(with Nikon 8x30WF and Bushnell 8x43 Elite thrown in ……just 'cause)
I’ve always been an 8x guy, but decided to give 10x a real try (partly peer pressure, all my buddies are getting 10x)
So earlier this summer I purchased an Elite ED 10x42 while Bushnell had their 25% rebate. I paid 343$ CND all in. I also purchased a Nikon MHG 10x42 used for 900$CND after reading some great stuff about them (Allbinos); I couldn’t resist.
The Nikons were about 1 yr old. The glass was chrystal clear and in very nearly perfect condition. The view through them was very pleasant, and a noticeable improvement over my neighbors Cabelas 10x42 Euro HD. The field had more curvature and smaller sweet spot than I expected, but this did not bother me as it did not really take away from the pleasure of a wide view. During the month or so I ‘tested’ these, the only significant optical deficiency I noticed was a strong tendency to ‘flare’ when looking generally toward the sun in the evenings. This especially stood out to me as the Elites were dramatically free of this tendancy when compared to the HG’s. Moving on to the build quality, I was slightly diseappointed. If left for while, maybe an hour or so, the focus wheel would ‘stick’, requiring extra pressure to get it to turn and then moving with a jerk. Disconcerting. The focus actuated smoothly after this initial jerk, until they had been set aside again for a while. The ’sticker’ on the back side of the focus wheel with its gold lettering looked very cheap to me, like it maybe belonged on a 100$ pair of binoculars. The rubber armor on the barrels seemed to be floating, unattached, over most of the area it covered. I am not sure whether it is supposed to be like this or not. And along the edges in areas it was no longer fitting snuggly, but loose and slightly ‘swelled’ beyond the border where it should have been fit. Not grossly obvious but not great looking either! And finally, the objective caps, though initially looking pretty good were actually a real pita. They refused to stay on while hiking, though I tried them in several different orientations. And, the short tether that holds them to the bins had many small cracks, on both sides. Looked more like they were 10 yrs old, not 1. Now. To be fair, I received these used, and have no idea how much they were used, or how they were treated, before I received them. And besides these gripes I have mentioned, they looked good, felt good, and were a pleasure to use.
The Bushnell Elite ED 10x42 …. The narrower field is, not surprisingly, quite obvious when compared to the Nikon MHG. However, the field of the Bushnell is sharper to the edge with less distortion evident. Besides the field, somehow I slightly preferred the view through the Elite. This is not a scientific observation, and I can’t put a finger on the difference. It is possible that the resolution nod goes to the Elites, or it may be that the weight and size of the Elites in my hand feels absolutely PERFECT to me. They also feel extremely relaxed to look through, very naturally balanced to me opticaly, and seem to be perfectly collimated. My only optical gripe with the 10x42 Elite ED is the ‘eye box’ which has a slight tendancy to black out on me if I turn my eyes within the field of view of the binoculars. This issue rarely, if ever, rears its head when I am actually using the binoculars naturally. It really just happens when I am testing them, like checking the field edge for sharpness, etc. Now, on to the build quality…… these feel just great! They could be lighter, but in my opinion I wouldn’t want a 10x to be lighter, at least for hand held viewing. They feel very very solid to me, the ‘rubber’ ( I would be surprised if its not synthetic!) feels thick and seems to be perfectly applied and fitted. The hinge tension feels perfect to me, quite stiff but I can detect no ‘stickiness’ at all. The eye cups are fitted very nicely but turn a little freer than I would like. They lack the multiple stops of the Nikon HG, having two positions only. Not an issue for me, but maybe for some. If anything they could maybe extend slightly farther to be just right for me. The focusing wheel feels perfect to me. There is a very slight amount of play which I measured with my calipers. I measured .004”, which is about 1/10 of a millimeter. I am actually surprise that this small amount of play can be felt. Aside from this the focus is, like the hinge, damped perfectly with no ‘stickiness’ detectable by me. It focuses very positively and quickly, taking about 1-1/8 turn to go from infinity to closest focusing (about 6’, I didn’t measure) for my eyes. Though it does ‘focus’ about 1/8 turn past infinity for me. The diopter adjustment could be perceived as potentially fragile, but the same design has stood up well on my 8x43 elites. The only real cosmetic concession to the price point (to my eyes) on the 10x42ED’s is the ‘RAINGUARD HD’ and ED PRIME GLASS printed in grey on the left ocular housing.
Final conclusion, MHG VS ELITE
The longer I have the Bushnell Elite ED 10x42, the more I like them. They are an outstanding value. Made in Japan, optically excellent with an apparently very high build quality. (Only time will tell, but if they are anything like my 8x43 Elites they will not disappoint)
The longer I had the Nikon Monarch HG, the less I was impressed by them. Though very nice binoculars, their only advantage over the Elites was wider field, and lighter weight. I realized that, though I love a wide field, its not important for what I use them for. And though I like light weight equipment, the monarchs were too light as a 10X. 8X’s would probably be fine.
