Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics If the Nikon SE is so good, then why look for anything else?

I mean, if the Nikon SE is practically the "ultimate" that all these high-end roof prisms are being compared to, why would someone spend 3-4X the cost in order to get equal performance?
Just wondering....

Personally, I've tried the SEs and though they were quite nice, I didn't find them overly remarkable. I thought and still think that the little 6x30 Yosemites were VERY close to them, the 6.5x32 IF Minox their better, and the 8x30 SLC, and both the 8x32 and 8x42 Ultravids easily superior.

Others disagree.

If I had a pair of SEs, I doubt I'd "upgrade", but I'd not go out of my way to grab a pair if anything in the class were already in house.

Dads getting a pair of Yo's tonight when he opens up his package Sean...

Hopefully he won't remember the view when he looked through my 6.5x32's last year...grin...

Have a Merry Christmas...

The SE's aren't waterproof either. This is a deal killer for me anyway.

Besides the waterproofing concern, there is the fact that they are a porro design and not the usually tougher roof prism design. They are also a bit larger. E

Are you certain this is the case (roof prism tougher)? I was under the impression the opposite was true.

Not only that, but the porros are cheaper for the same quality of performance. If youu get a chance compare some porros side by side with the roofs.

Why look for anything else?? Humans (particularly Americans ) are what some would call "perpetually unsatisfied" where 'enough is NEVER enough'. There always has to be something better and price be damned. Or there's the argument that if it costs more than it's better. I've witnessed first hand this particular phenomenon. (Get's ugly sometimes.)

This is a really good question and consumers have obviously become infatuated with roof prism binoculars. Porro prisms have several advantages and one glaring disadvantage:

They have better depth perception than the comparable roofies

They have one less prism, light changes direction one less time so they are lighter and easier to make perfect than a comparable roofie.

The best feature, IMHO, is that they can be pretty much any size you want and still be made to work with normal human IP distances.

About 25% of the population cannot use the Swarovski 15x56 SLC because they don't get close enough to fit many eye spacings. With normal size glass, this isn't an issue.

The drawback is that they are, for some reason I don't understand, more difficult to make truly waterproof. I have seen the Super Es used in some pretty nasty weather and they were fine- just don't take well to submerging.

We have fallen in love with roofies and this has killed the porro prism R&D which really sucks!

My wife thinks the roofies look funny. I just want the most for the money I spend so I use porros most of the time. I do have a really nice 3X56 Minox which is a roof prism, though. Easy for me to use all day for rock chuck hunting.

Might be the difference between internal focus (roof) and external focus (porro).

I mean, if the Nikon SE is practically the "ultimate" that all these high-end roof prisms are being compared to, why would someone spend 3-4X the cost in order to get equal performance?
Just wondering....

After using the Nikon Se 8x32 and 10x42 models for many years,along with many other binos, rain and shine, my answer is..... why indeed?

porro

Yes because the prisms are mounted more solidly and, therefore don't get knocked out alginment as easily. There are some exceptions I've been told. The open bridge design of the Swaro EL's are not as tough simply because there isn't that much there to support the barrels. E

+1

Correct.
And they don't 'look like you spend 2k on euro alphas'

Another exception the other way is Fujinon's FMTR-SX model. A very solid and 100% waterproof porro binocular. I have one , I also have or had Leica,Zeiss and Swarovski roof's and I would say the most solid binocular is the Fujinon.

I have owned Swarovski and Leica high end roofs and my SE's made me sell them. There is something about the 3D effect that I get with the SE's that makes it hard to use anything else. The view of an animal through roofs looks like a flat 2 dimensional picture to me. With the SE's the animal seems to "jump" out at me, it really is a spectacular view. That said there is plenty not to like. The lack of being waterproof as others have mentioned. Bulkier and much harder to hold with elbows in and braced than a comparable roof, although it can be done. The focus wheel gets stiffer the colder it gets. And they can be a little finicky on eye placement to avoid blackouts. However for me the view through the SE's makes all these shortcomings worth dealing with.

practically, I much prefer roof binocualrs for hunting than a non waterproof porro. That kills the deal

Had a pair of the older Nikon Superior E's in 7X35. Beautiful view but the end caps were plastic and as noted they were not water proofed at all. Fine for birding in good weather but not rough and ready hunting use.

Had several different pairs of Swarovski SL series, those were the Swaro porros and they were great. Pretty weird looking and kind of heavy but great porros.

Burris (probably actually Pentax) made a Fullfield porro model in the 90's that was waterproof and armored. The 7X35 model was an excellent buy in a good, really useful hunting binocular for just over $200. I carried one of those for a couple of years and wish I still had it. The 10X50 version of the same model didn't have good enough glass to support that much power, but the 7X35's were great.

Got a set of Swaro Traditional 6X30's that are supposed to be waterproof and they go with me everywhere. Have a Leica 8X40 and an 8X32 but they are heavier and the view from the Swaro is wider with huge depth of focus.

Swaro Military models (if they still make them) are an excellent buy in a waterproof, armored porro.

With phase coating roofs will give you resolution as good as porros in a smaller package (not that much smaller, but still smaller) but I still prefer porros.