Nikon Sportstar EX 10x25DCF

Product Information

You’ll need a steady hand, but 10x magnification is a great choice if you’re doing a lot of long-distance viewing and if you want to see more details from further away. Let The Light In! I put these up against Brunton Lite Tech 8x25s. Both have exactly the same optical specifications. 429' fov / 65 deg afov / 10mm eye relief. These all-weather binoculars can also be used on a daily basis, both indoors and outdoors. Besides its anti-fog, compact and lightweight design, the Nikon Sportstar EX has a folding function. This makes it easy to store and take them with you whether you are going to a picnic, a hike or a show.

I had examined a Sportstar some months previously and did not remember liking them at all, but I gave them a second try while in Salt Lake City over the weekend. Here are my impressions. Featuring a twist-type dioptre ring, these binoculars allows you to manually adjust the focus for each eye to give yourself the best overall image. Nikon understands that not all eyes are the same, which is why these binoculars were designed to work with different eye sights and eye needs. The Nikon Sportstar binoculars have 10x magnification, meaning they can make your subjects appear 10 times closer than they would with the naked eye.

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Waterproof (up to 2 m for 5 minutes) and fog-free with O-ring seals and nitrogen gas for added resistance to the elements Lucznik....you are right on. Obviously you know your stuff. I totally discounted eye releif as it is not a deal breaker with me as I dont wear glasses. This would increase the value of the Sportstars on "your" matrix. I am particularly fond of wide fov's aparent and true. This would also bring up the score. Devalue the waterproofness issue and phase coatings (non phase coated roofs can outperform phase coated due to other factors) and you can easily reach 90% maybe even 100% or as far fetched as it sounds 110%, depending on the individuals personal preferences. But quibbling over numbers in a matrix is not what Im about. Nikon Sportstar EX is equipped with 25mm objective lenses, featuring excellent quality roof prisms and multi-coated lenses. This design maximizes light capture and utilization and enhances the overall optical performance. While the large objective lens collects extra light, the multi-coated lens coating ensures minimal reflection, resulting in bright, vivid images even in poor lighting.

The Sportstar took hits for its eye relief, for being only "weather resistant," and for not having phase correction coatings, all of which are very important to me. Overall it scores a 6.17. The Nikon has.... Less waterproofing. Not nitrogen purged. And lessor hand feel. They are not as tough as the Bruntons...obviously. The Nikon is lighter at 10oz. And has a ridiculously low minimum IPD, due to its double hinge design, which also contributes to the Nikons being less rugged. Nikon also has twist up eyecups for those who bother with that at such tight eye relief. Nikons coatings beat the Bruntons hands down, leading to better brightness and contrast. Optically the Nikon is noticably better(probably due in large part to those nasty looking Emerald Fire coatings on the Bruntons objectives), which counts high on everyones list. They also beat the Bruntons for compactness, especially when folded for storage.It has 10x magnification, making your subjects appear 10 times closer. If you do a lot of long-distance viewing and want to see more detail from farther away, the Sportstar EX 10×25 is a good choice. This device has a wide field of view that lets you see more of the area surrounding the observed subjects. This is particularly interesting for observing several subjects at the same time or fast-moving objects. Lenses – Should have no marks on the elements andoptically clear. There may be light dust present that will not effect theimagery. At my first look-through I instantly remembered why I wasn't impressed before. Eye relief is just terrible, only 10mm. So although the FOV is (on paper) impressive at 429 ft., there was just no way I am going to ever get even close to seeing all the way to the edges with my glasses. This by itself, would be a deal breaker for me and I just can't understand what Nikon is thinking. Among the binoculars with which I am familiar, this is the one with the second lowest eye relief (the worst is the compact WindRiver Mesa with only 9mm!)