Nikon’s original HGs were once the
world’s best binoculars, whilst the Monarchs have long been a cheap best
buy. Which, if either, are these Monarch HGs?
Nikon Monarch HG 10x42 Review
At A Glance
|
Magnification |
10x |
|
Objective
Size |
42mm |
|
Eye
Relief |
17mm
claimed, 15mm measured |
|
Actual
Field of View |
6.9° |
|
Apparent
field of view |
62.2° |
|
Close
focus |
<2m
(my measurement) |
|
Transmissivity |
92%
claimed |
|
Length |
145mm |
|
Weight |
680g
claimed, 700g measured (incl obj caps) |
Data
from Nikon/Me.
A decade or more ago, Nikon’s HG (for
‘High Grade’) label was attached to possibly the best binoculars in
the world. A pair of Nikon’s original 8x32 HGs were among my first
premium bino’s, replacing some 7x42 Zeiss Dialyts; I was astonished at
the clarity of the HGs’ view, the smoothness and speed of their focuser,
the comfort of their eyepieces, the sheer quality of their construction.
But when Nikon wanted to upgrade the HGs – to
make them lighter and fix the false colour from their non-ED objectives –
they launched a completely new line instead, the EDGs, retaining the Monarchs
as worthy but basic Chinese-made binoculars priced way below.
So what then are these? They look like the
EDGs, but carry both ‘Monarch’ and ‘HG’ labels. Yet
they are priced at about the discounted price of the original HGs and HG Ls.
Are they a lower-cost EDG then? Or a fancier Monarch? Or a proper successor to
the HGs made cheaper by outsourced manufacture? As always, let’s find out
…
What’s in the Box?
There seems to have been a packaging war going on
between Leica, Swarovski and Zeiss to see who can produce the most lavish box.
Nikon’s is very basic by comparison, no Alpine watercolour paintings and
glamorous unboxings here:
Design and Build
Unlike
regular Monarchs, these are made (assembled?) in Japan and have a high price to
match – list price is up with Zeiss Conquests and Leica Trinovids.
Confusingly, they look nothing like either the Monarch 5s or the original HGs,
but much more like the EDGs.
Like
the EDGs the Monarch HGs have long barrels and a small bridge, lots of exposed
metal and thin leatherette armour. Unlike Nikon’s robust EDGs, though,
these have a very refined but slightly flimsy-seeming build. Nonetheless,
build quality is very high with faultless fit and finish everywhere.
Nikon
also market an 8x42 version, along with 8x30 and 10x30s. All share the same
look and notably low weight for their format. All are priced in line with
mid-market models from ‘Alpha’ makers Leica and Zeiss.
Body
These
have the same semi-open bridge design used by the EDGs (and which they closely
resemble): the bridge is single-hinge, but quite shallow, leaving lots of
barrel to curl your fingers around. It’s a design increasingly adopted by
other makes, including Vortex for its premium Razors.
The
Monarch HGs feel very light, almost insubstantial. Indeed, a weight of just
700g including the stay-on caps is very low for a 42mm binocular – less
than my SE 10x42 which used to lead the field in this respect and the same as
Swarovski’s 7x42 Habichts which suffer a tunnel-view from simple
eyepieces to keep weight down.
One
reason for that class-leading weight is that the Monarch HGs use magnesium for
the body, a premium feature.
Another
way Nikon may have achieved the low weight is to use a thin, partial
leatherette-style covering instead of rubber armour, but at least it
doesn’t attract dust and fluff like some do. The protein armour on my SEs
seems more functional, but based on my 8x20 HGs, which have a similar covering,
the HG’s armour may be more rugged than it looks.
The
‘executive’ leatherette-and-anodising look is very different from a
European Alpha binocular, but is in line with the EDGs. Despite the slightly
flimsy appearance, Nikon claim they should be robust and their 5m
waterproofness is very good.
Focuser
The
focuser is accurate and smooth and has good snap. The feel isn’t
‘dry’ the way greaseless focusers often are, but rather slightly
spongy. It’s as good as most, but not up to the best-ever standard of the
original HGs or more recent EDGs. The focuser knob is a good size, but again
not up to the super-chunky one fitted to the original HGs which helped make
them such focusing heroes for gloved hands or cold fingers.
