EDG 7/8/10 x42 still in production? (1 Viewer)

[Scott98]

interesting, Scope Views review also did not see it in the 8x42, he looked at the moon, he would have seen it. I wonder if it's something they changed at some point, maybe they updated the 8x42. The 7x42 serial number is 718, I'm guessing they produced fewer 7x than 8x.

Oh yes, the SF eye placement trouble I mentioned is the blue ring and worse. I can also see the blue edge in the Curio and EDG 7x42 at times, I lump it in w/ blackout symptoms.

I haven't done a long day session but the SF's feel vastly better with unscrewing the eyecups 1 turn for astronomy, no blackout trouble and I can see the whole field stop. Right now I would say I prefer the SF for astronomy and the 7x42 for birds. We had a junco migration surge here this week, the views of them amongst the peaking foliage in the EDG was pretty amazing. Hoping to avoid a trial of the 8x42 EDG!

 

[gmkirk130]

I did the Moon test last night - finally a big victory for the Zeiss SF 8x42 over the EDG. My 7x42 EDG shows 4 diffraction spikes on the moon and bright streetlights at night, the SF is totally clean. This issue was reported by Allbinos for the 8x42 EDG as well (but not in their 10x42 review). It's similar to observing with a Newtonian mirror scope, the spikes aren't as bright but it defintely spoils the view of the Moon quite a bit...an unwanted distraction. On Jupiter the spikes are much fainter, barely detectable.

I looked at the moon tonight with my EDG 7x42. It was a clear night and the moon was roughly 60% full. I didn’t see the diffraction spikes with or without my glasses on. Interesting 🤔.

 

[takitam]

I think the diffraction spikes on EDG are just a luck of the draw. It probably depends on how precise the assembly of the prisms is. My sample of 7x42 had spikes in the right barrel only. It was one of the few minor flaws they had and all of them together made me return them. I would have kept another sample if it had been clear of faults and offered at the same good price. They are great bins otherwise, narrow FoV being their biggest and maybe only flaw.

 

[Scott98]

Thanks for checking - interesting reports. If you want to look for the effect, try a streetlight, the diffraction spikes are much more evident there than on the moon where it just looks like a little extra haze around the disk. It's disturbing to see it but I'm not sure how much it affects the views. Had them out yesterday in the salt marsh and the views were excellent.

This was also mentioned in the Tobias review of the 8x42's, he mentioned seeing a bit of it on the streelight test. Also he had to unscrew the eyecups on his SF 8x42 a full turn as well! Mine worked about 10 times better yesterday with the eyecups out 1 turn, it gets rid of the blackouts....now I just need a bit of tape for my $2400 instrument

I checked a used 8x42 Victory FL in the bino store yesterday, the extended eyecups were in the correct spot for me on those. It does seem like every premium bino comes with some kind of wart! I'm pretty happy with the EDG 7x42s, the focuser is so much better than the alternative (Leica UV) it's more important than the stray light artifact for my use. Tobias on the 8x42 EDG:

Street lantern test

There are a bit stronger spikes (rays of light reflected from the roof prism edges) in the image than in the Zeiss SF and HT, when I look at a LED street lantern at night, or car lights, or other bright light sources. In the Zeiss HT and SF the spikes are more smeared by veiling glare. I don´t think this is of any big relevance in the field.

 

[gmkirk130]

I did try a streetlight in my neighborhood but didn’t see the diffraction spikes there either. In that case, though, I’m wondering if I didn’t see any spikes because my neighborhood uses mercury lights that cast a warm (almost orange) light. I may see if I can try it on a brighter streetlight sometime.

 

[Scott98]

No, I'm sure you would have seen it regardless of the light spectrum, it's 4 narrow lines of light extending from the point source. It would seem the dreaded "sample variation" is in play on the EDG unfortunately.

PS...I also checked out the Monarch HG 8x's yesterday - did not go well for me. They do not share of the characteristics of the EDG that I like. The focusers are very stiff, not something I would use. The 8x30's are wonderfully compact and light but have poor eye placement, it's a constant struggle with blackouts. Blackouts a little better on the 8x42 but same stiff focuser.

The Swaro 8x30 CL's were better, very solid, comfortable view with no blackout issues. The focuser was easier to turn but still felt lumpy and sticky compared to EDG. They had nice edge sharpness but serious problems with false color, outside of a small central zone there were purple fringes not present in the MHG. These cost the same price I paid for the EDG....no thanks.

Still looking for a sub-20 ounces 30mm binocular. I found the Zeiss Victory 8x25 not useable either - very uncomfortable ergonomics. The only compact I liked was the little Swaro 8x25 - it was the only one with smooth focuser action like the EDG. I could feel my eyelashes occasionally brushing the eyecups....it's just too small. The struggle to find a compact I like not made in China goes on....

