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Accessories

Nikon 8073 Fog Eliminator- 3 Pack

Price: $4.88

Bogen Tripod w/Head for Nikon Binoculars

Price: $319.78

Nikon 8177 Tripod Adapter

Price: $23.95

Nikon Action 12x50 Reviews

Bigger not always better
by B. Mo , 2010-02-09

I bought a set of the Nikon 8x40 Action Ex for my girlfriend and I liked them so much I decided to get a pair for myself. Not wanting to get the exact same ones she had, I decided to 'upgrade' to the 10x50. The 10x50 are about 200g heavier and significantly larger as well. Overall I found that they were too hard to stabilize, and the focus mechanism too slow with too much resistance. In the end, the extra magnification provided little advantage as the image was not any clearer than the 8x40, and the image was much less stable.

In the end, I returned the 10x50 for another pair of the 8x40 Action Ex and I couldn't be happier.

Lookee
by Steven Lefler from Kenai, Alaska, 2009-12-26

We do a lot of wildlife viewing from our house (we live way out in the boonies). The glass in these binoculars is very clear. The 50mm lenses allow wildlife viewing at night.

I do not take them out into the weather so cannot speak to how they will hold up in bad weather. They are too large and heavy to carry around in the woods but work great for our use.

12x50 not as good as expected based on reviews
by Rick Taylor from Kentucky, 2009-06-01

Note: Amazon is combining reviews for Action Extreme models with 50mm objectives; 7x50, 10x50, 12x50, 16x50 etc.

We already had the Nikon Action 8x40 which I think was reasonable quality for $60, but I was somewhat disappointed by the Action Extreme 12x50 I bought when I wanted something waterproof and with more reach. Both the Action and Action Extreme have a lot of internal reflection that causes glare around the edges during daytime viewing and from bright objects at night like the moon. This is very noticeable and I wonder why so few these reviews mention it. The glare from a blue sky really intrudes into the lower half of your view while watching animals on the ground, indicating that Nikon has skimped on the quality of the lens and prism coatings.

I use these mostly for bird watching on our farm, and they are decent but nothing special. The extra dollars you pay to go from the Action to the Action Extreme line must all be for the waterproofing, as my admittedly casual observation is that the optics quality is very similar to the Action series. However, the Action Extreme is noticeably more solidly built and rugged in nature and more likely to survive being dropped. Both models have objective lens covers that are guaranteed to be lost if you rely on the slots that are supposed to be used to attach them to the straps. You can punch or drill a hole in the slotted tabs and then use a plastic clip or even string to keep them from falling off the strap.

Brightness was sufficient, as these are not fully multi-coated so I didn't expect them to be tremendously bright, especially at 12x, but improved coatings would also enhance the brightness. The twist-up adjustable eye cups work beautifully for a glasses wearer like me (and are far superior to the rubber cups that fold down on the Action model).

The Nikon brand reputation was the deciding factor for me, but if you have an opportunity to get another decent waterproof set for less, I suggest comparing them if you can. I wish that I had. If you can afford it, the NIKON 7296 Monarch III 12x42 Binocular series promises to be substantially better than these (the Monarchs are fully multi-coated, plus they offer roof prism if you prefer that to porro). Overall, I was just a little let down on the image quality from these as the reviews on Amazon were mostly glowing.

I would still recommend them to friends but I would definitely shop around for comparable quality for less money. I suspect some of the waterproof Bushnells I've seen priced significantly less aren't much different. Of course, the way everything is sealed in plastic these days the opportunity to compare is severely limited unless you have a friendly camera shop nearby, or maybe a birding group whose members can let you see through their equipment.

Very good in this price range. Not perfect.
by D. Hentze from United States, 2009-04-02

Since it looks like Amazon is consolidating several of the Nikon Binocular reviews into one, this review is for the Nikon Action Extreme (#7245) 10x50 Binoculars. I wish Amazon didn't do this since the specs are much different between the "Action" and "Action Extreme" models. ...Anyway, the Action Extremes are very good binoculars. They are not the best you can buy, but you can buy much worse. Actually, there is only one thing that keeps me from giving the 7245's a 5 Star Rating. The optical coatings could be better. The binoculars suffer from some internal reflections when used under difficult lighting situations, such as viewing a bright object like a full moon. The optical coatings are better than your average binoculars, but not as good as some other models. Most of the better ones will cost much more though. During normal circumstances though, the 7245's shine. They have excellent edge to edge sharpness and clarity. I have no problem seeing very fine detail at far distances. All in all, I give them 4.5 stars.

Pros:
Moderately priced.
Waterproof and fogproof.
Rugged construction.
Excellent performance under most conditions.
Long eye relief (17.2mm).
Good accessories.
25 year limited no fault warranty.

Cons:
Optical coatings could be better.
Slightly heavy.

USE FOR SURF WATCHING AND LANDSCAPES
by PRAY FOR SURF , 2009-03-12

NIKON 16X50 EX ATB WATERPROOF IS WORTH EVERY PENNY.THE CLEARITY IS AWSOME AND NOT TO MENTION,FOR A 16X LENS,IT IS VERY STEADY.I GOT MY KIT THROUGH AMAZON AT $180.OO ON SALE,IT CAME WITH A GOOD QUALITY BAG,STRAP AND A ADAPTER FOR A TRIPOD.FOR THOSE WHO GAVE BAD RESPONSE ON THIS ITEM IS WRONG AND JUST PLAIN TO MUCH.NIKON REALY DOES MAKES QUALITY LENS...THANK FOR READING

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