my review of the Nikon Monarch 7 8×42 binoculars<\/a>, the best birding binoculars under $500.]<\/b><\/p>\nMy wife, Marlene, was with me on a trip where we spent much time comparing them. She isn’t as dedicated to bird watching as I am. She doesn’t have much experience with binoculars, either, especially good ones. So I used her as a “beginner binocular user” to get her impressions.<\/p>\n
Image<\/h3>\n
First of all, I was totally impressed with the Celestron’s colorful and contrasting image.<\/p>\n
It appeared to me that perhaps the greens and yellows were more brilliant in the Celestron<\/b> than in the Nikons. And the contrast between dark and light appeared greater. This may have to do with the coatings on the glass reducing the blue hue to create more contrast. I didn’t think it altered the hue too much toward the yellow. Bird watchers want accurate color. I thought these were a bit warm, but still accurate.<\/p>\n
Marlene didn’t notice any difference between the image switching from the Celestron to the Nikon. I didn’t tell her about the slight color difference I saw. She often liked the image produced by the Celestron “better” but couldn’t tell me why. But then I noticed she was wearing photochromatic sunglasses!<\/p>\n
Marlene noticed that with both the Celestrons and the Nikons it was much easier to find birds. That’s due to the wide field of view. No wonder, her usual binoculars were a cheap pair of 7-15x 25. They really are like looking through a straw. They have only a 282 foot field of view at 1000 yards–and much less when zoomed to 15x. The lenses are plastic. The view is cloudy. It’s really a toy. I don’t know why I haven’t gotten her anything better. Well, now she’ll have these Celestron Natures! (Am I 3 months early on an anniversary gift? Or 9 months late?)<\/p>\n
Focus knob<\/h3>\n
One feature where Marlene and I differed was on the focus knob<\/b>. First of all, the Celestron Nature worked backwards from my Nikon Monarchs! Clockwise from my view to focus on closer objects. It took a bit of getting used to. Then, it took 2 complete turns to go from close range to infinity. Most binoculars take maybe 1-1\/4 turns.<\/p>\n
This means two things. The bird may fly away in the longer time it takes to readjust the focus of the Celestron, if the new bird isn’t near the same distance as the previous focal point. I didn’t like that.<\/p>\n
However, Marlene noted that this slow focal adjustment allows you to get the bird in focus more perfectly.<\/p>\n
Lens caps and rain-guard<\/h3>\n
I’ve never been a fan of lens caps. Binoculars should be “bare” and ready to look through at a moment’s notice! I don’t want to miss a bird because I’m fiddling with the lens caps.<\/p>\n
Having lived most of my life in Oregon, however, I do appreciate that the rain-guard might be a good idea. They could also keep dust and grime from falling onto the lenses.<\/p>\n
But what I found was that the rain-guard ended up tangled as the neck strap twisted. I think I put the rain-guard on correctly–there were no directions. But for this review I wanted to install everything.<\/p>\n
Perhaps because the binoculars are new, the lens caps wanted to bounce up and cover the objective lenses. This was especially noticeable when looking upward to any degree. Perhaps with more use they’ll be less stiff and stay out of the way. <\/p>\n
But do you really want them? If you want protection while traveling or not in use, there is a soft case.<\/p>\n
Twist-up eye cups<\/h3>\n
I think the eye cups are the weakest point of the Celestrons. The eye cups seem very fragile and feel like very thin plastic. Those eye cups are the most likely to be broken if the binocular is dropped, hit, or treated roughly.<\/p>\n
The eye cups twist too easily and loosely in and out. They turn with the slightest touch. They also have some loose play to their settings. I don’t often notice these things as wearing eyeglasses I always have the eyecups pushed all the way in.<\/p>\n
Image softness at edge<\/h3>\n
While the center of the image is sharp and crisp and colorful, I noticed that softening of focus starts just over half way from center to edge, maybe at 60% of the view. This is where the low price shows.<\/p>\n
Most users will not notice it because you center the binoculars over the exact spot of interest. But focus on a distant sign where you can barely read the letters. Then move the binoculars so you are looking at the sign near the edge of the binocular view. Then you can see that these aren’t crisp edge-to-edge.<\/p>\n
The reason it is not obvious in use is that these binoculars have a wide field of view. Your own eyes are worse. The actual part of your vision that is in focus is no larger then a quarter coin held at arm’s length!<\/p>\n
Chromatic aberration<\/h3>\n
I had a a hard time finding any chromatic aberration. The ED glass eliminated nearly all of it. Finally, I looked at the sun shining off a metal roof against a shaded tree, looking into the sun.<\/p>\n
The brightly lit edge of the roof gave a yellow-green fringe at the top edge of the binocular image. Moving the roof edge to the bottom of the binocular image I saw a faint pinkish fringe. It was masked somewhat by the soft focus.<\/p>\n
I couldn’t notice any color fringing on thin dark branches or electric lines against a bright sky, though. Very good.<\/p>\n
Field of view<\/h3>\n
These binoculars have a fairly wide field of view. At 393 feet at 1000 yards they are at the low end of the wide field of view. Or, they could be considered to be at the very high end of the average field of view. Regardless, this is ample. Looking through the binoculars you will notice the expansive view.<\/p>\n
Balance and feel<\/h3>\n
These binoculars are well-balanced and easy to use.<\/p>\n
They are 2 ounces heavier than the Nikon Monarchs. But I can’t really tell the difference, just holding them.<\/p>\n
One thing that I do notice, however, is the low profile of the bridge. This causes the focusing knob to be lower down between the eyepieces. <\/p>\n
As your forefingers arch over the barrels they have to reach a bit farther to the focusing knob. That means you adjust the knob more with the tips of your fingers rather than the pads. With the extra turning this knob needs to focus, it is not as comfortable as it could be. That could make turning the focusing knob with gloved fingers more awkward.<\/p>\n
Neck strap<\/h3>\n
The neck strap is surprisingly nice for such low priced binoculars. The neck strap is flat and about 1 inch wide. It is woven, like cloth, but I suspect it is made with strong nylon threads. It is comfortable and soft.<\/p>\n
Still, you may want to eventually invest in a wide padded neck strap for long days in the field.<\/p>\n
Diopter adjustment<\/h3>\n
The diopter adjustment is a ring at the right eyepiece, as typical for most binoculars. It doesn’t lock. But it is stiff enough that it will not move accidentally. It is marked only with a (- 0 +). You need to remember the adjustment. Unless sharing binoculars, though, you will set it once and forget it.<\/p>\n
![\"Photo](\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-cxcBrGu6spc\/XwcqPte2aPI\/AAAAAAAAIEQ\/Ngn9ltrtSucrlOBhePfcpdiCmLJfl_6wwCLcBGAsYHQ\/s1600\/Celestron%2B6%2B400w.jpg\" "\\"Photo")
<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n