Hey everyone,
After a couple of years walking in the nature in the weekends,hoping to spot some wildlife but never did. We decided to get binoculars. But where to start, brand, cost, kind of glass etc, watch a lot of youtube, reviews on other websites. Because of the lockdown we couldn’t test it at a store. Ordered a Barr & Stroud Sierra 8x42, because of the price. Directly at arrival found it too heavy, not really what we were hoping for carrying at our walks. After sending it back, I found this forum, great for reading real reviews from users of binoculars. After reading a lot of threads, I ordered the Vortex diamondback HD 8x32, for the size, weight and costs. On the moment of ordering the Nikon Monarch 7 10x30 was discounted at Amazon, so dispite threads about the 10 times magnification, ordered it. We had to see it for ourselves.
After recieving, I directly liked the size and weight of both, tested them on the field. I had no experience at all with binoculars, it took some time to get the hang of it. At first seeing beans etc. After a while: They both are comfy in the hand, but as I allready read on the forums, 10x magnification got disturbing with shaking. The Diamondbacks with 8x magnification are a lot easier to use and look in the distance. As mentioned in threads, saw the chromatic aberration. Didn’t found it disturbing in the beginning, my girlfriend really did. Especially looking in the distance on a open field, the aberration was visible on white signs and trees. So I also ordered the Nikon Monarch 7 8x30, tested it on the same field, continious changing between the Nikon and the Vortex. The lens size 30 or 32 is good enough for walking by daylight, we tested them at dawn, saw little difference in light between the lens sizes. Even thought the Nikon gets a little more light with the ED glass. Tested them in home for focussing at closer range. We really liked the Nikon, it cost more (almost double the price of the Vortex) but that’s the keeper. Really hope it will last a couple of years from now. Hoping we ain’t getting troubles with the armour as mentioned in some threads. Don’t get me wrong, the Vortex is a good binocular(opinion of this amateur) The price is good, garanty supposedly even better if needed. Just don’t like the harder plastics, aberration and really loose lenscaps, we were worried losing them at the field. With the Vortex you will get a harder case with zippers, 2 straps and a cloth. Nikon gives you a softcase and a neckstrap. The softcase from Nikon got velcro closing, which make a lot of noise at opening. Gonna replace that with another case later.
So thanks to everyone writing their reviews about binoculars, it helped us a lot. Hope this small review will help others too.
After a couple of years walking in the nature in the weekends,hoping to spot some wildlife but never did. We decided to get binoculars. But where to start, brand, cost, kind of glass etc, watch a lot of youtube, reviews on other websites. Because of the lockdown we couldn’t test it at a store. Ordered a Barr & Stroud Sierra 8x42, because of the price. Directly at arrival found it too heavy, not really what we were hoping for carrying at our walks. After sending it back, I found this forum, great for reading real reviews from users of binoculars. After reading a lot of threads, I ordered the Vortex diamondback HD 8x32, for the size, weight and costs. On the moment of ordering the Nikon Monarch 7 10x30 was discounted at Amazon, so dispite threads about the 10 times magnification, ordered it. We had to see it for ourselves.
After recieving, I directly liked the size and weight of both, tested them on the field. I had no experience at all with binoculars, it took some time to get the hang of it. At first seeing beans etc. After a while: They both are comfy in the hand, but as I allready read on the forums, 10x magnification got disturbing with shaking. The Diamondbacks with 8x magnification are a lot easier to use and look in the distance. As mentioned in threads, saw the chromatic aberration. Didn’t found it disturbing in the beginning, my girlfriend really did. Especially looking in the distance on a open field, the aberration was visible on white signs and trees. So I also ordered the Nikon Monarch 7 8x30, tested it on the same field, continious changing between the Nikon and the Vortex. The lens size 30 or 32 is good enough for walking by daylight, we tested them at dawn, saw little difference in light between the lens sizes. Even thought the Nikon gets a little more light with the ED glass. Tested them in home for focussing at closer range. We really liked the Nikon, it cost more (almost double the price of the Vortex) but that’s the keeper. Really hope it will last a couple of years from now. Hoping we ain’t getting troubles with the armour as mentioned in some threads. Don’t get me wrong, the Vortex is a good binocular(opinion of this amateur) The price is good, garanty supposedly even better if needed. Just don’t like the harder plastics, aberration and really loose lenscaps, we were worried losing them at the field. With the Vortex you will get a harder case with zippers, 2 straps and a cloth. Nikon gives you a softcase and a neckstrap. The softcase from Nikon got velcro closing, which make a lot of noise at opening. Gonna replace that with another case later.
So thanks to everyone writing their reviews about binoculars, it helped us a lot. Hope this small review will help others too.