Close
focus is excellent at around 1.5 metres, but as usual I struggled to merge the
image below 2m. Still, it gives some potential for close-in viewing of
butterflies etc.
Close
focus to infinity is quite fast at just under one and a half turns: competitive
with most premium birding binoculars.
Dioptre
adjustment is via a ring under the right eyepiece: click up to adjust,
click-down to lock. Unfortunately, it’s much too easy to click up by
mistake and the ring feels flimsy. This is one of the few areas where I can
really fault the Monarch HGs.
Optics
- Prisms
These
have standard Schmidt-Pechan (a.k.a. Roof) prisms, not the Abbe-König
prisms that some premium binoculars have. The latest multi-layer dielectric
prism mirrors are used for brightness and doubtless phase coatings too.
Optics
- Objectives
It
says ‘ED’ on the them, and these contain high-fluoride ‘extra
low dispersion’ lens elements to combat false colour. Examination with a
laser suggests the objectives are air-spaced doublets (many bino’s have
triplet objectives) with quite thick elements, like Nikon’s other recent
premium models.
The
objective coatings are exceptionally transparent, some of the best I’ve
seen yet. Their colour is a very muted greenish-pinkish tobacco and gives a
nicely neutral colour balance to the view, as we will see. The coatings are
claimed to be ‘scratch resistant’, but I assume they’re not
the dirt-shedding variety.
The
claimed overall transmittance of 92% is high for ordinary roofs (as opposed to Abbe-König
prisms). This may in part be down to a minimalist optical configuration, hinted
at by those doublet objectives.
The
objectives are set quite deep within the barrels and fronted by micro-ridged
baffles. The insides of the barrels are ridge-baffled too, but are not as well
blacked as some (see below). Whether this matters is moot.
Coatings
compared: Nikon Monarch HG on the left; Nikon SE on the right.
Optics
- Eyepieces
The
wide field of 62.2° apparent suggests sophisticated eyepieces, but laser
investigation suggests relatively few thick elements, much like the EDGs I tested
and the new ultra-premium WXs as well.
The
large (22mm) eye lenses are flat, not dished like some, and are quite deep-set
below the eye cup rims, reducing usable eye relief. Nonetheless, I measured
15mm of E.R. from the eye cup rims, which is just enough to see most of the
field with my glasses on. Nikon claim 17mm, but that’s from those
recessed lenses.
Blackouts
as you move your eyes around are mercifully not a problem with these eyepieces,
adding to comfort.
The
eyecups click out very positively, without the squidgy vagueness you get with
Zeiss Conquests (and Leica Trinovids to some extent). However, there are only
three clicked-out positions which is less than some.
Accessories
The
case is a semi-rigid design with a Cordura body and a leather flap with a
snap-buckle fastener. It’s a
nice accessory – much more conventional, but probably more useful, than
the strangely ‘woke’ little pouch that came with the Trinovids.
The
eyepiece caps are quite a thin, hard rubber and seem a little difficult to push
on and off. The nicely logoed objective caps are the stay-on variety. But
unusually they seem to be integral with the rubber objective bumpers. And
instead of pressing over the barrels, they fit into the ends. I found them
annoying, needing careful seating to avoid popping out again. Nikon
thoughtfully supply alternative objective bumpers without the caps.
In
Use – Daytime
Ergonomics
and Handling
These
are a very compact binocular. Though they have those long EDG-like barrels,
there isn’t really enough space to get my fingers right around them.
Weight is class-leading and very low – almost 200g less than a pair of
Swarovski ELs - and should help with long periods of carrying or use in the
field.
Despite
their small size, I found them reasonably comfortable to hold, though big hands
may not. Eyepiece comfort is good, with no blackouts and decent eye relief
(though I prefer a couple of mm more for my glasses and face).