10x VS 8x
I’m going back to using 8x for most of what I do, though I will probably keep the Elite ED 10x. I mainly use binoculars handheld, and I am simply not able to resolve greater detail with a 10x, over an 8x, unless it is rested. Besides the resolution, the 8x view is just more relaxing thanks to the reduction in apparent ‘shake’.
8x Elite VS 10x Elite ED
The 8x43 Elite was purchased used by me about 4 years ago for 270$. They appeared well used but not abused. The apparent build quality is very high. They ‘look’ like an alpha, more so than the newer Elite ED. The provision for the carry strap looks relatively fragile, but mine are still functional and undamaged. The focusing wheel has NO play, and though it is decently damped and turns smoothly, it is not nearly as good as the nearly perfect one on the Elite ED. This is likely partially due to the extra 1/2 turn required (1-3/4 vs 1-1/4) on the 8x43 to focus from close to infinity. Though the focusing wheels look identical between the two, the center ‘medallion’ on the 8x43 remains stationary as you turn the wheel, while the center on the 10x42 turns with the wheel. The eye cups on the 8x43 have 4 very positive positions, while the 10x42 have two. Opticaly, I find it a little difficult to compare the 10x to the 8x. They are both very pleasant instruments to use. The newer Elite ED may be slightly contras-tier than the 8x, with a slightly wider apparent field of view. The 10x appears to have a larger sweet spot. Maybe 80% to the 8x’s 75%.
Now my Nikon 8x30 WF
I bought these close to 20 years ago, new, for 400$ on sale. They have been used hard and abused a lot, until I broke them, about 6 years ago. I just recently fixed and cleaned them (after Nikon said they couldn’t fix them). I have to say, these are the one pair of bins that go WOW. They are the only binoculars I have ever looked through that make me feel like I am standing on a viewing balcony, or something like that, 8x closer to my subject. Focusing, a little stiff, excellent otherwise. Collimation, still perfect, even after I messed with them
Sweet spot, about 80%. But nothing that explains that magic view …..
Disclaimer;
I am not an optics expert and am not good with a lot of the terms used
To any one reading the above, these are my observations. A different person, in a different environment, with different sample binoculars, would likely see things differently.
I’ve always been an 8x guy, but decided to give 10x a real try (partly peer pressure, all my buddies are getting 10x)
So earlier this summer I purchased an Elite ED 10x42 while Bushnell had their 25% rebate. I paid 343$ CND all in. I also purchased a Nikon MHG 10x42 used for 900$CND after reading some great stuff about them (Allbinos); I couldn’t resist.
The Nikons were about 1 yr old. The glass was chrystal clear and in very nearly perfect condition. The view through them was very pleasant, and a noticeable improvement over my neighbors Cabelas 10x42 Euro HD. The field had more curvature and smaller sweet spot than I expected, but this did not bother me as it did not really take away from the pleasure of a wide view. During the month or so I ‘tested’ these, the only significant optical deficiency I noticed was a strong tendency to ‘flare’ when looking generally toward the sun in the evenings. This especially stood out to me as the Elites were dramatically free of this tendancy when compared to the HG’s. Moving on to the build quality, I was slightly diseappointed. If left for while, maybe an hour or so, the focus wheel would ‘stick’, requiring extra pressure to get it to turn and then moving with a jerk. Disconcerting. The focus actuated smoothly after this initial jerk, until they had been set aside again for a while. The ’sticker’ on the back side of the focus wheel with its gold lettering looked very cheap to me, like it maybe belonged on a 100$ pair of binoculars. The rubber armor on the barrels seemed to be floating, unattached, over most of the area it covered. I am not sure whether it is supposed to be like this or not. And along the edges in areas it was no longer fitting snuggly, but loose and slightly ‘swelled’ beyond the border where it should have been fit. Not grossly obvious but not great looking either! And finally, the objective caps, though initially looking pretty good were actually a real pita. They refused to stay on while hiking, though I tried them in several different orientations. And, the short tether that holds them to the bins had many small cracks, on both sides. Looked more like they were 10 yrs old, not 1. Now. To be fair, I received these used, and have no idea how much they were used, or how they were treated, before I received them. And besides these gripes I have mentioned, they looked good, felt good, and were a pleasure to use.