 

[Paultricounty]

No, I'm sure you would have seen it regardless of the light spectrum, it's 4 narrow lines of light extending from the point source. It would seem the dreaded "sample variation" is in play on the EDG unfortunately.

PS...I also checked out the Monarch HG 8x's yesterday - did not go well for me. They do not share of the characteristics of the EDG that I like. The focusers are very stiff, not something I would use. The 8x30's are wonderfully compact and light but have poor eye placement, it's a constant struggle with blackouts. Blackouts a little better on the 8x42 but same stiff focuser.

The Swaro 8x30 CL's were better, very solid, comfortable view with no blackout issues. The focuser was easier to turn but still felt lumpy and sticky compared to EDG. They had nice edge sharpness but serious problems with false color, outside of a small central zone there were purple fringes not present in the MHG. These cost the same price I paid for the EDG....no thanks.

Still looking for a sub-20 ounces 30mm binocular. I found the Zeiss Victory 8x25 not useable either - very uncomfortable ergonomics. The only compact I liked was the little Swaro 8x25 - it was the only one with smooth focuser action like the EDG. I could feel my eyelashes occasionally brushing the eyecups....it's just too small. The struggle to find a compact I like not made in China goes on....

I’m very surprised with your experience with the Nikon MHG focuser. If variation is being discussed here for the EDG, I’d have to wager the MHG would see more numbers of qc deviation. I’ve used five MHG’s in the last year and a half and every one of them had a very smooth light focuser, except for one 8x30 that looked like the dog chewed on it.

Id try another MHG 42 before dismissing it due to one sample at a retailer.

Another phenomenal , light (under 19oz) and most compact alpha is the 32 Ultravids.

Paul

 

[Scott98]

Thanks Paul those are good suggestions and a good tip on the MHG. I was trying demo's in the local store, so they've probably been sitting there since they came out with almost no use, the store has dozens of binos. Maybe they need a little use to spread the grease around or something - I noticed they needed a big push to overcome initial friction, like they'd be stuck in that position for a long time.

I did like the view of the 8x30's. Very wide and seemed like good edge definition to me, not what I expected from reading the Allbinos review. Excellent color correction and super bright. I could probably tolerate the eye placement if I liked the focuser better. Maybe I'll plan on trying a used pair or buying them locally so I can return them easily. They are very light and the body is easy to hold and grip.

 

[Paultricounty]

Thanks Paul those are good suggestions and a good tip on the MGH. I was trying demo's in the local store, so they've probably been sitting there since they came out with almost no use, the store has dozens of binos. Maybe they need a little use to spread the grease around or something - I noticed they needed a big push to overcome initial friction, like they'd be stuck in that position for a long time.

I did like the view of the 8x30's. Very wide and seemed like good edge definition to me, not what I expected from reading the Allbinos review. Excellent color correction and super bright. I could probably tolerate the eye placement if I liked the focuser better. Maybe I'll plan on trying a used pair or buying them locally so I can return them easily. They are very light and the body is very easy to hold and grip.

I had some difficulty with eye placement with the MHG 30’s, I passed on them. I have the 8x42, great light glass. A very nice packages. For nice compact 32’s as I stated earlier , the Leica UVHD is very sweet and I found the eye box very comfortable.

As far as Allbinos, lots of good spec data there, I learned a lot over the years him. But take it with a grain of salt , can’t tell you how many times myself and others have had 180 degree differences in opinion on some binoculars tested.

Paul

 

[gmkirk130]

I did try a streetlight in my neighborhood but didn’t see the diffraction spikes there either. In that case, though, I’m wondering if I didn’t see any spikes because my neighborhood uses mercury lights that cast a warm (almost orange) light. I may see if I can try it on a brighter streetlight sometime.

I’m going to correct what I wrote earlier. I looked again at a few streetlights more carefully than last night (last night I was mostly fixated on the moon and looked at a relatively close streetlight for a short time) and saw the diffraction spikes extending from the lights in somewhat diagonal paths (> 45° angles to a vertical line through the source). Not overwhelming but definitely there. Oh, well.

 

[Scott98]

Thanks for the update, don't worry, your 7x42's will continue to work just as well as they did before! After my first 3-hour bird tour with them, I came home and threw away the original box and case....they're not going anywhere for a long time. I can still see the gorgeous colors of the Northern Harrier hawk trio and Merlin hunting over the salt marsh in my head from Saturday....following them around with the wide and easy 7x field was incredible.

Well, the DHL guy just dropped off the 10x42 EDG and I'm in bino-heaven! Wow. This must be the "sweet spot" of the line, beautiful wide AFOV and I was right about the compact body being steady at 10x, I can barely tell the difference in shake with my 7x and 8x binos. This is exactly what I wanted for 10x. Nikon does such a great job with the focuser, the best, only matched recently by the SF's IMO. And the lack of "rolling ball" or warping while panning around - the designers must have worked some kind of alchemy with the lenses to avoid it on a wide, flat field bino like this. After using the 8x42 LXL for 10+ years I wasn't willing to give up these qualities in new uber-expensive binos, I'm glad I was able to find these in Japan.

