So what's the verdict (1 Viewer)

[CharleyBird]

Denco, comparing the Nikon E11 8x30 and the Habicht 10x40GA, in your opinion:
Which has the most relaxing view?
Which is easier to hold & carry?

Of course if you need waterproof the Nikon E11 is excluded from any choice, but I find it a particularly pleasing instrument to use, and have never had anyone using my pair comment that the view is dark, has a red bias, is not neutral, lacks contrast (see signature)

 

[[email protected]]

Denco, comparing the Nikon E11 8x30 and the Habicht 10x40GA, in your opinion:
Which has the most relaxing view?
Which is easier to hold & carry?

Of course if you need waterproof the Nikon E11 is excluded from any choice, but I find it a particularly pleasing instrument to use, and have never had anyone using my pair comment that the view is dark, has a red bias, is not neutral, lacks contrast (see signature)

1)"Which has the most relaxing view?"

The Habicht 10x40 GA because of the bigger exit pupil making eye placement easier and less finicky. Greater brightness in the Habicht also helps because you don't have to strain your eyes as much especially in low light. The 8x magnification in the EII does make it easier to hold steady and there is less focusing because of the greater DOF.

2)"Which is easier to hold & carry?"

I find the barrels of the Nikon EII 8x30 too short for my hands so personally I prefer to hold the Habicht with its longer barrels. I also like the GA armour on the Habicht GA because I feel you get a better grip especially if it is wet outside, and it is warmer in the cold. The Habicht also hangs better than the EII against your chest. The EII does have the advantage of being a few ounces lighter, but it is a full 10 mm smaller in aperture.

3)"Of course if you need waterproof the Nikon E11 is excluded from any choice, but I find it a particularly pleasing instrument to use, and have never had anyone using my pair comment that the view is dark, has a red bias, is not neutral, lacks contrast."

The EII 8x30 is without a doubt darker or has less apparent brightness than the Habicht 10x40 because of lower transmission and a smaller exit pupil. You will also see more detail in low light with the Habicht because of the higher magnification The EII has red bias like most Nikon's do, whereas, the Habicht has a very clean neutral color profile. I find the biggest weakness of the EII is lack of contrast which you really notice when you side by side it with the Habicht or a good alpha roof prism. Another big advantage of the Habicht is of course it is sealed and waterproof so not only do you not get any water inside you don't get any dust. The EII over time will suck dust inside by the focuser action, so it will eventually have to be cleaned, and it is much more likely to get fungus inside in a humid climate. The EII good though it is is not a binocular you would want to use for any length of time in the jungle or even in a rainy humid climate. The reason nobody has ever commented on your EII being dark, having a red bias or lacking in contrast is they have never compared it side by side with a Habicht like I have. The EII is pleasing to use as is the Habicht because of the simplicity of the optics in a porro and the ease in making them perfect they present a pleasing and very relaxed view in contrast to some roofs especially the cheaper ones.

 

[CharleyBird]

I disagree. Not with the on-paper specifications you quote of course, just with your apparent conclusions.
For point 3, I refer you to my signature. And as for your rather extreme example of use in a humid, rainy jungle I wouldn't be packing either of these.

Anyway, Merry Christmas to you, back to the topic

 

[Stanbo]

I disagree. Not with the on-paper specifications you quote of course, just with your apparent conclusions.
For point 3, I refer you to my signature. And as for your rather extreme example of use in a humid, rainy jungle I wouldn't be packing either of these.

Anyway, Merry Christmas to you, back to the topic

CharleyBird,

Sorry to go off topic, but I think the comment at the end of all your posts should be printed off and stuck at the top of everyone's screen so it can be seen before they post on the Binocular section.

" most of the seemingly glaring, insurmountable faults that are found lurking in almost every bino here (depending on brand preference/loyalty of who's posting) is almost always much ado about nothing "
spyglass, 2010

A very good New Years resolution I think; that might stop some of the rubbish that abounds on the binocular section.

Stan

 

[[email protected]]

I disagree. Not with the on-paper specifications you quote of course, just with your apparent conclusions.
For point 3, I refer you to my signature. And as for your rather extreme example of use in a humid, rainy jungle I wouldn't be packing either of these.

Anyway, Merry Christmas to you, back to the topic

The Habicht would be just fine in a humid, rainy jungle! If you have never tried a Habicht you should try one. You might change your mind. Merry Christmas to you also! I will leave you with Tobias's comments on the E2 versus the Habicht. Food for thought!

