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M onarch x 10x42 or Vortex Talon 10x42

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nodule View Drop Down
Optics Apprentice
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote nodule Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: M onarch x 10x42 or Vortex Talon 10x42
    Posted: April/18/2011 at 15:31
Hi,

I am trying to decide between the Nikon Monarch x 10 x 42 or the new Vortex Talon HD 10 x 42?

Im not sure if anyone here as been able to get their hands on the new Talon yet, to even provide
me with any feeback.

I have heard that the Nikon Monarch X has a major design flaw, with the bar in the center
and it not comfortable in the hands. Do any owners find the Monarch X uncomfortable??

Any thoughts?

Thanks

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Klamath View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Klamath Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: April/18/2011 at 22:07
Truth being stranger than fiction sometimes, I just happen to have had both of those binoculars in hand today at a Sportsman's Warehouse.  I do not like the center bar in the Monarch X.  It is a major design oops in my opinion.  Yes, as far as I am concerned it makes the binocular hard as well as uncomfortable to hold.  Without the bar the Monarch X would be essentialy an open hinge Monarch design wise, which would not be a bad thing, as I always thought the original Monarch was pretty comfortable.  While the optics are decent, I don't think there is enough improvement over the original Monarch to justify the extra cost of the X.  Whether my dislike constitutes a design flaw is probably debatable Big Smile.  I think I'd call it a peculiar design characteristic.  While the binocular has pretty good optics,  I don't think they are as good as the Talon.  The Talon is pretty obviously just a different version of the design exemplified by the ZEN ED. This one just has a Vortex label on it.  The only differences I could see is the Talon has a different shape on the focus wheel (which has no practical application).  The other is the Talon has thicker armor than the ZEN ED.  I can touch the tip of my thumb to the tip of my middle finger around the barrel, between the hinges, on the x43 mm ZEN ED.  I can't on the Talon.  This is just enough to make the Talon feel bigger than the ZEN ED, and the ZEN is big enough already.  Image characteristics, eye cups, hinges, focus action, and arrangement of glass in the interior are identical as far as I can see.  Let me focus one of each, and I could not tell the difference in the image to save my life.

Edited by Klamath - April/18/2011 at 22:31
Steve
"Everything that can be counted does not necessarily count; everything that counts cannot necessarily be counted". William Bruce Cameron

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nodule View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote nodule Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: April/19/2011 at 07:05
Thanks for this detailed response.

I think I will purchase the Vortex Talon 10 x 42.
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alexbino View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote alexbino Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: October/06/2011 at 05:53
I have owned Nikon Monarch X 10.5x45 DCF Made in China. I see very little chromatic aberration at the center and slightly to the edge. A more middle bright, more middle contrast image with color bias light red, they also have excellent centre sharpness and loss sharpness edge.
Nikon has an original design with the bar in the center and me comfortable in the hands.
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