Customer Reviews

Nikon 7234 Action 10-22 X 50mm Binoculars

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As a backyard astronomer and novice outdoorsman, I know that serious users of binoculars will tell you that zoom binocs are almost never recommended. Zoom binocs tend to have a lot of problems with being usable at higher magnification. Even with another $80 pair of zooms, I end up seeing a crossing of views (or blackout) through the left and right eyepieces with even moderate increase in magnification. That being said, this pair of Nikon Action zoom binocs is probably the best pair of zooms you can get. I find them to actually be usable throughout most of range, though stability (shaky hands) are an issue once you reach high magnification (unless you are using a tripod). The fact that they work this well, though, is pretty much a miracle. Nikon quality really proves itself here. If you are dead set on one pair of binocs, and those being zooms, then I recommend these as your only real choice.

This is a good entry level binocular for the price. I would recommend the fixed power Nikon above this however. The zoom feature requires additional adjustment to the diopter setting, and is not acceptable for extended glassing at higher powers. The 10x setting is very good. The diopter adjustment is too loose and can easily be moved out of focus unintentionally. I would not recomment the zoom feature on any binocular I have used in this price range. For a quick look at a higher power these are OK, but you are better off paying extra for better fixed power optics. If your use of binoculars require extended hiking or activity, I would recommend upgrading to the Nikon Monarch series which use the lighter and more sturdy roof prism design than the porro prims models and are significantly better quality optics.

These are no ordinary binoculars. They are a miracle. They exceeded my expectations and I am proud to own them now.

Its usable right out of the box. The controls are very easy to use, even my [...] son knows how to focus the binoculars. You can keep the zoom level at 10X for most viewing. When you really want to zoom in, the binoculars provide upto 22X zoom by just sliding a lever. At 22X zoom, you need steady hands or a tripod to view appropriately. The 10X zoom is more than sufficient for exploring the distant objects around you.

For starters, when you buy a binocular, you need to consider two aspects. The binoculars are usually represented in the format A X B where A is the magnification and B is the diameter of the front lens in millimeters. The more the better for both A and B.

This Nikon binocular is capable of magnifications ranging from 10 to 22. The front lens is 50 mm which is more than sufficient for everyday daylight and night viewing.

The Nikon lens are world-class providing crystal clear view. At night I focussed on the moon and could see the mountains on the moon very clearly.

Overall I would definitely recommend this product for everyone. Even adults who think that binoculars are for children must try this product as it will amaze them. Not to speak of teens who will marvel their "birds" in close-up!!!

I bought these binoculars about a month ago because I wanted something really powerful/top of the line that could be used with basically doing anything. These things are SO powerful that it's scary. We went to a concert last week and were wayyyy far away from the stage. We used the zoom on these to the 22 mark and it was TOO close!

These are very high quality binoculars and are a pretty good weight. They come with a soft case and covers for the lenses and eyepiece, and a tripod mount. There is a small lever on the right eye piece that you can ease left to right in order to take advantage of the 10-22 zoom. Because the diameter of the lenses is 50, these binoculars allow a good deal of light to come in so that you will see a bright, crisp image.

If you are into star-gazing then you are going to need a tripod. Nothing expensive, just something to steady the binoculars so that you won't be struggling to hold them completely still in your hands. When you're that close with the zoom you're going to need it.

Highly recommended!

I got these binoculars and the image was clear and crisp. I was very impressed with the zoom distance, and still being so clear. This is a top of the line binocular and very worth the price.

I upgraded to these from a cheap brand. It was like the weather changing from a cloudy day to a sunny day. I didn't know there was so much difference in optics.

For Christmas I wanted to give a friend my pair of Tasco 8-20x 50mm binoculars and upgrade myself to these higher quality Nikons. I *am* glad I did this even though it was pretty scary for a moment there. Right out of the box I knew these had a major problem, and fortunately I am a tinkerer and eventually fixed it myself. My warning to you, the consumer, is that you may not find this level of repair so easy to perform, and so this might be beyond you. I also gather that this is probably a rare problem, so... be your own best judge.

What happened was, I took the binoculars out, and aimed them across my room to see if I could mayyyybe get the far wall into focus. Of course it didn't work, most binoculars will NOT focus that close, but I was goofing off and decided to try anyway. When I found that I couldn't achieve focus, I pushed the zoom lever to see if I was at minimum zoom for closest possible focus. That's when I first noticed that only one side was zooming! At first I thought I'd stumbled into a very special binocular model that required some assembly step or special handling that I'd ignored, being severely male. I checked everything I could think of and discovered that no, this was not the case. Even worse, during all my fiddling I discovered that aiming them at the floor would cause both sides to work, but they were now badly out of sync and one side would be so zoomed in while the other side was either zoomed in closer or wider. I determined correctly that something was loose... but I didn't have a clue what to do so I began researching returning them. The feeling I could fix it myself though became too much and I again took the rubber eyecup off the afflicted side and had another look. I noticed that the outermost part of the eyepiece assembly was threaded, so I gave it a strong twist and found my problem - the glue had broken free and the assembly was slightly loose. I then unscrewed it totally and found the rest of the problem - the zoom assembly inside the eyepiece barrel fit in place by interlocking metal "fingers" that lock into groves in the plastic barrel. What was happening is the zoom assembly was slipping out of these grooves and not rotating with the rest of it, so it was staying still while the good side did it's job, then if you tilted the binoculars down, the assembly would slip into it's grooves and begin working, but now badly out of sync with the good side.

