Nikon Monarch Binoculars
Do high-priced optics really make much difference in a pair of binoculars? Yes. Great optics create a very bright image within a large viewing area, so that if feels as if you are looking through a magic window rather than squinting through a tiny peephole. Your eyes scan the scope easily, as if there were no glass in front of them -- except everything is closer. You can watch longer, in dimmer light, without fatigue, which is what you want for birding, sporting, or boating. If great optics are squeezed into a lightweight waterproof small object you can hold this magic window longer without the shakes. In short, superior optics make distance viewing clearer, easier, weather tolerant and all around better. According to the Cornell Ornithology Lab and Birder's World, the best buy for high-quality optics birding binoculars are the Nikon Monarchs. The go for about $216 on the street.
These are startlingly bright, wide-eyed, and lightweight (21.5 oz), which has made the Monarchs a best seller. Because they are waterproof and shockproof -- with an amazing 25-year warranty -- they are also very popular with hunters. They can also focus as close as 8 feet -- ideal for dragonfly and butterfly viewing (thus the name Monarch).
If you have not examined binoculars recently they are undergoing a performance curve similar to cameras, getting better and cheaper each year. These $250 binocs would have cost $1,000 only 5 years ago. When friends view these Nikon Monarchs, they go "Wow! It's like a movie screen!" I've found the ease of viewing -- sort of like watching a flat screen rather than peering through a tube -- encourages me to use them more. I also like the fact they are waterproof so I can use them in the rain and mist without worry. I wear prescription sunglasses and these work perfectly fine with them. They also feel well-balanced in my medium hands. I find I can hold them fairly steady for long periods of time with one hand. None of this was true with my inexpensive binoculars in the past.
The very best binoculars today go for $2,000. But for only $216 (what I paid ), or one tenth the price, you can get a pair of these Nikon Monarch binoculars and get 95% of the same performance. Sure, in a one-to-one comparison, a pair of $2,000 binoculars may be a little better, but they are not 10 times better.
Other new models share many of the same features of these 8x42 Monarchs, including sealed optics, waterproofing, coated glass, and bright viewing, but these others cost a minimum of $500-600. There are certainly cheaper binocs (you can get decent ones for $50) but they suffer from dim views, narrow fields, short lives. The Nikon Monarchs make a fantastic tool: You get most of a thousand-dollar view for a bargain price.
-- KK
$216-$250 (price seems to vary on demand)
Available from Amazon
Manufactured by Nikon
Favorite (15)
R. T. Highsmith
Just wanted to comment that butterfly and dragonfly watchers generally prefer binos with even closer-focus abilities than these Nikons. It's not hard these days to find binos that will focus down to three feet (or closer), which means you can hold them and look at your feet (or your knees, if you're tall). An excellent source for binos in general -- and a place worth its own Cool Tools entry -- is Eagle Optics:
http://www.eagleoptics.com/
Kevin Kelly
Yep, I agree. I recommend Eagle Optics here on Cool Tools: http://www.kk.org/cooltools/archives/003359.php
Chris B.
Excellent, when did comments get added to this? I love KK cool tools.
Steve Crane
I bought myself a pair of Nikon Action 16×50 binoculars a few weeks back. They're excellent, certainly better than the military spec binoculars I used during my army service.
Tony C.
It's actually incorrect to assume that smaller and lighter is better. I mean is that there reaches a point at which binoculars can be so light that it becomes difficult to prevent shaking.
If you have the steady hands of a surgeon, then by all means go as light as you like. But most people will find that binoculars with some heft will be far easier to hold steady.
Richard
I have and lose these binoculars. They're the best I've ever had. 8x42 is the perfect size and power for many uses. Great tool.
Richard
Sorry, "love" not lose. I LOVE these binoculars.
Alan
I have the 10x42 and love them. They are better than any others I have used and are very reasonably priced. The adjustable eye relief makes using them with or without my glasses very simple.
They are compact and light without being flimsy or shaky and the rubber coating gives a great grip.
My Dad has some nice Bushnells, but I prefer the Nikon - the shape is better and the image is slightly crisper.
In the USA they are covered by a superb lifetime warranty - practically anything is fixed for the cost of shipping +10 USD - this can't be beat. A friend of mine dropped hers and had them fixed quickly and fully.
Moon
I have only one use for binoculars: HORSE RACING!
But when I bought my Canon Image Stabilization binoculars, it was extraordinary. Not only did I have the same "I don't feel like I'm looking through a tube" response, but I didn't have to worry any more about scanning the horses because the image stabilization maintains a level horizon.
I have about 10 pairs of binoculars, including some nice Bruntons, but I only use the Canon binoculars now. Great optics and the image stabilization really, really helps. I will never go back to regular binoculars after using image stabilization.
The price went down on these about 3 years ago and that's when I bought them: they were $600 and then when I bought them, I got them for less than $250.
Kevin Kelly
@ Tony C. : I agree there is a limit to how light binoculars -- and cameras -- can be. Super featherweight digital cameras are also hard to keep still. But these Nikon Monarchs seem to have a weight at that sweet spot. Not too heavy to tire, not too light to sway.
Austin
Only a little better? Nikon makes a good quality popular-priced piece, but not nearly in a class with Leica or Zeiss, for instance. Crazy expensive, but they are more than a "little bit better."