Nikon 7430 Monarch 8x42mm All-Terrain Binoculars

In the store I compared these with the same power Leica. The Leica was nice but a lot heavier. I could tell the Leica was better, but not three times the price better. It was dusk, overcast and drizzling (ideal conditions for trying out binoculars). For example, I was looking at the brick work under the awning on a building about a block away from the store. I could see more detail in the brickwork and felt more `there' with the Leica. In brighter conditions the difference is less noticeable and I like the lighter weight of the Monarchs.

On the Amazon trip I has the opportunity to compare binoculars with other people. Most people had brought cheaper binoculars and I think as a result their wildlife watching experience was compromised. The only people who had brought comparable binoculars were avid bird watchers. They had Opticrons which are in the same price ballpark as the Leica. Again, they are excellent binoculars but not three times better.

I like the hard rubber-armor construction. It does not become slippery when wet. They feel solid but light. I am not so nervous about dropping the binoculars as I would be with the Leica or Opticrons. The firm turn-and slide eyecups (like the Lieca) are a huge improvement over the fussy soft foldable rubber eyecups found on many other binoculars.

Looking for binoculars is a lot like looking for Hifi speakers. As the price goes up, the quality improves. At a certain price point you can no longer tell the next price level is clearly better; it is mostly just different. That is a good place to buy, and is something of a personal judgement. Minolta has some binoculars that are priced between the Monarchs and the high end and I think the Monarchs are every bit as good.


Tack sharp, lightweight and well worth owning.   November 19, 2005
Eagle Eyes (Grants Pass, OR)
140 out of 141 found this review helpful

I did alot of research before deciding on this pair. As an experienced photographer, optical quality was my top priority.
I originally purchased them for hiking and long range mountain scanning in southern Oregon, and while initially perplexed between the 10X or 8X version; I found the extra sharpness of the 8X resolution negated the need for a 10X magnification, because they rendered so much detail.
With the 8X, I spotted a fire lookout station that I'd never seen before, on a mountain 15 miles out of town. Quite remarkable. Added to that, was the research at Cornell University's Ornithology Center on the web. Birdwatchers extraordinaire; who called them a steal. I concur. I never thought I'd be so happy paying this price for binoculars, but it was a no brainer. Tack sharp, lightweight and well worth owning.


Bargain of the century?   September 30, 2005
Mr. L. Hudson (UK)
95 out of 95 found this review helpful

Bought these bins recently, they really are excellent, very easy to use, good feel, amazing light gathering and reproduction, and only 1 and 1/2 pounds. If you read Cornell Lab of Ornithology review, there is only 1 set of binoculars under 1000 dollars that beat these,(and they are 6x lenses not really suitable for general birding.)Everything about them feels and works like 1000 dollar lenses with two exceptions, the lens cap and raingaurd, the former in particular would be a disgrace on 50 dollar lenses, i am going to see if i can buy generic replacements. Lots of other web reviews also rave about them, and 98% of people would not tell the difference between these and top range Zeiss, Leica etc. And for 300 dollars you can take them anywhere and enjoy them.


lovely lovely viewing   January 16, 2007
Rei Raz (israel)
32 out of 33 found this review helpful

i have been waiting for a pair of these for almost a year, and got them just 3 weeks ago. just a great piece of optics: the weight is right (not too light to shake easily, not to heavy to tire the arms), balance is great, clear with an amzing depth of field. if you are a freak of optic tests you might notice the slightest traces of both chromatic aberration (border of dark objects on light background in extreme contrast) and spherical (straight lines slightly curve at the edge of the view)- but you only notice if you look for it, and they only cost less than 300$!
during the first week with my monarchs i saw some ducks and shorebirds- every detail of feathering was nice and naturaly colored. i gave a birder friend a little ride with them- it took him 3 seconds to "wow", and when i told him the price- he was amazed.
i am so satisfied that i just carry them with me all the time. when i read the specs of the alpha binoculars by nikon and others- i cannot justify the extra money you must pay for slightly better optics (3 to 6 times!)
the only downsides are the crappy objective caps (stitch them to the strap or you lose them the first time you go out), and the wide strap which i find too wide to support less than 700 grams. i put a narrower strap that fits nice under the shirt collar.
i reccomend the nikon monarch 8x42 with all my heart to whoever is interested in viewing the nature.


Excellent   July 19, 2007
D.J. Young (Melbourne, Australia)
15 out of 15 found this review helpful

I brought these about four months ago and love them. The main reason I brought them was for bird watching. I spent a bit of time researching, as I wanted a good pair of binoculars. They have a really nice fell and weigh 689grams with the strap on. I've dropped them once and there was no problem. Not long after I got them I took them with me on a Safari to Mali, Africa. The first evening I used them I was standing on a hill looking into a valley while the sun was going down. When I looked through the binoculars I could see all the villages around that were made out of mud and people where walking around their little village. Without the binoculars I could not see the small villages nor the people. The optic quality of these Binoculars is really good. They really bring the colour of the birds out. I showed my father in-law, the binoculars, who has been bird watching for 30 years and he said they were really good. For the price you pay the quality is great. Sure you could go and spend $2,000 on a pair but if you lost, broke or they got stolen then you would have a few teary nights. With these I wouldn't loose too much sleep if something happened to them. Besides the way how technology works the $2,000 optics will be < $500 within 10 years or so. I looked through a few pair of expensive ones and can't say that they deserve $2,000; yes they were better but not 5 times better. Unfortunately I couldn't buy these on Amazon as they don't send them overseas. If you live outside of the US and want to buy them go to Binoculars.com as they send them overseas at a reasonable price.