birding-aus

Nikon Monarchs and don't put your binos on the car roof!

To: 'Bob Dawson' <>, "" <>
Subject: Nikon Monarchs and don't put your binos on the car roof!
From: Peter Shute <>
Date: Wed, 25 Aug 2010 14:54:04 +1000
I've recently bought a pair of Nikon Monarch III 8x42's. The labelling of the 
various Monarch series seems to vary a bit, so it's likely that they're 
actually the same ones you mention, unless they still have old stock. The III 
series is a current model, as is the X series.

My previous pair were Bushnell 8x42 porros, which I liked but found the 
focusing very stiff, as is apparently normal for waterproof porros. I'm happy 
with the new ones, they seem as good although I miss the wider view of the 
Bushnells. They're certainly ok for the price. Not sure how they compare to the 
10x42s.

The big problem with the 10x56s (not x50 in the current series) is that the 
minimum focusing distance is 10m. The 8x42s are 2.5m, not sure about the 
10x42s. I don't need them to focus as close as 2.5m, but I think I'd find 10m a 
bit restrictive at times.

I bought mine online, from B&H in the US, who are selling the 10x42s for 
US$299. They arrived within a week, from memory, and I could track the parcel 
location the whole way online. I'd prefer to buy locally, but you can't ignore 
a price difference that high. See:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/671383-REG/Nikon_7295_Monarch_ATB_10x42_Binocular.html

To be sure you aren't buying old stock, the III series has a big sticker on top 
of the right hand barrel saying that it has dielectric coatings, whatever they 
are.

You should find a few discussions about them in the Nikon binoculars forum of 
birdforum. Here's a link to a slightly obsessive thread I started there about 
identifying the various Monarch series:
http://www.birdforum.net/showpost.php?p=1840863&postcount=17

For what it's worth, I never leave anything on the roof of the car, there's 
almost no chance I'll remember it's there.

Peter Shute

> -----Original Message-----
> From: 
>  On Behalf Of Bob Dawson
> Sent: Wednesday, 25 August 2010 1:57 PM
> To: 
> Subject: [Birding-Aus] Nikon Monarchs and don't put your
> binos on the car roof!
>
> Hi all
>
>
>
> I am in the market for a new pair of binos having driven off
> after stupidly leaving my Bushnells on the top of the car
> while doing some spot lighting on a recent trip to Darwin.
> Not a great loss as they were a 10 year old $200 pair on
> their last legs and I was about to replace them anyway.
> Still, not the way I wanted them to go out. I would have
> preferred having them as a spare!
>
>
>
> I cannot justify the cost of one of the really top pairs
> available so I was looking at the Nikon 10x42 Monarch DCF HP
> WP which retail here for about $750 odd. I have a small 10x25
> Nikon pair that I use for travelling and find them great. I
> have looked at the archives and the Monarch seems to get a
> pretty good rap from most people that have them but the
> postings I have found are all over 3 years old.
>
>
>
> Are they still a good buy? Or is there another pair that
> people think are as good or even better? Also, I would
> actually prefer 10x50s, do people think there is much benefit
> with the extra?
>
>
>
> Kind Regards
>
>
>
> Bob Dawson
>
> ===============================
>
> To unsubscribe from this mailing list,
> send the message:
> unsubscribe
> (in the body of the message, with no Subject line)
> to: 
>
> http://birding-aus.org
> ===============================
> ==============================
To unsubscribe from this mailing list,
send the message:
unsubscribe
(in the body of the message, with no Subject line)
to: 

http://birding-aus.org
=============================
<Prev in Thread] Current Thread [Next in Thread>
Admin

The University of NSW School of Computer and Engineering takes no responsibility for the contents of this archive. It is purely a compilation of material sent by many people to the birding-aus mailing list. It has not been checked for accuracy nor its content verified in any way. If you wish to get material removed from the archive or have other queries about the archive e-mail Andrew Taylor at this address: andrewt@cse.unsw.EDU.AU