Old rubberised Nikon 8x30 (1 Viewer)

[boxbrownie]

Hi all, first post here and a bit of a cheek I guess but I have been searching all over for a dedictated "binocular" forum and within the Birdforum is the closest I got!

I have had a pair of Nikon 8x30 7.5deg green rubberised binoculars for a long time now (they were offered to me new from a supplier of mine who had a cancelled order for them), I paid around £250 in the 80's or early 90's I beleive the list was around £350 then.

Anyway I use them very seldom but they always impress with their optical quality when I do (I am a professional photographer by occupation) although the seperate focussing of each eyepiece can be a pain and not a usual way of focussing as I have discovered.

I have recently been using them a bit more mainly on holiday in the west country and am looking for a bit more information on them, more out of curiousity but also as I have got a bit more interested in binoculars since my trip.

I have attached an image of them.


Any information would be gratefully received, thanks.

Best regards David

 

[etudiant]

Hi David,
This glass was Nikon's answer to Zeiss' 8x30 Safari model. It shares the green rubber armor and IF design elements. Both glasses are very robustly built, aimed at the well heeled traveler who wants entirely waterproof optics able to take the hard knocks that travel dishes out. I believe they both predate phase coating, so would expect the image to be a tad off from modern standards.

 

[mooreorless]

Hi David and welcome to Birdforum!

I have a Nikon 2000 catalog and they list they list this IF binocular in this catalog. They call it the 8x30 Trailblazer ATB and call it the "pinnacle of ruggedness and durability". List angular field of view at real: 7.5 and apparent 60 compared to the 8x30 EII 8.8 and 70. Eye relief is listed as 13mm and weight is listed as21.5 oz. or 610 grams
Regards,Steve

 

[boxbrownie]

Thanks for the info......they have certainly been rugged, not really been at all looked after, just knocking around in the usual series of cupboards and various hidey holes over the years.

Maybe I'll keep them...........

 

[John Dracon]

David - Etudiant (the student - aren't we all)? describes the Nikons well.They weren't phase coated - not sure the Zeiss Safari which is still being made is now. Had the Safari one time until a close friend just had to have them. Probably the toughest bino ever made. Had it fall off my deck railing to concrete driveway - distance of 12 feet! It survived that. Had to admit my trip down stairs was filled with apprehension. Just a small scuff mark on the rubber.

Before I sold it, it had survived being submerged and covered with storm washed gravel over night. My friend had borrowed it while we were canoe camping on Yellowstone Lake. He left it on the bow of a canoe at dusk, and when a storm came up late evening, it got knocked off when we pulled the canoes further on shore. Found it the next morning after spying the strap sticking out of the gravel under a foot of water. Perfectly dry inside. After that trip my friend just had to have it. But the saga of abuse continued. My friend's brother borrowed it for a big game hunt by horseback, and the binocular strapped on a saddle bag came loose fording a river. Several weeks later the brother went back and found it under several feet of water. Still ok. Hard to imagine any optical piece that tough. I would keep the Nikon. John

 

[boxbrownie]

John....:t: well I am not sure my "knocking around in draws" competes at all with the wilds of Montana, but its can get pretty nippy in Essex around November time |=)|

Thanks for all the info chaps, I will keep them and use them of course, but have recently been squinting in the direction of the Canon 10x30is bins, they look inviting, but will have to investigate further.

Best regards David

 

[James Bean]

'boxbrownie': 'Amateur Photographer' published a Binoculars Guide in May 1995, listing a Nikon DIF WP 8x30, described as a roof model, individual focus type, waterproof, fov 131m, 610g, at a retail price of £535 (for comparison, a Swarovski 8x30 SLC was listed at £499). If this is the same as your Nikon, it may be worth more than you thought...

 

[boxbrownie]

James, yes that appears to be the exact same binos.....interesting, I as only guessing at what the original RRP was, I know it was quite a bit as my supplier was dead keen to get rid of them and as I know him very well he said he gave me a good deal! He is and still is primarily a camera dealer, ordered the binos in for somebody who fell out of the deal after several months of wrangling. I expect I got them at cost or near enough, he's a good mate

As you can tell by the raising of this thread from the dead I am not a birdwatcher by any means, but I do appreciate good engineering and design.