Nikon Monarch 7 ATB vs Vortex Diamondback HD

I recently purchased Nikon Monarch HG binoculars. Other Nikon products I've purchased in the past made me comfortable buying again, but the reasons I went for the HGs are because they are made in Japan and have field flatteners.

Binoculars look good all accessories were included but heavily concerned that the box I received was the retail box not a brown cardboard Amazon box, retail box was not sealed, anybody could have open the product and take or change the contents. This is an expensive item, vendor should be more careful on how they ship their product

I've been interested in observing and identifying birds most of my life, but have recently decided to pursue the avocation more intensively and needed a better pair of binoculars. This is the first set of binos I've ever purchased that cost over about $100, and the difference is impressive. These have excellent field of view, no discernible chromatic distortion and are a joy to use.

And the Diamondback’s optics were brighter, bigger, and quicker to focus. The larger 8x36 Pentax are smaller than full sized binoculars, but heavier than the other two. They might gain a little more light in dim conditions? But the field of view of the Diamondback seemed almost as good or better than the larger pair. Every birder needs a bigger pair of 8x42 quality binoculars, like our older Pentax binocular that has continued to work well for many years

The ed glass is spectacular. The eye relief is amazing. It is important to set the eye pieces extension to the farthest extent if using bare eye balls. The depth of field is generous and helps with quick acquisition of your target such as a little bird

these do not feel “cheap” in any way. And the image is great. Three position eye pieces - providing enough eye relief for eyeglass wearers, no problem. The diopter is not lockable but honestly it is a very firm adjustment - so it’s not going to be easily bumped out of adjustment accidentally

I wear glasses with a low distance prescription, but haven't needed them when using these binoculars, although the eye piece adjustment for glasses does work well. I love the strap and case, they feel very sturdy, and the binoculars themselves definitely have a very solid weight to them. I'm mostly using them for birding and watching wildlife, but they're great for sporting events as well! Overall a great investment to my growing collection of outdoor gear.

At handheld 8x42 full zoom, these binocs' edge chroma is nothing compared to the image bounce. If you are a hiker, the size/weight is the real drawback. I'm satisfied I didn't fork out the $450 for the next better model.

I have no regrets. The 7 is much brighter and the detail is so much better than the Monarch 5 that now I prefer to use the 7's. Yes they are more expensive and if you didn't have the 2 to compare you would be perfectly happy with the Monarch 5s. So it comes down to $ and do you want the best or can you live with good

I would think that as the price goes up the possibility of getting a bad unit goes down, but the worst (by far) of the units I tried was the Maven B1 10X42, basically a thousand dollar model. I found it frustrating to get a binocular this way without trying it out before buying. But this is the world we live in now, and Amazon's return policy does facilitate the process. I must say I was beginning to get a complex about returning these high price items though