair here on BF just recently... I now feel 'optically whole' again! ...thanks again, Brock!

I use the E2s without glasses. Because of my facial features, I have to press the E2 eyecups into my sockets just a little in order to get the full FOV (which is amazing!). Not a big deal... the eyecups are fairly soft and comfortable. I can also roll the eyecups down and lightly rest the eyepiece just under my brow and get the same, full view but it's a little bit more finicky. Ideally, for me, I'd want something in between... maybe an eighth inch longer than with the eyecups rolled down. Enter my solution... I went to the local hardware store and found a couple O-rings that are a shade over 1/8" thick and the appropriate diameter to sit just inside the edge of the rolled down eyecups. I glued them on with a very small bead of black 3M 5200 marine adhesive. 5200 is crazy strong so not much was needed. Beware... the downside to using 5200 is the O-rings will never come off without tearing the eyecups! If a person wanted to try this and make it reversible, a less 'tenacious' adhesive could be used. I was careful to keep the adhesive only under the contact point of the O-ring so that the eyecups can still be unfolded to their normal position. This mod does preclude the use of the binocular with glasses though... so there's that. But for me, it's made the binocular almost perfect!

I would not have made this mod had I not found and ordered replacement eyecups online. I wanted to have a 'stock' set on hand should I foolishly decide to sell the E2 down the road. Search "Nikon 326B" online... I found them on Ebay out of Japan for $9.99 ea. +shipping. The 'O-ring eyecup' is very comfortable and makes eye placement almost foolproof for me. I can achieve that wonderful full FOV with zero effort now. Oh, and the other benefit is the normally loose ocular cover fits nice and snug with the eyecups rolled down... win-win!

 

[fogdart]

Here's a photo of the replacement eyecups for the E2 from Japan.

 

[John M Robinson]

Will those fit Nikon SE’s? I have both the 8x32 and 10x42. They’re both in good shape, I’m just thinking ahead.

 

[henry link]

They fit the SEs, but they're about 2.5mm shorter, so they're likely to result in kidney beaning for most non-eyeglass wearers. Folded down for eyeglasses there's no problem.

 

[brocknroller]

I purchased a pair of E2s about 3-4 years ago out of Japan. Loved them! I sold them not too long ago thinking that I had other binoculars that made them redundant. I soon discovered that I really missed them. It's hard to describe the E2 experience. Are they perfect binoculars in every respect?... No, but they excel in enough categories that they make you keep coming back even when there's a pair of 'alphas' sitting on the same table next to them. I was lucky enough to snag another pair here on BF just recently... I now feel 'optically whole' again! ...thanks again, Brock!

I use the E2s without glasses. Because of my facial features, I have to press the E2 eyecups into my sockets just a little in order to get the full FOV (which is amazing!). Not a big deal... the eyecups are fairly soft and comfortable. I can also roll the eyecups down and lightly rest the eyepiece just under my brow and get the same, full view but it's a little bit more finicky. Ideally, for me, I'd want something in between... maybe an eighth inch longer than with the eyecups rolled down. Enter my solution... I went to the local hardware store and found a couple O-rings that are a shade over 1/8" thick and the appropriate diameter to sit just inside the edge of the rolled down eyecups. I glued them on with a very small bead of black 3M 5200 marine adhesive. 5200 is crazy strong so not much was needed. Beware... the downside to using 5200 is the O-rings will never come off without tearing the eyecups! If a person wanted to try this and make it reversible, a less 'tenacious' adhesive could be used. I was careful to keep the adhesive only under the contact point of the O-ring so that the eyecups can still be unfolded to their normal position. This mod does preclude the use of the binocular with glasses though... so there's that. But for me, it's made the binocular almost perfect!

I would not have made this mod had I not found and ordered replacement eyecups online. I wanted to have a 'stock' set on hand should I foolishly decide to sell the E2 down the road. Search "Nikon 326B" online... I found them on Ebay out of Japan for $9.99 ea. +shipping. The 'O-ring eyecup' is very comfortable and makes eye placement almost foolproof for me. I can achieve that wonderful full FOV with zero effort now. Oh, and the other benefit is the normally loose ocular cover fits nice and snug with the eyecups rolled down... win-win!

