Nikon 8X30 EII Binoculars

Product Information

I was in two minds about which instrument to use on the up-and-coming trip; the 8x 30 EII or the 10 x 35, but my experiences glassing the hills this evening have helped me make my mind up. I will be using the 10 x 35. A point worth emphasising is that the 8x30 E’s 145m field of view is wider than just about any other 8x30/32 that you’re likely to encounter, A pipe in the centre where you can try to attach an adapter. You can buy an optional brand name adapter. Before the E and EII series were launched the Nikon company had offered the 8x30A binoculars with a field of view of 8.5 degrees. Astronomical observation requires a bright optical system with a large objective diameter and exit pupil. Waterproof and aberration-corrected binoculars are most suitable.

I returned the Nikon with a sigh, simply because I have this Austrian bird of paradise. But if price, flare control and field of view is more important for you than one of the most lovely glowing images in binoculars... the E2 will not disappoint you, and you should buy one while you can. I only hope in future versions they replace the focus wheel itself with a metal (aluminum) or all plastic wheel (like in the older versions of Swaro EL and CL). The current wheel and its outer rubber covering feels a bit cheap overall and I agree the eyecups feel cheaper than the asking price of this model. The color rendition of the two are slightly different. I don't find one better; just different The Nikon seems a bit warmer. My preference goes to the Conquest; however, I think many would prefer the Nikon.Zeiss's color "signature" is boosting the transmission high in the green-yellow where our eyes are most sensitive and a seondary peak in the violet/blue for low light performance. Zeiss and Nikon are very different in terms of where each company puts the emphasis. The Z7 II fixes a few issues with the original Z7 to deliver a spectacular high-resolution camera. Photo credit: Michael Topham Charging the Z30 over USB-C is very handy and easy to do. Charging stats are shown for uber-nerds (you know who you are).

The above discussion did not consider the role of magnification though. The key point here is that the binocular will magnify those small angular differences and so help the eyes to spatially distinguish the objects better. So, for example, two objects at a distance of 190m and 200m will subtend an angular separation of 9.1′ and 8.6′, respectively in an 8x glass. The difference is about 0.5′, which is just on the cusp of discernibility under ideal conditions. The same result at 10x gives 0.6′; only a trifle better. So we may conclude that this 3D phenomenon all but vanishes in the Nikon E II 8 x 30 beyond about 200m distance. With the Kite Ibis, the moons were more visible but the spikes on Jupiter were bigger than the ones with the Kowa and initially I had to strive to get all the moons. With its retro good looks and decent spec, the Nikon Z fc is worth a serious look. Here, pictured with the 28mm SE lens. Photo credit: Andy Westlake Using simple trigonometry, at 10m distance the half angle B subtended by the object in the roof prism binocular is given by To my eyes, the EII offers the superior optics. I can see finer detail with it... I'll call it the sharper image or the clearer image..., and the image appears more crystal.The binoculars’ design is very classic but the materials are definitely contemporary and the whole production process still takes place in Japan. The casing is made of magnesium alloys and the optics - of lead-free, ecological glass; also the anti-reflection coatings meet current standards. The only negative change, when comparing the tested device to the E series, is the case. They used to add a small, beautiful piece of Japanese leathercraft in a form of a very stylish hard case. Now you get a soft case, produced in China, which looks bland to say the least of it. The pupils look nice and round, with little in the way of extraneous stray light encroaching on them. The reader can make out some weak reflections from the prisms quite a bit away from the pupils and so will have minimal effect on the views. Next consider the same scenario for a porro prism binocular, just like the Nikon E II, with a spacing between the objective centres measured at ~12.5cm, so x increases to 0.0625m Were the lens and prism coatings on the Nikon 8x30 EII, updated or improved at any time after serial number 808XXX? If you want a full-frame mirrorless but have a limited budget, you could try the Nikon Z5. With this, you get a well-performing full-frame sensor and similar great handling as the more expensive Z6 II, but with some key compromises.

The original Z7 has its quirks, but is excellent value for money on the used market. Photo credit: Andy Westlake There’s not much to gripe about so far but what about the view? It’s wide and clean with good colours. There was some vignetting (dark edge shadows) when I scanned, but I don’t think that’s a big deal, and occasional flare/reflections. Wide means wide – the field of view is an impressive 145m@1000m. Sharpness is very good with a smidgeon of peripheral softness perhaps – but nothing that distracts. Brightness is good and chromatic aberration (colour fringing) is very well corrected – the ED glass helps with that. I've had my MHG 8x30 for just over 3 years now. It is my most used binocular, but not the binocular I take on international trips nor on boats. However for almost all local birding and incidental birding while traveling (of which there tends to be a lot), it's the bin I take. I would guess, averaged out over the year, it get's used for several hours about twice a week. It's also my partner's favorite bin, by a big margin (combo of quality vs small size). Now with the sad demise of the Nikon SE and the vanishing of quality porros, I do wish for this: Nikon, please at least update the coatings, bring them to Habicht level, insure tight quality control, and finally give us some decent plastic eyecups. Increase the price by 50% to cover for all this, and we will all be happy. Any niggles at all? Not really! OK, It’s not waterproof, and I would have liked to see some rubber armouring covering the chassis, but I guess that might put some folk off( yes, some folk care more about how a binocular looks than what it delivers optically, I kid you not!). I’ve recently acquired an excellent Opticron SR.GA 8 x 32 porro that does have this armouring, which will help protect it against the elements that little bit better. It too delivers very fine images, just a notch below those served up by the Nikon. But in all honesty, simple common sense is all that’s required to keep it safe from the worst of the weather and more careful attention to long-term storage of the binocular will help keep it in tip-top shape.

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The E2 started out as a solid affordable middle class binocular with great price-performance ratio, but the last years prices have risen enormously. Performance probably hasn´t, this one looks a bit neglected.