Nikon Monarch M7+ 8x30 binocular
ANYONE looking for that little bit extra from a small binocular would be well advised to consider the new Monarch M7+ 8x30 from Nikon. Launched in March, it offers users a step up by incorporating the field-flattener technology from the higherspecification M7 HG range but, in order to keep the price down, Nikon has not used the magnesium body of the HG and manufacturing is also less costly.
In short, this means the M7+ 8x30 is set to retail at £499, compared to the M7’s £409 and the M7 HG’s £899. Aside from the obvious pricepoint differential, the principal differences with this inbetweener lie in its body material construction adopting fibreglass-reinforced polycarbonate resin from the M7 and the longer eye relief than the M7, although this is slightly shorter than the M7 HG.
At 475 g, the overall weight is 10 g higher than the M7 and 25 g above that of the M7 HG and while it does not include the scratch-resistant lens coating of the latter, it retains the standard oil- and water-repellent coating.
Tech spec aside, how does this translate to field performance? In short, this was a binocular I was instantly comfortable with using. The differences in weight, outlined above, are largely academic in the case of this small, neat model and the feeling that I wasn’t wearing anything around my neck occurred on numerous occasions during its use.
It shares the other models’ nofrills, non-slip rubber body armour and is very well-balanced while being held during general viewing.
The twist-up eyecups are covered in ‘medium-soft’ rubber and click-lock in three positions above the closed setting. They sit comfortably against the eye, the full field of view – a respectable 145 m at 1,000 m – being visible, regardless of their extension.
In line with the other models in the Monarch series, the dioptre adjustment takes the form of a smooth ring on the right ocular, with a small length of raised ribbing set opposite a simple, raised +/- scale. It works on a ‘pull up to adjust and push down to lock’ basis and requires the eyecup to be twisted up to the first position to change the setting.
The central focusing wheel is finely-ribbed, and I found it to be freely and smoothly turning, with barely more than one full clockwise rotation taking image focusing from its closest at 2 m to infinity. Its effective operation is thus very fast, with only an estimated 40-degree clockwise turn required to focus the image between approximately 10 m and 500 m. Like the standard
M7, where close focusing is concerned I managed to beat the manufacturer’s conservative figure of 2 m, achieving a noteworthy 1.7 m.
The resulting image is neat and bright and the field-flattener lens system delivers almost edge-to-edge sharpness, with insignificant
curvature of field. In line with the higher-grade M7 HG, the colour rendition is cold to neutral and accurately reflects natural colours, with a high degree of contrast. The use of ED glass contributes to reducing chromatic aberration to a low level, passing the acid test on Coots and Cormorants against a brightly lit water backdrop.
The delivery of a bright image on dull days and in twilight conditions was also commendable and this new model left me impressed with its overall performance.
Included in the M7+’s package is a soft, padded case, a comfortably-padded neck-strap, a flexible, articulated rainguard and tethered objective lens covers, which fit neatly inside the objective housing.