I love DIY solutions! One size does not fit all, so sometimes you need to make modifications.

For me, it was easier, I simply turned the eyecups upside. From pressing your face against the eyecups, they flare out and become even wider in diameter, which makes it harder to see the full FOV. For me, it doesn't take much flaring. Those I sold you were barely used. But if you turn the eyecups upside down, you will find that they fit on the EP housing and are narrower on the bottom. If you have a problem with eye fit like I do, it will give you more FOV.

I do the same thing with the SE eyecups, which are the same width, as Henry said, but they are deeper, and so it's even harder to see the FOV, and with a smaller FOV, I don't have as much FOV to spare like the E2.

Brock

 

[fogdart]

I've been extremely happy with the O-ring setup on the E2s! For me, eye placement is foolproof now... instant and easy full FOV!
It's made the E2s one of my absolute favorite binoculars now! They're not quite as bright as my Zeiss SFL and aren't quite as sharp at the edge of the FOV but they are sooooo easy and comfortable to use! I'll be keeping this pair for a long time.

 

[brocknroller]

I've been extremely happy with the O-ring setup on the E2s! For me, eye placement is foolproof now... instant and easy full FOV!
It's made the E2s one of my absolute favorite binoculars now! They're not quite as bright as my Zeiss SFL and aren't quite as sharp at the edge of the FOV but they are sooooo easy and comfortable to use! I'll be keeping this pair for a long time.

Glad to hear that! They are very comfortable to use, and you can't beat the 8.8* FOV for under $3,000 (NL Pure).

Now to the "Question of the Day." I find thumb support with roofs very critical. If I can't support the roofs underneath with my thumbs, I can't get a comfortable, stable grip and the image shakes. That was the case with the 8x32 LX under which my thumbs were folded like accordions. With the 8x32 EDG, the thumb indents provide a perfect space for my thumbs to rest and support the bin.

I posted a photo on another thread of the reviewer at scopesview.com holding the SFLs with his thumbs. As you can see the tip of his thumb is resting on a tiny space on the slim bridge above the focuser. So while he doesn't have to reach up to turn the focuser like on most bins, thanks to the Zeiss "Smart Focuser," he instead has to reach up to rest his thumbs on the tiny bridge above the focuser. Doesn't look very comfy to me.

Is this where you put your thumbs on the SFL, and if so, is it more comfortable and stable than it looks in the photo?

Brock

 

[fogdart]

Glad to hear that! They are very comfortable to use, and you can't beat the 8.8* FOV for under $3,000 (NL Pure).

Now to the "Question of the Day." I find thumb support with roofs very critical. If I can't support the roofs underneath with my thumbs, I can't get a comfortable, stable grip and the image shakes. That was the case with the 8x32 LX under which my thumbs were folded like accordions. With the 8x32 EDG, the thumb indents provide a perfect space for my thumbs to rest and support the bin.

I posted a photo on another thread of the reviewer at scopesview.com holding the SFLs with his thumbs. As you can see the tip of his thumb is resting on a tiny space on the slim bridge above the focuser. So while he doesn't have to reach up to turn the focuser like on most bins, thanks to the Zeiss "Smart Focuser," he instead has to reach up to rest his thumbs on the tiny bridge above the focuser. Doesn't look very comfy to me.

Is this where you put your thumbs on the SFL, and if so, is it more comfortable and stable than it looks in the photo?

Brock

Yes, That's about where my thumbs ride but I don't roll them all the way up to touch the focuser brace and my thumbs tend to overlap when two-handing the SFL (which is almost all the time). I find the grip quite comfortable but I've never really paid much attention to where my thumbs rest when holding binoculars... more of an overall comfort take. Now, of course, I'm going to pay attention to it and will need to buy several new pairs of binoculars to compare! Thank you, Brock!

 

[brocknroller]

Yes, That's about where my thumbs ride but I don't roll them all the way up to touch the focuser brace and my thumbs tend to overlap when two-handing the SFL (which is almost all the time). I find the grip quite comfortable but I've never really paid much attention to where my thumbs rest when holding binoculars... more of an overall comfort take. Now, of course, I'm going to pay attention to it and will need to buy several new pairs of binoculars to compare! Thank you, Brock

As Valentine Michael Smith would say, "I don't grok it." If you don't roll them all the way up to touch the focuser bridge, and you can't wrap them under the barrels (unless you've got short thumbs) because they'd touch the focuser, where on the SFL's do you have room for your thumbs to overlap? You'd have to make a finger bridge in mid-air!