The
focuser is OK, but I prefer the extra-chunky feel and fluidity of the
HGs’ and EDGs’ (which share the ‘best focuser’ award
for me). The dioptre adjustment isn’t great: it’s similar to the
original HGs’ in design, but feels flimsy and imprecise, much too easy to
click out by mistake.
There
is no doubt that Monarch HGs’ small size, light weight and elegant
appearance make them good to wear, even if they don’t have the cachet of
Zeiss or Leica.
The
View
The
view is basically excellent – sharp, bright, wide and very detailed, with
almost nothing to criticise. Optical quality appears extremely high.
I
noticed especially high resolution on the plumage of various birds on the field
opposite: every detail of feather picked out with stunning definition. Colours
are very neutral, with neither the extra-vivid greens you get with some, or the
warm tint of others.
That
extra-high resolution helps with viewing at large distances. I had fun watching
the ebb and flow of a flock of waders way out on the bay sands as the tide came
in.
Comparisons
with my Nikon 10x42 SEs show a very similar view overall, with a slightly
cooler tint and a bit more width (but more edge curvature too – see
below). Depth of field is slightly lower than the SEs.
Flat
field?
Since the words
‘Field Flattener’ are etched into the body near the strap lugs, you
would expect a flat field, especially since Nikon were an early adopter of the
technology with their original HGs and SEs. During the day, the first impression
is of a very flat field.
In fact, though you could
probably ID a bird at the field stop, the field quality does drop off a little
towards the edge and there is some field curvature (probably for panning
comfort) in the last 15-20% or so. This is slightly worse than my 10x42 SEs and
original HGs, but quite typical of many Zeiss and Leica models.
Distortion is low and
there isn’t too much ‘rolling ball’ effect when panning.
Chromatic
Aberration
These claim
‘ED’ optics, which is much the same as others’
‘HD’, i.e. they should be well corrected for false colour and they
are.
In general, daytime use
reveals just a little residual false colour, so you can pan through tree
branches in silhouette with only minor flashes of green and purple. However,
false colour does increase in the last 15% or so of field width where that
curvature creeps in too.
A pair of crows
highlighted against a bright cloudy sky show the faintest rim of purple and
green, but every feathery detail of their glossy black plumage is still
visible. I watched a sunlit seagull set against black storm clouds with perfect
clarity.
Overall, false colour
levels are typical of modern HD binoculars, much the same as my old SEs but not
quite as good as the very best that use two ED elements in their objectives.
In
Use – Dusk
These
are a bright binocular and perform well at dusk. I can still view those waders
on the bay sands, even though the streetlights are on across the bay. Even in
the winter twilight under the tree cover of my local copse, I can still make
out leaves, mossy rocks and roots; an occasional deer. No problem with veiling
flare from a bright dusk sky. These even penetrate dense cover in moonlight.
In
Use – The Night Sky
The
Monarch HGs’ exceptionally light weight is a bonus when holding them high
for astronomy. Focus snap is most impressive, confirming optical quality is
very high.
In
terms of stray light suppression these are a mixed bag. True, there is no
ghosting on a bright gibbous Moon. Even an intensely bright security light
in-field produces only a faint ghost, but four long and bright prism spikes
that span the whole field instead. But those spikes rarely show up otherwise,
not even on the full Moon.
Working
around a bright Moon or streetlight produces quite a lot of veiling flare and stray
light performance in general is below my old Nikon 10x42 SEs, or recent premium
birding binoculars.
The
field-edge softening noted during the day manifests as field curvature, but
also some astigmatism, at night: stars blur into lines near the edge and if you
re-focus they become cross-shaped, then blur into lines at 90°. This is
very obvious in star fields. For example, centre the Double Cluster in the view
and it’s like viewing through mist: stars in the outer 20% of the view
have simply smeared out and disappeared into a haze.
The
Moon
The Monarch HGs give one
of the best 10x views I’ve had of the Moon, really.
There is only a trace of
false colour on the limb (noticeably a little less than through the
similarly-priced Leica Trinovids I reviewed recently) and the view is perfectly
sharp and clear, with lots of detail resolved. The ED optics yield a Moon that
is free from flare and perfectly white and grey, without the yellowish tint
some older Nikons deliver.