So the 10x shipped right away, but the 7x42's took 2-3 weeks to arrive - Kyoie had to order the 7's from Nikon's inventory, they must keep the 10x and 8x EDG in stock. Also - full disclosure and all - I should report that the 7x42 had a musty odor to them - Nikon doesn't put dessicant packs in the box and they must have been stored somewhere for a while. The 10x arrived with zero odor. It was no big deal, I just put the 7x out in the wind and sun, each side 30 minutes in the sun, and the odor cleared up.

 

[Scott98]

A few more notes on the 10x42 EDG (then I will stop turbo-posting on this topic, sorry), got them out to look at the Moon and also some birds this afternoon. The smooth focuser and comfortable hold combine with easy eye placement to make using them a real pleasure. They're just like the 7x42's. I've never had a 10x for birding before, only 7x and 8x, I will get a lot of use out of these. EDG are my favorite premium binos, I would not be put off by the weird marketing and sales history if you're considering one, they're still going strong.

And I take back what I said about sample variation, the 10x42 have the exact same diffraction spike thing as the 7x42's. I checked each barrel individually, identical, each side produces 2 spikes, adding to 4 in your brain. It must be some Faustian bargain Nikon made with the optics gods - flat field with no RB in exchange for the spikes on night-time lights. FWIW, Allbinos says the 8x32 SF have it also.

I think I'll stick with the SF 8x42 instead of 8x EDG just for the ergonomics of it. Plus there's something intangible about them - maybe they remind me of my beloved 8x56 Dialyts, they have same long shape and light weight. Also I'll take a huge loss if I sell them! The eye placement isn't as good as EDG, but it works OK once you get the eyecups in the right place. I just stared at the Moon for a long time, I could not detect any of the greenish tint that others mention in the SF, if it's there it's not much. Seems like a lot of problems with the SF have been addressed since they came out. It does have the cleanest, most glare-free view of the Moon of the binos I've tried.

 

[fazalmajid]

Also the GPO (German Precision Optics) Passion 8x56 and 10x56 do use Abbe-Koenig prisms. Both are real bargains IMHO with independent lab measured transmissions of up to 93 percent (at 550nm).

And of course the Nikon WX, since this is a Nikon forum after all...

 

[corvid-8]

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[GrandNagus50]

Gratuitous comment: My EDG II 8 x 42s are my favorite binocular; I now have come to prefer them to my newer design, more expensive Zeiss SF binocs. The EDG does not provide the brightest view available but there is something about the EDG optics that provides a very comfortable, pleasurable view with wonderful color rendition. They also feel great in my hands. The one thing I do not like is that some parts of the exterior (the focusing wheel area) are subject to paint chipping unbecoming to a "premium" binocular. But this is an aesthetic issue only.

I recently bought on Ebay a pair of EDG II 10 x 42s that were very, very lightly used, for $1300. They really were/are like new; I am very pleased. I am guessing that users of this forum know this, but EDG binocs either brand new or in brand new condition are just about always listed on Ebay, the drawback being that they come from Japanese sellers. I don't know if Nikon in particular countries would service them or not. Nikon's service on these items is not on par with Zeiss' in any event. I recall that when I just needed a new eyecup rubber cover Nikon USA made me send the binoculars to them rather than just mailing me the small, lightweight piece. Given the price of retail shipping in the USA this was kind of irritating. Zeiss will send these kinds of pieces for free, through the mail, upon request.

All complaints aside, I am sorry Nikon decided to bow out from the premium binoculars market.

 

[Paultricounty]

Gratuitous comment: My EDG II 8 x 42s are my favorite binocular; I now have come to prefer them to my newer design, more expensive Zeiss SF binocs. The EDG does not provide the brightest view available but there is something about the EDG optics that provides a very comfortable, pleasurable view with wonderful color rendition. They also feel great in my hands. The one thing I do not like is that some parts of the exterior (the focusing wheel area) are subject to paint chipping unbecoming to a "premium" binocular. But this is an aesthetic issue only.

I recently bought on Ebay a pair of EDG II 10 x 42s that were very, very lightly used, for $1300. They really were/are like new; I am very pleased. I am guessing that users of this forum know this, but EDG binocs either brand new or in brand new condition are just about always listed on Ebay, the drawback being that they come from Japanese sellers. I don't know if Nikon in particular countries would service them or not. Nikon's service on these items is not on par with Zeiss' in any event. I recall that when I just needed a new eyecup rubber cover Nikon USA made me send the binoculars to them rather than just mailing me the small, lightweight piece. Given the price of retail shipping in the USA this was kind of irritating. Zeiss will send these kinds of pieces for free, through the mail, upon request.

