Nikon Emperor HG 10x42 review

objective lens

official said that ED (low dispersion) lens is used, and this one should use high fluorine ultra-low dispersion glass to eliminate span 11span 12 span _span 12 chromatic aberration. I found that the objective lens should use a two-piece air separation , and the glass is thicker, similar to other high-end Nikon mirrors.

The objective lens coating is very transparent. It can be said that it is one of the best I have seen. The coating color is tobacco color, which makes the picture color very positive, as we will talk about later. The official claims that the coating is scratch-resistant, but I admit that I dare not try it.

92% of light transmittance should be considered relatively high, only possibly lower than the mirror equipped with Abbe prism. This may be attributed to the trend toward minimalism in optical design, such as a two-piece objective lens. The objective lens group has a built-in lens barrel which is relatively deep, and there are small gratings around the lens barrel. There are also gratings inside the lens barrel, but it feels that the extinction is general, and it is not comparable to the top lenses.

Close-up of Nikon HG10x42 objective lens

eyepiece

eyepiece design should be more complicated. But looking at it with a laser, I found that the eyepiece group lenses are relatively thick,It is very similar to EDG and Jihuang WX. The eyepiece has a diameter of 22mm, which is relatively flat and has no concave, so the design is very good, otherwise the concave lens will eat a little exit pupil distance. My measured pupil distance is 15mm, which is shorter than the official 17mm. Fortunately, I don’t have any problems with glasses.

This eyepiece does not have a big black eye problem, so it can be considered as a plus for comfort. The eye mask is also very easy to use. It is not as vacant as Leica and Zeiss. There are three gears for the eye mask.

Nikon HG10x42 eye mask stall demonstration

accessories

is not equipped with a traditional nylon , but it is not a practical package for Nikon . It's not like Leica's kind of light pursuit, and the protection is not enough. The eyepiece cover is made of hard rubber, so it takes a little effort to buckle and unplug. The objective lens cover is put on (objective lens barrel). The more annoying thing is that if the position is not adjusted properly, the objective lens cover always pops up. Fortunately, the cover is well made, and the Nikon logo is printed on it.

Nikon HG10x42 accessories

Ergonomics and feel

is actually very small, although the shape of the HG10x42 lens is very small. For people with small interpupillary distances, the lens barrel still has not enough space for fingers. The weight is definitely the leading level in the same class, 200 grams lighter than Silvateam EL, and it should not be so tired after long-term use.

It’s still very comfortable for handheld observation,Said another with a particularly big hand. The comfort of the eyepieces is also very good, you can wear glasses without black eyes, but I personally like to be longer. Focusing is also OK for me, although it is not as good as EDG, it is good enough. The diopter adjustment is not so good, it is awkward to use, not very accurate, and it is easy to touch it by mistake. Generally speaking, although this HG is not as well-known as Leica Zeiss, it is still a very fine small mirror.

screen

The screen is basically very good, sharp, bright and wide, with a lot of detail, almost nothing to criticize, the optical quality should be relatively high. When I look at birds, I noticed that the resolution of feathers is very good, and every detail of feathers can be identified with high resolution. The color performance is also very natural, neither cold nor warm.

compared with Nikon 10x42SE, the two feel similar. HG is colder, but the field of view is larger, and the edge (curvature of field) and depth of field are slightly worse than those of SE.

flat field

flat field is printed on the lens itself, so it must be flat field, and Nikon is also one of the first manufacturers to use this technology. The first impression during the day is that the field of view of is very flat.

In fact, when watching birds, you will find that the edge of the field of view will drop slightly, mainly due to field curvature, which is probably 15-20% of the extreme edge. This problem may be worse than the old HG and 10x42SE. Of course, many Leica and Zeiss mirrors also have this problem.The distortion of is relatively slight, and there is no obvious rolling ball phenomenon when scanning.

After Nikon HG10x42 eyepiece

chromatic aberration

is actually called the more effective chromatic aberration elimination glass, it should be called the official Nikon . The HG indeed did it.

During the daytime, there will be a little residual color difference. If you look at the tree branches, you will find that the outline of the branches will appear green or purple. But it is more obvious when it reaches the 15% of the extreme edge of the field of view, and the problem of field curvature also appears. In general, the chromatic aberration level belongs to the mainstream HD level, and there is a certain gap between it and the top mirror using two EDs.

twilight

This mirror is very bright, so the performance at dusk is still very good, even in dark places can also identify objects, such as leaves, stones or It was grass, and there was no glare.

stargazing

The weight of Nikon HG is very light, which is a bonus when holding a stargazing. The focusing is also very crisp, indicating that the optical quality is high. However, there are some problems with stray light suppression. on the one hand,There are no ghosts in front of the bright moon, even the strongest spotlights show only a little ghost. On the other hand, the prism has four very bright thorns throughout the field of view. This has never been seen in the daytime, nor is it seen when looking at the full moon.

A lot of veil glare appears under the moon and street lights at the same time. Therefore, the overall performance of stray light suppression is lower than that of the old Nikon 10x42SE or other high-end bird-watching mirror .

The weakening of the edge of the field of view has already been mentioned as a field curvature problem, but at night the problem of astigmatism also appears. The star points at the edge of the field of view have all become lines, and after the refocusing, they can become crosses, and then blur again into lines at the other end. This is very obvious during stargazing. The effect of viewing the moon with HG's 10 times is very good. Not only does it have no glare or ghosting, but the moon surface is very sharp, and many details can be seen. The powerful resolution makes the moon viewing effect comparable to any low-power astronomical mirror. The slight chromatic aberration only appears on the outer edge of the moon, but it is still better than Leica Trinovid. In addition, the effect of observing other deep sky objects is also excellent. There is no problem in decomposing binary stars. The only problem is the weakening or divergence of the edge star points, which makes this HG not so perfect.

Nikon 10x42 HG compared to 10x42 SE

pSEp HG10x42 compared to the old Nikon 10x42 HG. For example, the prices of the two models are similar, the market positioning is the same, the caliber is the same, both are flat, and the weight is very light.

• Nikon HG is overall smaller and lighter
• Nikon HG’s field of view is 0.9° larger
• Nikon SE’s field of view is flatter,Edge astigmatism correction is also better, so it is more suitable for stargazing
• Nikon HG's stray light control is also worse (only ghosting is slightly better)
• Although HG is an ED lens, the chromatic aberration control seems to be similar_ span12span
• both have high resolution
• Nikon SE has a longer exit pupil distance, so it is more comfortable, but black eyes are more serious
• Nikon HG is completely waterproof, SE is not _sli63lispan

If I choose, I choose HG for general viewing, and SE for star viewing.

Summary

Nikon HG10x42

may be the first impression of Nikon HG10x42

The results of the Leica Trinovid comparison. In fact, the workmanship of Nikon HG is very, very good, and the look and feel is equally good. The picture is very sharp, very transparent, and the resolution is very high. The eyepieces are also very comfortable. The main problem is the weakening of the edge of the field of view due to astigmatism and field curvature. Although there is a flat field, the stargazing aspect is still relatively weak.

Generally speaking, the advantages of this mirror are good workmanship, light weight and relatively beautiful price. The disadvantage is still in the optics, making it only suitable for daytime travel and viewing.

Nikon Emperor HG has excellent workmanship and good optical quality. The weakening of the edge of the field of view is only for stargazing, so you have to decide whether to buy HG or Leica Trinovid.