Resting on my car’s
roof, the view of a near-full Moon yielded all the major features in pin-sharp
detail: Copernicus and Plato, bright white Aristarchus, Tycho’s exploding
rays, including one that I could follow northwards across the whole face of the
Moon.
The superb resolution
evident during the day shows up very clearly here and a huge amount of detail
is available with fabulous contrast: it’s a view similar to that at low
power through a fine astronomical telescope.
Planets
Only Venus was around
when I reviewed these and it held no nasty surprises – no significant
flare against a darkening sky and just a trace of false colour. There was a
hint of those prism spikes, though.
Deep
Sky
The excellent optical
quality yields pin-point stars with intense true colours: Aldebaran was a
blazing orange. Even in full moonlight, I was able to pick out numerous fainter
stars amid the Pleiades. The Seven Sisters themselves were super-sparkling.
Those ultra-intense stars mean these go deep for a 10x42.
I easily found other
brighter members of Messier’s list, including the clusters in Auriga, the
Double Cluster, M31 and of course M42 (the Great Nebula in Orion). All looked
as good as through any 10x42 binoculars I have tried with brightness and
contrast excellent. Only those distorted stars in the outer field made the view
less than perfect.
These split Albireo
better than any 10x binocular I can recall and showed its components’
colours – orange and blue - very well.
Nikon Monarch 10x42 HG vs Nikon 10x42
SE (HGP)
Nikon’s
SE 10x42s are my old reference standard in 10x42 binoculars and share much in
common with the Monarch HGs, apart from the ‘HG’ label. Both were
Nikon’s mid-market option but with top optics and had a similar new
price. Both aimed at very low weight for their class. Both claimed a flat
field. So how do they compare?
·
Remarkably, the
Monarch HGs are slightly lighter and much smaller
·
The Monarch HGs
have 0.9° of field extra – quite a lot
·
The SEs field is
flatter and has less astigmatism at the edge, so better for astronomy
·
The HGs have
worse stray light performance overall (though slightly better in-field
ghosting)
·
Chromatic
aberration is virtually identical, though the Monarch HGs boast ED optics
·
Resolution is
very high in both
·
The SEs have
several mm more eye relief for better comfort with glasses, but worse blackouts
·
The Monarch HGs
are fully waterproof; the SEs are not
For
general use, you’d take the Monarch HGs. For astronomy, the flatter field
of the SEs remains a winner.
Summary
Perhaps in the end the biggest issues with the
Monarch HGs are cost and marketing. They are not a reborn HG and lack the
robust construction, superb focuser and ultra-flat field of their original
namesake, yet cost about the same in the real world. Instead, think of them
more as EDG-lite.
The first impression was of flimsiness, but
that’s not really fair and may in part just be down to their unusually
light weight. True, I had just finished reviewing Leica’s new Trinovids
which have a more European-traditional build. By comparison, the Nikons seem
less robust, with thinner leatherette armour and less of it, more exposed
anodised metal.
In fact, build quality is very, very high. The view,
meanwhile, is excellent – sharp, crystal-clear and with high resolution.
Optical quality is high too and eyepiece comfort good. A bit too much field
edge softening from curvature and astigmatism - despite those field flatteners
- is a minor disadvantage for astronomy.
The Monarch HGs do suffer from a couple of minor
faults, though. The dioptre adjustment ring really does seem flimsy and
its click-lock operation is too light. Prism spikes on bright lights at night
(though not the Moon) are too pronounced and might reveal themselves looking at
birds on bright water, for example.
Overall, the Monarch HGs look a bit too
‘executive’ for my tastes, but their build quality and optics are
class-leading for their price. Their extremely low weight is a real bonus
either for carrying all day, or holding high for astronomy.
The
Monarch HG’s are an excellent binocular with a quality build and a very
fine view. Only a bit too much field-edge softening mars them a little for
astronomy. Whether they’re worth the price compared with excellent Euro
models like Leica’s Trinovid HDs, is up to you.
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