All complaints aside, I am sorry Nikon decided to bow out from the premium binoculars market.

I think Nikon is kind of on the way out, or at the very least becoming a shell of what they once were. A real shame.

 

[Scott98]

It's Nikon USA that exited the premium bino market, not the Nikon mothership in Japan. Nikon USA has chosen not to offer much of the Nikon product line. Here are a couple photos from the 2022 Nikon sport optics catalog I have here in my office. The 32mm EDG are gone, but the 42's are still there in between the WX and Monarchs.

I'm not surprised someone would choose the 8x42 EDG over the 8x42 SF's. I did another comparison between the 7x42 EDG, 8x42 SF, and my Swaro 10x56 SLC. I finally saw the green tint in the Zeiss - I can't see it on the Moon, but if you look into the forest here with lots of pine needles and green lichens you can see the greenish tint to the Zeiss. The EDG have fanastic color balance, best way to describe it is "warmer" and more natural than the SF's. Same w/ the SLC's although a bit "cooler" than EDG.

So the SF's give you another 2% of transmission but skew the colors a bit. I do think the SF offer a tiny bit more sharpness and clarity, I can see it with careful examination of star images at night. But the EDG do much better with a realistic FOV for me - it's like looking through a flat window pane, sharp to the edge with no wild distortion or colors at the edge. The 8x42 SF are like looking through a fishbowl at the world, everything bends as you look around, and things get wild at the edge, you see false color and distortion on bright tree trunks at the edge of the FOV. It can be distracting. You must keep your eye centered and looking in the middle of the FOV at all times to avoid blackouts and other weird effects. The EDG lop off that last bit of FOV so it's natural, more like naked eye views of the world. The only thing stopping me from replacing the 8x42 SF's with EDG is the incredibly nice grip on the SF's, it's super-comfortable.

 

[Scott98]

PS....it looks like the prism-spike issue is a lot more common than I realized - in the last week I've read reviews saying that Monarch 8x30 HG, Zeiss 8x32 SF's, Zeiss 8x40 SFL's, and Maven 8x42's, and some older Swaros all have it. Other than lunar observation it doesn't seem to be something that impacts the view much at all.

 

[Paultricounty]

It's Nikon USA that exited the premium bino market, not the Nikon mothership in Japan. Nikon USA has chosen not to offer much of the Nikon product line. Here are a couple photos from the 2022 Nikon sport optics catalog I have here in my office. The 32mm EDG are gone, but the 42's are still there in between the WX and Monarchs.

Does Nikon Japan still sell the spotting and hunting scopes?

I'm not surprised someone would choose the 8x42 EDG over the 8x42 SF's. I did another comparison between the 7x42 EDG, 8x42 SF, and my Swaro 10x56 SLC. I finally saw the green tint in the Zeiss - I can't see it on the Moon, but if you look into the forest here with lots of pine needles and green lichens you can see the greenish tint to the Zeiss. The EDG have fanastic color balance, best way to describe it is "warmer" and more natural than the SF's. Same w/ the SLC's although a bit "cooler" than EDG.

I think your comparing apples to oranges to peaches with those three 😜.

So the SF's give you another 2% of transmission but skew the colors a bit. I do think the SF offer a tiny bit more sharpness and clarity, I can see it with careful examination of star images at night. But the EDG do much better with a realistic FOV for me - it's like looking through a flat window pane, sharp to the edge with no wild distortion or colors at the edge. The 8x42 SF are like looking through a fishbowl at the world, everything bends as you look around, and things get wild at the edge, you see false color and distortion on bright tree trunks at the edge of the FOV. It can be distracting. You must keep your eye centered and looking in the middle of the FOV at all times to avoid blackouts and other weird effects. The EDG lop off that last bit of FOV so it's natural, more like naked eye views of the world. The only thing stopping me from replacing the 8x42 SF's with EDG is the incredibly nice grip on the SF's, it's super-comfortable.

I’m not experiencing what you are with those 8x42 SF’s. I’ve had the pleasure of using them all and I don’t have a fishbowl effect and have no difficulty with blackout with SF’s, other than the 10x32. Of course the EDG and Swaro EL’s probably have the friendliest eye box of any binoculars I’ve ever owned or tried. I love my EDG’s but I still find the SF’s to be a slight step up optically, noticably brighter, better resolution and extremely sharp. The EDG’s are sharp to the edge but probably stopped down with that smaller FOV and they have a very flat field.

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[dries1]

Every one has different taste with the premium glass. I have various FLs, and other Zeiss glass but no SFs. The EDG IMHO is a better fit for my eyes. No need for any SFs.
Leica also makes some really great glass.