Nikon 10×42 Monarch ATB Binoculars: Guaranteed Quality and Overall Coolness
Say hello and never say goodbye to the Monarch ATB Series Binoculars by Nikon, one of the world’s leading powers in optical technology. Nikon has a long history of high quality products and also an even longer list of loyal followers. Well, those followers wouldn’t be disappointed just yet with the Nikon 10×42 Monarch in the series. It’s been given high regard by many enthusiasts and it’s studded with cool features that make it worth more than its almost $500 price tag. Some are discounted though to only $300 hundred.
It makes use of a Roof prism so it’s built to be compact and requires little manual collimation, the alignment of optical elements in the device. It’s one of the top choices for nature-viewing, bird-watching, and game-hunting. It has fully multi-coated lenses and phase-correction coated prisms that are lead and arsenic free to deliver bright and clear images.
The Monarch has a 330-foot field of view at 1000 yards and close-focuses to about eight feet. The focus knob is large and easily accessed, and needs just 1¼ turns to go from close-focus to infinity. The action is smooth and easy, making sharp focus quick and simple to achieve. However, the focus gets rather blurry at the edges of the field. In bright light when focused on high-contrast objects, the Monarch shows a substantial chromatic aberration, a separation of the visible light to yield a prism effect.
Users of the Monarch transcend age and occupation. It’s light enough, a forgiving 21 ounces, for children and old people alike to use without fatigue and capable enough to be used by professional hunters to weekend warriors. Aside from being versatile in terms of the user, the Monarch is also versatile for almost any environment. It is equipped with a sleek yet tough rubber armor and, for hunters, it can also come in camouflage coats. The rubber coat absorbs shock and provides protection, making the Monarch waterproof, thus preventing internal leaks and fogging.
The Monarch is also comfortable to use. It features turn-and-lock eyecups with an eye relief of about 15 mm. The eyecups are made of a soft rubber which provides comfortable contact. The nylon strap widens at the neck area and it is padded with a soft cloth on the inside to provide more comfort. It also comes with a spacious cordura case that can be worn over the shoulder or around the neck.
One flaw Nikon should work on, however, are the lens caps which are quite easily dislodged. But all in all, the Monarch remains one of the coolest products offered to us by Nikon.