Could you please take a photo of your SFL thumb grip? I'm abstract thinking impaired. I'm not sure if there's a DSM classification for that but there should be. I need visual aids.

Ah, excuse me
Oh, will you excuse me?
I'm just trying to find the bridge!
Has anybody seen the bridge?
Please!
(Have you seen the bridge?)
I ain't seen the bridge!
(Where's that confounded bridge?)

Brock

 

[fogdart]

I held the SFL up as I normally do and took these pics. I'm not able to get a pic with both hands on the binoc but when my left hand is in place, I lightly overlap my left thumb over my right. My right thumb spans the barrels and rests on the opposite barrel. I find it quite comfortable and the SFL is extremely well balanced with this 'hand-forward' grip. I find the position of the focuser is nearly perfect... and super smooth!

 

[brocknroller]

I held the SFL up as I normally do and took these pics. I'm not able to get a pic with both hands on the binoc but when my left hand is in place, I lightly overlap my left thumb over my right. My right thumb spans the barrels and rests on the opposite barrel. I find it quite comfortable and the SFL is extremely well balanced with this 'hand-forward' grip. I find the position of the focuser is nearly perfect... and super smooth!

Thank you! I finally got the photos I've wanted to see. It shows that the SFL focuser, though located in the general area where I would normally position my thumbs underneath the barrels, is positioned far enough above the bottom of the barrels to rest my thumbs on each side without rubbing up against the focuser. Plus, it looks like, at least with your thumbs, that the tip of your thumb rests on the seam that runs along the barrels, which would act somewhat like a thumb indent.

I had a hard time visualizing where my thumbs would go because in previous photos, due to the compression of the image, the focuser seemed to be right in between the barrels rather than on top of them.

In the past, I haven't spent much time on the Zeiss subforum, because I have never been excited about the companies previous offerings (other than the 7x42 Dialyt and Zeiss Jena porros). But from everything I've read and all the questions I've asked and had answered about the SFL, Zeiss appears to have designed a winning combination with this new model.

And it's made in Japan to boot. That means that you will be able to find them at discount prices unlike MIGs. I recently saw one new for $1250 (without box) from an authorized Zeiss dealer. I also know someone who bought an 8x40 SFL new for $1,100.

Back in the day when "Porros Ruled The World," $600 was my price limit (you could buy a new 8x32 SE or used 8x32 LX for $600), but today $1200 is my limit for roofs. Beyond that, I think you're paying mainly for "bells and whistles" and for the label "Made in Germany" or "Made in Austria," with their accompanying high labor and materials costs.

Japan Rules!

Thanks again.

Brock

 

[fogdart]

Here's one more 'end-view' picture with my hand in my normal position... My eyes are kinda' close together but even with the barrels spread a bit more, my thumbs would not curl around much more than they do. They certainly wouldn't ever get around far enough to touch the focuser from below.

 

[brocknroller]

Here's one more 'end-view' picture with my hand in my normal position... My eyes are kinda' close together but even with the barrels spread a bit more, my thumbs would not curl around much more than they do. They certainly wouldn't ever get around far enough to touch the focuser from below.

Thanks for posting that photo. Your hands are a lot smaller than mine although your fingers are thicker. My hands and fingers are long and narrow like the reviewer from scopereviews.com who had his thumb on the focuser bridge, which is what concerned me.

I'll have to dig out a photo from my old computer to show you how my long index finger (sign of a vampire) extends well past the focuser of an 8x32 LX (for an 8x32, the LX was rather chunky and heavy) whereas as your finger isn't even on top of the SFL focuser. I don't think that pic shows my thumbs underneath, but with closed bridged roofs, there's simply nowhere for them to go but backwards, which is a grip that some people use with roofs, but I find that leads to Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. This is why I like wide and deep thumb grooves like the SLC HD, but you can't make those with lightweight, slim-barrel binoculars. Catch 22.