Nikon MONARCH 7 8x42 Binoculars - High-Performance Optics for Bird Watching and Nature Observation

Akshay Singh: Good build quality, great optics and compact size make it worth the price.

India on Jan 30, 2022

Tom M: Yes, you may be thinking...I should've gone with Zeiss or Leupold; not willing to remortgage the house to purchase some of that incredible glass. Almost went with Vortex (Vortex Viper HD) and even though the brightness / sharpness of those set of glasses is incredible, my Monarchs are more than enough (for now). Granted, I only compared the two in store (and in the parking lot), I think the Vipers may have the edge in low-light settings but again, I didn't buy a set of binoculars to go out in the dark with. The Monarchs are comfortable in my hands, are not too heavy and the detail is sharp enough (and they get me close enough to all the Bald Eagles I follow around the land). Well worth the money. Great craftsmanship.

Canada on Apr 01, 2021

Ranjeet Jacob: This is every birders dream! Brilliant!!!!

India on Mar 06, 2021

Gregory A. Gillson: 8x42 is best size for bird watching.

(The 10x is poorer in all specs but may be better for ducks and hawks and distant birds in open)

Excellent wide field of view for spotting birds when you raise them to your eyes.

Good eye relief for eyeglass wearers.

Great ED glass and Bak-4 prisms. Bright clear view even in dim light such as in the woods at dawn on overcast day.

Waterproof, fog proof.

Good edge to edge sharpness. Very little chromatic aberration at edge.

Sturdy. Light weight full sized binocular.

Close focus of 8 feet is good for birds but could be closer for butterflies at your feet.

United States on Aug 07, 2020

Paul H Franklin: The ergonomics are outstanding. The weight, balance, grip, etc, are unassailable. I wouldn't change a single thing. The optics are quite good -- the Monarch 7's punch way above their price class. The single most-notable aspects of these bins are the extreme depth of field in-focus, and their very wide field of view. The sharpness and brightness are very, very good. If there is a negative -- and to me, there is but one -- it's that the focus knob is just a trifle over-damped, which makes it a little slower to respond than I would call ideal. Apart from that one minor niggle, this is a tremendous value and a superb performer -- especially at this price point. You;d have to spend over $2K to find a binocular that provides an iota of better performance.

United States on Jun 04, 2020

This Guy: Best FOV and best clarity and brightness of any pair out there hands down. BUT- the rolling ball effect is nauseating and impossible to live with. So if you are sensitive to motion sickness and will be panning and scanning and don’t want to toss your cookies- go with the vortex diamondback hd. Although the viper hd looks as good as the monarch 7 optically, it has the Rolling ball effect too and is a stiffer focus and body and is heavier. The styrka 7 looks just as good optically but has kidney beaning and even worse rolling ball effects.

No other pair under $450 out there has the smoothness and lightness and brightness of the nikons monarch 7 or 5’s 8x42 except the diamondback HD 8x42. Believe me I’ve tried them all.

But if you can live with the rolling ball effect - The monarch 7 is the ultimate set of bins. And has a wonderful case perfect for your belt loop- although the Velcro is stupid because it’s so damn noisy!

But the optics are phenomenal and the grip is superb and they are nice and light. If they could just add some pincushion distortion to fix that nauseating rolling ball effect these would be the best. Was so bummed.

United States on Apr 07, 2020

R. Paquette: Bought these for faunic watching from the house since we live in a wooden area and enjoy frequent visitors of many species. We also owned a pair of 8x40 by Bushnell for a few decades. The latter have Porro lenses, are quite heavy with average optical quality; they will be left in the pickup truck for the occasional side of the road sighting.
The Nikon are lightweight, easy to use and appear of sturdy fabrication. They come with lens caps, a carry strap and a good case.
The field of vision is sufficiently wide and the details are enhanced by the superior clarity of light transmission. They are clearly of superior quality when compared to the Bushnell, but at about 5 times the cost, $559CAD that is. Expert reviews have compared them to some high end and much more expensive products, not equivalent of course, but even so.
We are very satisfied so far and recommend this product

Canada on Jul 08, 2017

VUFNDR : These are superb binoculars from both an image quality and handling perspective. If you are into birding or wildlife viewing these are ideal.

I own the Monarch 3 8x42, the Minox BD 8x44 BP which are porros and the 8x42 Monarch 7s. I also own a Nikon Fieldscope 80.

The first thing you notice with the Nikon 7s is their wide field of view compared to other binoculars in this class. Field of view is a full 8 degrees whereas most binos in this class are around 6%. The wider field of view is a key reason I purchased the 7s.

Optical performance is excellent both in strong sunlight and in dusk/dawn low light conditions. Colours are rendered accurately such as distant reds in low light which is always a good test when comparing binoculars. I also find the 7s have a very good depth of view especially compared to the 3s. The more traditional porro prism binocular design of the Minox gives a superior depth of view given the wider spacing of the objective lenses giving a more 3D effect when looking through them. However for a roof prism design, the 7s provide excellent depth perception.

The 7s clearly outperform the Monarch 3s in overall image...

Canada on Mar 16, 2016

Jeff: I've had these for about a year and used them for astronomy and birding. They are bright, comfortable to hold, and easy to focus. They have a much wider field of view than any binoculars I have owned before and are a delight to use. They are sharp across most of the field of view - maybe 75-80%. The outer 20% is somewhat soft but still bright. I've seen a bit of chromatic aberration if I get a sharp enough light dark contrast like the moon on a dark night. It's much better than lesser expensive optics but I'm sure resolving it takes a 2-5 fold increase in price. They are right where I would expect a $400-500 pair of binoculars to be.

The strap is fairly comfortable but you might want to spend a few bucks on a harness if you plan to walk around with them for hours at a time. It has a handy case with a belt loop but it seems like it would be too large to actually carry around that way. My wife thought I looked ridiculous with the giant pouch on my waist. I'm happy with my purchase and with Nikon's warranty I know I have a great tool to use with my two hobbies for many years to come.

Update: I've used these regularly through today in April 2017...

United States on Dec 02, 2015

Bird Lady: For this review I compared the Nikon Monarch 7 8x42 to the Monarch 3 ATB 8x36 & Pentax DCF 8x42 that I own. Both Monarchs are excellent binoculars. I compared all 3 throughout the day during variation in lighting. The 7's hold an edge over the 3's in terms of detailed clarity & low light definition. At 7:30pm there was a clear advantage to the 7's in terms of color & clarity when viewing a cardinal. The color saturation & clarity is much better for both Monarch's compared to my Pentax. Distant viewing held a slight edge with the 7's compared to the 3's.

Bottom line:
Both Nikon Monarchs are excellent. The 3's are smaller, lighter, & fit female hands perfectly & are considerably less expensive and great value for the $.
The 7's are larger, slightly heavier, & don't fit hands as comfortably but are better in terms of overall clarity & low light definition & color saturation. There really was not appreciable difference in 36 vs 42. These however, cost a little over $ 200 more. I am not sure it is worth the difference but I opted for the improved glass in the newest Nikon Monarch.

United States on Mar 11, 2013