Nikon Monarch M7 Binoculars 10x42

Product Information

Here is my opinion after owning and using this binocular for a full year and doing additional research: This is a small and lightweight binocular – it only weighs 475g. I like that, but I know people with larger hands (mine aren’t small) might find it too small. The build quality is very good. It’s rubber-armoured, waterproof and ‘fog-free’. I found it good to hold – holding the eyecups against my brow ridge helped me get the best results. The rubber-coated eyecups have good ‘mechanics’ and two intermediate positions. They didn't have Frontier and Viper, that priced somewhere in between Trailseeker and Razor, so I have no idea if any of these two would be noticeably better than Trailseeker. Lenses – Should have no marks on the elements andoptically clear. There may be light dust present that will not effect theimagery.

There’s not much to gripe about so far but what about the view? It’s wide and clean with good colours. There was some vignetting (dark edge shadows) when I scanned, but I don’t think that’s a big deal, and occasional flare/reflections. Wide means wide – the field of view is an impressive 145m@1000m. Sharpness is very good with a smidgeon of peripheral softness perhaps – but nothing that distracts. Brightness is good and chromatic aberration (colour fringing) is very well corrected – the ED glass helps with that.in the 10x42. Also remember that the 10x will greater magnify any shaking of your hands, so best to use in steady situations where you are not moving around a lot when viewing birds. I've never seen a M7 with the unpainted surface that Frank saw but you will see that still some users criticise the glare levels. This also been mentioned for the Kite Lynx, which is essentially the same design made in Japan. I've not seem the Maven B3 but I imagine it's the same there.

Oil- and water-repellent coating applied to the objective lens and eyepieces allows smudges like fingerprints to be easily wiped off Plastic cover piece for the front on the hinge assembly loose (which apparently Nikon will replace if you lose them), but worth making sure these are screwed in tight when you get them. The 10x42s are a little more expensive because of the higher magnification, but will have a narrower FOV and less relative brightness.The Monarchs have several different 2023 model lines including different magnification and objective lens sizes within the model type as well as lower and higher priced models depending on glass quality, lens and prism coatings.

Our used products are subject to wear and tear in comparison to brand new products. This also applies to accessories that are supplied with the camera including batteries which may have a lower optimum performance level/life expectancy. I have been using this binocular as a car binocular since fall and it has held up under winter conditions flawlessly. On very cold nights I bring it in the house as the focuser stiffens up if it is very cold. I used them during an evening Bittern survey on April 5th. It was a bright but more or less overcast evening. The Monarchs helped identify my first Swallow of the year 13 minutes after sunset and were differentiating distant shades of green over an hour after sunset. I didn’t hear any booming, but I did see two in-flight Bitterns. Nikon say the close-focus is 2 metres, which is respectable enough. But for me at least, it’s wrong. I could focus this binocular to just under 1.5 metres which is very, very good. Not many binoculars focus closer than that. The Nikon Monarch M7 and M5 range have been designed for those with a passion for nature and the outdoors. Both models feature a redesigned body that is both durable and stylish while offering outstanding optical performance with superb handling. The weight and dimensions are very similar. The focus wheel moves similarly and very accurately and pleasantly in both binoculars, also ergonomics. But this is where the similarities between them ends. So, M HG finishes are at least a class above over M 7. The coating is different: prisms of M HG has purple coating and M 7 green coating, and M HG objectives has green coating and M 7 blue coating. It is also noticeable that, at the level of the exit pupil, there are stronger reflections in M 7All of the M7 models offer an apparent field of view of over 60˚ which is unprecedented for this class of binocular. The Zeiss Terra are better for butterfly watching, because they do focus more closely, but the alleged chromatic aberration in the center is unfortunate. for recreational birding, and recommend for a mid-priced birding binocular. Nikon Monarch Series and Models

The resolution on the edges is also better with M HG. As an extension of the clarity, they both have about 75% of the FOV, but the last 25 percent of M HG are not so blurred compared to the center, still being able to discern details. But at M 7, the difference in clarity between the center area and the edges (last 25%) is very very big, on the edges you can practically no longer discern any detail. The ATB (All Terrain Binocular) term is applied to all Monarch lines - Monarch 3, Monarch 5, Monarch 7 and Monarch X, but there is also a separate line actually named "Monarch ATB". and brighter light conditions and not so much trying to spot smaller birds flitting around in trees, like warblers, or low-light conditions, then you may prefer to get the higher magnification.The eye cups must be identical to the previous generation as well. No improvements there but none were needed. Great eye cups. The Nikon Action porro prism binoculars are a little heavier and bulkier than roof prism binoculars and the line does not have as high, quality lenses as Monarchs, but the Nikon Action The ATB designation of Monarch Binoculars (as well as some other Nikon binocular lines) stands for All-Terrain-Binoculars. The Monarch M7, unlike the M5, is available in two different objective lens sizes: 8x30, 10x30 and 8x42 and 10x42. The M7, unlike the M5, is not available in a 12x magnification. December 2022: A recent binocular review by Cornell's All About Birds ( source) listed the Nikon Monarch M7 8x42 as one of their top 3 binoculars.