Nikon has announced no less than five new high-end pairs of binoculars, replacing older models in its Professional series. Costing between ¥187,000 and ¥310,400 (approximately $1,200 / £950 / AU$1,850 to $1,950 / £1,500 / AU$3,000 – we only have Japanese pricing at the moment), they're all top-end models with price tags to match.
In all the new binoculars, the imitation leather material on the grip of the main body has been improved over the models they're replacing, making them safe to use even in harsh conditions, such as rain or night dew.
Their waterproof and anti-fog structure is filled with nitrogen gas, and the entire range is said to have excellent image flatness and field of view, with little distortion even at the periphery, while long eye relief makes for easy viewing even while wearing glasses. They can be attached to a tripod using a separately available tripod adapter.
First up, the 7x50IF HP WP Tropical binoculars have 7x magnification and an objective lens effective diameter of 50mm. Like all the new models, they are designed for professional use, with an emphasis on durability, waterproofing and functionality, which makes them useful in fields such as marine navigation. The 7x50IF HP WP Tropical have an RRP of ¥187,000 ($1,200 / £950 / AU$1,850 approx).
The 7x50IF HP WP Tropical Scale offer all the same features, but add an L-shaped scale that can be used to measure distance and size. By reading the marks on the scale, you can work out the size of the target if you know the distance, or the distance to the target if you know its size. They are set to sell for ¥200,200 ($1,300 / £1,000 / AU$2,000 approx).
The Nikon 7x50IF SP WP also boast 7x magnification and a 50mm objective lens diameter, and offer broadly the same feature set as the Tropical binos, but add a multilayer film coating that makes them particularly useful for astronomical observation, so they are equally suitable for stargazing as they are for marine sports. The large-diameter lenses and multi-layer coating provide a bright and clear field of view. These binoculars are set to sell for ¥239,800 ($1,550 / £1,200 / AU$2,350 approx).
The 10x70IF SP WP offer an increased 10x magnification with 70mm diameter objective lenses while retaining everything else that is good about the 7x50IF SP WP binos, so again making them particularly handy for astronomical observation and marine navigation. As you might expect, the greater magnification and chunkier glass elements add to the price, retailing at ¥301,400 ($1,950 / £1,500 / AU$3,000 approx).
Finally, the 18x70IF WP WF have a massive 18x magnification and 70mm diameter lenses, offering the same basic feature-set of other binoculars that come with multi-layered film-coating, but with an apparent field of view of 64.3°. These also are due to cost ¥301,400 ($1,950 / £1,500 / AU$3,000 approx).
All the binoculars are set to go on sale November 29. But while you're waiting for these new Nikons to come out, why not see our guides to the best binoculars, best Nikon binoculars, best marine binoculars, or if your budget can't stretch to these pricier models, the best budget binoculars.