Happy Ending

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I took the pair of binoculars into the bathroom, got some alcohol and tissue, cleaned up the mess I made of the lenses while poking around with the internals, and messed with various positions of realignment until a view of a streetlight out the window looked approximately the same eye for eye, and then I TIGHTLY screwed the eyepiece assembly back together. With a mega sigh of relief (I did NOT want to go through a return!), I used them properly for the first time with no problems, and found them to be all I'd hoped.

Now a proper review:

These are great binoculars for their class, which is of course the big-and-heavy power monger's class of zoom binoculars. They do weigh your arms down a little after long term use, but heck... if you don't want this level of ability, then get something smaller, or deal with it. It's a fact of life with present lens technology - big glass is heavy. Aside of that, they are super easy to use. The zoom lever is fluid enough, no serious draggyness, and the focus wheel thingee is SO fluid it's like it's a real joy to use compared to the Tasco "Zip Focus" I was used to that required about 5 times the force to move. Ok sure, it's slower to get into focus by about two seconds, whoopie... but it's more precise and dreamy easy to move. The light grasp is what I'd expect from 50mm binoculars, maybe a hair brighter than the Tascos but I can't verify that as they now belong to a lovely blonde woman and aren't around at the moment haha. The image clarity definitely appears to outdo the Tasco binoculars, go figure as those originally cost me about $60 or so. Solidity is about typical, with a somewhat uncomfortable give to the right eyepiece assembly... which made me a little paranoid because that was the side that had the looseness problem. However, I don't think it's a problem at all and you never notice it in use... only noticeable if you deliberately push while looking at it. They're very solid, feel good in the hands. The whole thing is rubber armored, great if you're clutsy. The range of zoom is pretty much perfect, as they go... 10x is a good low shake and decent field view, where 22x is pushing the shaky limits but hardly unusable, and at 22x the field is nice and wide. Probably the best feature is the focus adjustment on the left side eyepiece, which is great if you have slightly different vision between your two eyes, which I do. Another interesting thing, speaking of this, is that I was actually able to focus these things with my contacts out! Not amazed? Try these numbers then - I am badly nearsighted... my contacts are -5.00 left eye, -6.00 right eye. That translates to clear vision at about 8" or less with my contacts out, and no I am not kidding. These binoculars actually let me focus them sharply in maximum zoom for my eyes with my contacts OUT. Crazy. :-)

Additional items of interest... these come with a nice tripod bracket for easy peasy mounting to a standard camera tripod for shake-free viewing. Nice touch, guys at Nikon! Thank you! Carry strap and case are also included, again nice touch considering I thought they didn't come with a case.

Overall? Scary first impression, nice finish! I like em a whole lot and knowing what I know now about binocular repair (behold, my resume grows ever larger), I'd do it all again in a heartbeat. :-)

These binocs far exceeded my expectations, and my experience, with other zoom optical equipment. From spotting scopes to binoculars, a crisp image is usually always attainable at the lowest setting; however, as one zooms in, I usually found that the image became fuzzy or indistinct.

Having another pair of NIKON binoculars, I decided to just trust the name. I could always send them back if they were crappy. And so I ordered them.

When I first got them, I looked through the lenses and my heart sank. It appeared the two images did not line up, even out of focus as they were. But when I went outside and actually focused on the moon, I learned it was just the way things are.

At 10x, the moon is beautiful, but still awfully far away. By adding the included tripod mount, suddenly I was able to use it at full zoom. Details on the moon fairly popped out in crystal sharpness.

But zooms do exact a price, even with very nice optics. In this case, the field of view was not anything like you'd get from a Nikon 10x50, even though the objective opening is the same. But even with a more narrow view, like you'd get through a quality telescope, the Nikon came through with sharpness, which is my major concern.

At higher magnification, you're going to need a tripod. The attachment that comes with these binocs fits standard tripods, so accept that you need a good, tall, tripod. Second, the moon moves, so your tripod should be able to remain tight, even when the screws are loosened. If you have a cheap, crappy one that wobbles or won't lock, you'll have a more difficult time.

The moon is gorgeous through these lenses. So are terrestrial objects. The zoom is clean and smooth, and, again, the optics are much nicer than you'd have reason to expect.

TIP: When you install the binoculars tripod mount, a small decorative screw needs to be removed. This is often lost, leaving an unsightly hole in the front. Once you remove it, lift the bottom flap of the binocs case, put it there, and push down the flap. That way, you'll never lose it (unless, of course, you forget where you put it!). I leave my tripod adapter on all the time, but still, I'd hate to lose the original screw.

I was looking for a good pair to view object approx. .25 - .5 mile away. This Nikon did the trick. Very pleased even in very low lighting.

Would suggest using a tri-pod when using 10+ zoom. Images are good but not steady enough to comprend the details.

This binocular allows you to rapidly change zoom from 10X to 22X using a slider on the side of the smaller lens. This is what kills these binocs, because while the picture is great at 10X, it rapidly deteriorates as your increase zoom, kind of like the "digital zoom" you see in cameras where the image gets pixellated, though that shouldn't be happening. I'm not sure what the technical reasons are, but it seems like there is an additional 2.2X lens sitting in between the lens that allows you to change the zoom, and that really makes the picture really unclear and hazy. I'm going to try the 16 X 50 to see if that gives me the best of both (high zoom, high clarity).