Nikon Binoculars, are they considerd good?

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myplea

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I am in the market for good reliable Binoculars.

I have access to niikon Binoculars from the website I normaly shop from.

Are these good?

What type should I go for and what should I look for?

Nikon 8-24x25 Eagleview Zoom
Nikon Action 10x50 Binoculars
Nikon Action Extreme 10x50
Nikon Eagleview Zoom 8-24x25

etc ets etc

Any advice?
 
Check out (bookmark!) this site:
http://www.betterviewdesired.com/

You can get a good education on binocs there. :-)

I have binoculars from Pentax, Nikon, Burris and Zeiss; all different types and different price ranges, and all picked after careful research. The website above is a valuable one, I think.

Stay sharp,
desmobob
 
In short, stick to no more than 8x for handheld, forget about zoom, and look for bigger objective lenses if you are likely to be using them in low light.

As with their cameras, Nikon ranges from cheap junk to pretty fine. The ones you listed look like the former to me. With optics, as with most things, you have good, reliable, and cheap, but you can only get two of the three at the same time.

I'm guessing you're not ready to spend $1000 on a pair of binoculars, but raising your budget from $150 to $300 will make a big difference in quality. Look at Steiner or some of the higher-end Nikons.
 
Nikon binoculars tend to be very good quality for the money -
I don't think they have any "cheap junk" - even their "budget" Travelite V 8x25 is very highly regarded.

The cited BetterViewDesired.com started his birding binocular life with a pair of Nikon Venturer 8x 23 compacts that cost $80 - I have the same pair - and they beat Zeiss and Leica in the Consumer Reports tests (but read about the possible limitations of those old tests)

Please take a look at this link -

Binoculars at ConsumerSearch.com

where they are reviewing the reviews -
and note 3 out of the 5 recommendations are Nikon.......

But the advice given so far is worthwhile -
8x is good for general usage - higher magnification is not always good as they are hard to hold still for reasonable periods of time - leading to eye fatigue,
and avoid zooms - optical quality drops off because of the more complex design.

--
Vincent
http://UnknownVincent.Shutterfly.com
http://clik.to/UnknownVT2006
http://clik.to/UnknownVT2005
http://clik.to/UnknownVT2004
http://clik.to/UnknownVincent
 
It might be helpful if you were to tell us your needs in binoculars... hunting, sporting events, boating, etc?

FWIW, Practical Sailor magazine (think Consumer Reports, only for boats) rated the Fujinon 7X50s to be the best for night use.

http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?path=-1|17|18|323949&id=19
 
As a long time optics fan, I have been very happy with my Nikon 10 X 50CF Stay Focus binoculars. Large objective and plenty of power. I use them for Airshows , animal tracking, mostly. I switched from Bushnells because the 1960's era pair I had were much superior to currently available models. Try as many as you can side by side before going internet shopping.
 
For birding purpose it advisable to use lens objective that is 5 times the power number, so it is 7 X 35, or 8 X 40, 10 X 50, and so on. I personally prefer 8 X40. I am not familiar with Nikon binocular, can't comment on that
 
I've been put off by Nikon because everything I've looked at says made in Philipines----I did get a good set of Japanese made Leupolds at Walmart for $199---but be carefull---because right next to them they have a set of Leupolds that are made in China.

I have a Pentax(Japanese) that have been good too---they are just huge though---good for the truck---bad for stalking.

Have a pair of the 8-30 Steiners(cheapest ones they make) that I don't care for much---they're ok I guess---just not my 1st pick.
 
I bought a pair of Nikon Action 10x50's last year for hunting.
they are beautiful and I recommend them but I bought them for hunting and they are too big around my neck when I'm hiking for miles. I am looking to get something out of them so I can justify a smaller pair. If your looking for a good deal on Like new binoculars w/ case.
one way or another I will go with Nikon again.
 
There seems to be alot of glowing reviews around for Nikon binoculars, my experience with them has not been all that positive.

I bought a pair of waterproof Nikon 8x23 in 1995 for around $500, quite a hefty investment for me at the time. I quite enjoyed them at first, but they never seemed to be "crystal clear", I just sort of accepted this. They got a fair bit of use until 1997 when a friend of mine who is a doctor of ornithology (an expert binocular user) took a look through them and said they were out of alignment. They got put on the shelf and I had every intent on sending them into Nikon for warranty repair or replacement. I finally got around to it earlier this year (yes 10 years later). Nikon binoculars have a 25 year warranty so it was never really pressing for me to send them in. I sent them to Nikon and just last week received an estimate of $165 for repair!! So much for the 25 year warranty. This model was no more than 15 years old but they insisted that if I didn't return the binoculars with the original receipt that I could not make a warranty claim. Who keeps their receipts for 25 years? certainly not me. I sent them an email stating what was obvious to me, that because they have a 25 year warranty, and this model has been manufactured for no more than 15 years, that every single bino of this model ever manufactured was still covered under warranty. After much ado they agreed not to charge me, but only because they required adjustment and not repair or replacement. I had similar warranty/repair problems with a fist generation Nikon digital camera I purchased in 1997.

My advice would be to buy a cheap pair of binoculars until you can afford to drop 1000+ on a pair of Leica, Zeiss, or Swarovski's. I will be be taking the leap and buying a pair of $2000 Leica 10x42 Ultravids next month!!

I have a $50 pair of 10x25 Bushnell H2O's, they are compact, waterproof, very clear, and because they are so cheap I don't have to worry about losing or damaging them. I also have a pair of Bushnell 7x50's binos and a Bushnell Spacemaster spotting scope, both also excelent, and reasonably priced.

If you do buy Nikon's, make sure you fill out your warranty card and more importantly keep your receipt !!
 
severtecher said:
Try as many as you can side by side before going internet shopping.
Click to expand...

I agree, do not buy them on the net until you compare a bunch of models in-hand side-by-side to see what you like; the differences optically and ergonomically between models and manufacturers can be subtle and is largely a matter of personal preference.
 
Nikon, like many other makers, have most of their lower-end line produced in China or the like. The Nikon Travelite (made in China, I believe) is an excellent, proven lower-end compact (~$70) although its FOV is fairly narrow. Otherwise their "budget" models are pretty inconsistent. Nikon's Monarchs, Superior E, Venturers are made in Japan and compete with or surpass anything in their price ranges, IMO.

If you are just starting into binos, Better View Desired is OK (they review only binos that their sponsoring site sells, ignores those that it doesn't), but the best intro article online is Laura's optics guide:
http://binoculars.org/birding/Optics/SelectBinocs.html

The best source for reviews remains the Cornell lab of ornithology. One of their most recent reviews is here:
http://www.birds.cornell.edu/Publications/LivingBird/winter2005/Age_Binos.html
And an older one here:
http://www.birds.cornell.edu/publications/livingbird/spring99/binos.html
 
I'm happy with my Nikon Monarch 8 x 42s, so far (I kept the receipt...). Bought mine from binoculars.com, excellent service, best price I could find.
 
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