"No way around it - the Nikon E2 images are much darker and much redder than the Habicht’s, and this was my crucial point, I just missed that Habicht sparkle, despite extreme sharpness the Nikon is almost a bit depressing in comparison. Like in the EDG I suspect Nikon is making the images darker than necessary to crush the blacks and thereby increasing perceived contrast at the expense of brightness."

"Global contrast (absence from flare) is good on the E2, but microcontrast (edge contrast) is not in the premium league as my reference glasses. It´s the Nikon typical sharpness with a lot of punch (edge contrast of coarse objects), but cannot match the competition at smaller details, so yes - it SPARKLES much less than my Habicht 8x30, Victory FL 7x42 and also Leica Ultravid 8x32."

"What really annoys me and spoils this sample of the E2 for me is the lack of transparency. Transparency means to be able to forget the optical device between you and the world. This sample strains my eyes way more than a great binocular ever should. Habicht, Victory FL and Ultravid blow the E2 out of the water. It is not a subtle thing. Ease of view is really not good enough for me to make this a keeper."

"No sample of the EII had the outstanding contrast (and probably collimation accuracy) of my reference glasses. And I would dare to generalize that. I would not include the E2 in a list of the greatest binoculars."

greatestbinoculars: Swarovski Habicht 8x30 W binoculars review

greatestbinoculars: Nikon 8x30 E2 review

www.greatestbinoculars.com

 

[rfc1]

Well i ordered the refurb 10x42 monarch hg monday and should have them today, free 2nd air shipping was nice of Nikon. A buddy of mine has the original Nikon Venturer LX, 1999 models i believe. Wonder how those Venturers will compare to these Monarch HGs, should be a good comparison. I've seen his Venturers before and they were really sharp but from what i remember the FOV was lacking.

Merry Christmas everyone

 

[pbjosh]

I hope you get a problem-free pair and I hope that they meet your expectations and work well for you! Keep us posted if you can.

Cheers and happy holidays to all!

 

[CharleyBird]

The Habicht would be just fine in a humid, rainy jungle! If you have never tried a Habicht you should try one. You might change your mind. Merry Christmas to you also! I will leave you with Tobias's comments on the E2 versus the Habicht. Food for thought!

"No way around it - the Nikon E2 images are much darker and much redder than the Habicht’s, and this was my crucial point, I just missed that Habicht sparkle, despite extreme sharpness the Nikon is almost a bit depressing in comparison. Like in the EDG I suspect Nikon is making the images darker than necessary to crush the blacks and thereby increasing perceived contrast at the expense of brightness."

"Global contrast (absence from flare) is good on the E2, but microcontrast (edge contrast) is not in the premium league as my reference glasses. It´s the Nikon typical sharpness with a lot of punch (edge contrast of coarse objects), but cannot match the competition at smaller details, so yes - it SPARKLES much less than my Habicht 8x30, Victory FL 7x42 and also Leica Ultravid 8x32."

"What really annoys me and spoils this sample of the E2 for me is the lack of transparency. Transparency means to be able to forget the optical device between you and the world. This sample strains my eyes way more than a great binocular ever should. Habicht, Victory FL and Ultravid blow the E2 out of the water. It is not a subtle thing. Ease of view is really not good enough for me to make this a keeper."

"No sample of the EII had the outstanding contrast (and probably collimation accuracy) of my reference glasses. And I would dare to generalize that. I would not include the E2 in a list of the greatest binoculars."

greatestbinoculars: Swarovski Habicht 8x30 W binoculars review

greatestbinoculars: Nikon 8x30 E2 review

www.greatestbinoculars.com

Thanks, I've tried a couple of bright habichts, briefly in the past, thought about buying a 7x42.

My Nikon with latest coatings were bought in 2019; having seen my parents watch birds over their last decade I was thinking 25 years ahead for my frail years.
Yet the E11 are so easy on the eyes, with wide FOV, well baffled, light, tactile and compact to carry, I carry them more and more.
Seems I'm not the only fan

My all-time favorite binoculars

Have you kept any pair of your habichts to use?

 

[rfc1]

Well i recieved the MHG 10x42 yesterday and they look brand new with no issues. Briefly compared this morning to my 8x30 E2 and i like the MHG better, will try them out on a evening hunt this evening.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

 

[[email protected]]

Thanks, I've tried a couple of bright habichts, briefly in the past, thought about buying a 7x42.