The Bushnell Elite ED 10x42 …. The narrower field is, not surprisingly, quite obvious when compared to the Nikon MHG. However, the field of the Bushnell is sharper to the edge with less distortion evident. Besides the field, somehow I slightly preferred the view through the Elite. This is not a scientific observation, and I can’t put a finger on the difference. It is possible that the resolution nod goes to the Elites, or it may be that the weight and size of the Elites in my hand feels absolutely PERFECT to me. They also feel extremely relaxed to look through, very naturally balanced to me opticaly, and seem to be perfectly collimated. My only optical gripe with the 10x42 Elite ED is the ‘eye box’ which has a slight tendancy to black out on me if I turn my eyes within the field of view of the binoculars. This issue rarely, if ever, rears its head when I am actually using the binoculars naturally. It really just happens when I am testing them, like checking the field edge for sharpness, etc. Now, on to the build quality…… these feel just great! They could be lighter, but in my opinion I wouldn’t want a 10x to be lighter, at least for hand held viewing. They feel very very solid to me, the ‘rubber’ ( I would be surprised if its not synthetic!) feels thick and seems to be perfectly applied and fitted. The hinge tension feels perfect to me, quite stiff but I can detect no ‘stickiness’ at all. The eye cups are fitted very nicely but turn a little freer than I would like. They lack the multiple stops of the Nikon HG, having two positions only. Not an issue for me, but maybe for some. If anything they could maybe extend slightly farther to be just right for me. The focusing wheel feels perfect to me. There is a very slight amount of play which I measured with my calipers. I measured .004”, which is about 1/10 of a millimeter. I am actually surprise that this small amount of play can be felt. Aside from this the focus is, like the hinge, damped perfectly with no ‘stickiness’ detectable by me. It focuses very positively and quickly, taking about 1-1/8 turn to go from infinity to closest focusing (about 6’, I didn’t measure) for my eyes. Though it does ‘focus’ about 1/8 turn past infinity for me. The diopter adjustment could be perceived as potentially fragile, but the same design has stood up well on my 8x43 elites. The only real cosmetic concession to the price point (to my eyes) on the 10x42ED’s is the ‘RAINGUARD HD’ and ED PRIME GLASS printed in grey on the left ocular housing.
Final conclusion, MHG VS ELITE
The longer I have the Bushnell Elite ED 10x42, the more I like them. They are an outstanding value. Made in Japan, optically excellent with an apparently very high build quality. (Only time will tell, but if they are anything like my 8x43 Elites they will not disappoint)
The longer I had the Nikon Monarch HG, the less I was impressed by them. Though very nice binoculars, their only advantage over the Elites was wider field, and lighter weight. I realized that, though I love a wide field, its not important for what I use them for. And though I like light weight equipment, the monarchs were too light as a 10X. 8X’s would probably be fine.
10x VS 8x
I’m going back to using 8x for most of what I do, though I will probably keep the Elite ED 10x. I mainly use binoculars handheld, and I am simply not able to resolve greater detail with a 10x, over an 8x, unless it is rested. Besides the resolution, the 8x view is just more relaxing thanks to the reduction in apparent ‘shake’.
8x Elite VS 10x Elite ED
The 8x43 Elite was purchased used by me about 4 years ago for 270$. They appeared well used but not abused. The apparent build quality is very high. They ‘look’ like an alpha, more so than the newer Elite ED. The provision for the carry strap looks relatively fragile, but mine are still functional and undamaged. The focusing wheel has NO play, and though it is decently damped and turns smoothly, it is not nearly as good as the nearly perfect one on the Elite ED. This is likely partially due to the extra 1/2 turn required (1-3/4 vs 1-1/4) on the 8x43 to focus from close to infinity. Though the focusing wheels look identical between the two, the center ‘medallion’ on the 8x43 remains stationary as you turn the wheel, while the center on the 10x42 turns with the wheel. The eye cups on the 8x43 have 4 very positive positions, while the 10x42 have two. Opticaly, I find it a little difficult to compare the 10x to the 8x. They are both very pleasant instruments to use. The newer Elite ED may be slightly contras-tier than the 8x, with a slightly wider apparent field of view. The 10x appears to have a larger sweet spot. Maybe 80% to the 8x’s 75%.
Now my Nikon 8x30 WF
I bought these close to 20 years ago, new, for 400$ on sale. They have been used hard and abused a lot, until I broke them, about 6 years ago. I just recently fixed and cleaned them (after Nikon said they couldn’t fix them). I have to say, these are the one pair of bins that go WOW. They are the only binoculars I have ever looked through that make me feel like I am standing on a viewing balcony, or something like that, 8x closer to my subject. Focusing, a little stiff, excellent otherwise. Collimation, still perfect, even after I messed with them
Sweet spot, about 80%. But nothing that explains that magic view …..Disclaimer;
I am not an optics expert and am not good with a lot of the terms used
To any one reading the above, these are my observations. A different person, in a different environment, with different sample binoculars, would likely see things differently.
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