My Nikon with latest coatings were bought in 2019; having seen my parents watch birds over their last decade I was thinking 25 years ahead for my frail years.
Yet the E11 are so easy on the eyes, with wide FOV, well baffled, light, tactile and compact to carry, I carry them more and more.
Seems I'm not the only fan

My all-time favorite binoculars

Have you kept any pair of your habichts to use?

I have the Habicht 10x40 GA. It is the green rubber coated model with the bigger eye cups. The Habicht 8x30 W has too many glare issues for me and the Habicht 7x42 W has to narrow of a FOV. I agree with Tobias that the E2 has poor contrast, lacks transparency, and are much darker and redder than the Habichts. When I had them I would compare them with my alpha roofs or Habichts and even though they have a very wide FOV they never did WOW me like the Habicht does. Kind of an eeegh binocular. I sold mine once I got the Habichts. It depends upon how important contrast is to you if you like the E2 or not. Contrast is high on my list and the E2 are just lacking in contrast.

"No sample of the EII had the outstanding contrast (and probably collimation accuracy) of my reference glasses. And I would dare to generalize that. I would not include the E2 in a list of the greatest binoculars."

 

[rfc1]

The old dawg Venturer LX on left, MHG in the middle quickly becoming my new favorite and the nifty lil EII on the right.

 

[dries1]

Nice pic rfc1, look like you got a mint sample, I also have the HG/LX in 8 and 10X42 and they are probably one of the heaviest commercial roofs made in those formats.

"No sample of the EII had the outstanding contrast (and probably collimation accuracy) of my reference glasses. And I would dare to generalize that. I would not include the E2 in a list of the greatest binoculars."

If I listened to this sort of statement, I would never have looked at the EII 8X30, much less viewed through it and enjoyed the views. Am I glad I never listen to about 90 % of the statements about glass on this forum.

Andy W.

 

[mwhogue]

Yes very nice pic rfc1. It looks like your E II is a 100th Anniversary Edition?

Mike

 

[eitanaltman]

Is the glass in the Monarch HG the same as the EDG ?

Absolutely not, the MHG is very good (and you seem to have them on hand now for yourself to verify!) but they are not the EDG. The MHG is comparable to other Japanese glass in the $1k range like Conquest HD, the EDG is another level up. The EDG has superior coatings, superior color and saturation, almost perfect aberration correction with practically no CA (the MHG is decent but not great here), and is sharp to the edge (the MHG has a very large sweet spot but is not sharp to the edge). Build quality is also superior (more like the old Venturer LX but not as heavy) with higher quality eyecups and sublime focus feel.

But the Monarch HG is ~90% as good and a whole lot cheaper and is slimmer and lighter with a wider FOV, and thus in a way is a more “practical” birding tool.

 

[dries1]

I do not believe it is the E II anniversary edition, which is more gunmetal gray in color on the body.

Andy W.

 

[casscade]

@eitanaltman,.
But how do you know? Proof?? Do you work for Nikon, have you personally seen or witnessed the different glass types or coatings being used, have you spoken to someone other than the typical $10 an hour CS phone clerk at the front desk,.. maybe speaking to an engineer in the know would validate it. Not trying to be smug just wondering who really knows for sure.

 

[eitanaltman]

I mean, of course I haven’t dissected the binoculars. I also have not spoken to anyone. What kind of question is that? Proof? Did I claim to be a Nikon optical engineer? Did I claim to have exhaustively researched this topic and identified the specific glass types and coatings?

All I’m saying is the EDG is clearly superior and they are clearly not the same. I’ve looked through them, I own both of them. The level of chromatic aberration is different, the distortion profile is different, the size of the sweet spot / edge sharpness is different. The color balance is different, and there’s also objective evidence from Allbinos that their coatings are different.

Why would we even assume that they have the same glass? The MHG retails for under $1K and the EDG retailed for over $2K a decade ago, the default assumption would be that they are NOT the same glass.

 

[Patudo]

All I’m saying is the EDG is clearly superior and they are clearly not the same. I’ve looked through them, I own both of them.

For what it's worth, my experience with these two binoculars is virtually identical to Eitan's.

Proof - only what my eyes tell me, but I'm happy enough with that.

I own neither - I have no dog in the fight.

 

[Canip]

I fully concur with what Eitan says in post # 34 (I also own both MHG and EDG).
Canip

 

[dries1]

In the end game for Nikon, they will sell more Monarch HG glass than they ever could with the EDG, and make more $$. So for Nikon it is a win-win in the sports optics division.
It is funny when some on this forum say they is not much gain for glass in the $1000 frame compared to glass in the $2,000-$3,000 sector.

Andy W.