NIKON Monarch M5 Binoculars | Waterproof Fogproof ED Glass Optics with Dielectric Prism Coating | Bright High-Resolution Outdoor Binoculars for Birdwatching, Hiking & Wildlife, 8x42

Great pair of binoculars. Lightweight, clear optics, easy to use.

Okay for EDC (not very small or lightweight) but excellent image quality and ease of focus. Will fit your medium sized sling bag or what we used to call a fanny pack.

I have owned these binoculars for a few years and my only complaint has been the field of view is a bit narrow. I also own a Nikon Prostaff P3 10x42 and Nikon HG 8x30. I have tried out many other binoculars such as Zeiss, Leica, and Swarovski that my friends own, and compared many binoculars in stores. I think the Monarch M5 is the best affordable pair of binoculars that I have tried. I only bought the Prostaff P3 because I forgot my M5s at home on a multi-week trip and found them for $100 on sale, but I can tell you the Monarch M5 is significantly better in terms of optics. The P3s are fine if you're not comparing them to anything, but side-by-side you immediately notice the M5 glass is way better. I have also compared the M5 to the M7 in store and I think the M7 is not worth the extra price unless you NEED wide field of view. The M5 is sharp edge to edge, whereas the M7 is sharp basically out to the point where the M5 field of view ends - I guess probably sharpness on the edge doesn't really matter for most people, but just something to consider. My Monarch HG 8x30 is a bit sharper, and with significantly wider FOV which is also sharp edge-to-edge, and performs the same in low-light at a fraction of the size... but it is also 3-4x the price. The difference in image quality between the M5 and HG is not a night and day difference, but the difference between the M5 and Prostaff P3 is. In the hand the M5 feels quite sturdy and pleasant to use and the eyecups feel sturdy and have a nice tactile click when you twist them in and out. The objective lens covers are nice and generally stay in place quite well, but feel kinda weird trying to push them in. The Prostaff line objective covers are pieces of junk in my opinion. I still own my M5s because even after I bought my HGs, I decided it's nice to still have a nice secondary pair of bins in case I go out with a friend or something. In the end it's up to you if you want to dip your toes into mid-range binoculars like the Monarch series, but I can assure you the optical quality is WAY better than anything below it, and is still fairly close to that of significantly more expensive models. TL;DR - you will not find a better pair of binoculars under $300 - they are optically great, and feel nice to use. The only sacrifice for the low price is the field of view is not very wide, but I don't think that's really a big deal. If you care a lot about FOV specifically, then you can go for the M7, but it's more expensive and feels almost exactly the same besides the wider FOV.

Worked great on a safari, from birdwatching to spotting rhinos from afar. Appropriate size and weight with high quality given packing limitations on a safari.

Very good optical instrument, however a bit larger and heavier than I expected. The mounted lens caps for the objective and exit pupil are a definite plus, no fumbling around if/when rain occurs, or dusty environment contaminates the optics. The central focus wheel is a bit too close to my face for my index finger to operate naturally.

I have acquired 5 binoculars, of various but reasonably similar powers, and decided to do a sit down test of all of them at one time. I figured this was better than just writing individual reviews of each as a binocular can seem quite good in the absence of anything to compare it to. I was primarily interested in if they are able to keep the whole field in focus, ie when it is focused on the center of the field are the outside edges in focus. I was also interested in chromatic aberration. These are the binoculars I tested in order of quality: NIKON Monarch M5 8x42 12x42 Powerful Binoculars with Clear Weak Light Vision Adorrgon IBQ Binoculars For Adults HD,12x50 High Power Binoculars Sold by: IBQ Tech 15x52 HD Binoculars for Adults High Powered with Upgraded Phone Adapter - GIGAPENGUIN IBQ Binoculars For Adults HD,12x30 Binoculars with Upgraded Phone AdapterSold by: IBQ Center My test was to attempt to focus on some willow trees with fine branches and fine leaves set against a white background of clouds. This I figured was excellent for figuring out if they had a clear field of view from edge to edge. I was also good to see if they had a chromatic aberration issue. I would inspect the interfaces of the branches and the clouds and look for color at the edges this would get obvious if you went a little bit out of focus you see a rainbow reddish color at the edges which indicates chromatic aberration which is not good. By far the best were the Nikon Monarch M5 Binoculars 8×42 6.4° field of view. The one I tested it runs about $250 but can often be obtained for around $200 in the “used like new” category. All the others were much less expensive but frankly so much worse that they are not worth buying with one possible exception namely the 12X42 from Adorrgon. I would say 80% of the field of view was focused with the Monarch which also gets good ratings on birding websites and was the favorite of the group for a South African safari we recently went on. The 12 x 42 Adorrgon was OK, I would say it was focusing about 60% of the field of view was in focus was in focus when you focus on the edge, the third was the 12×50 from IBQ. It was getting to the level of unacceptable with only about 40% of the field in focus. The fourth on my list was the most recent purchase Gigapenguin 15 x 52 with about 30% of the field of view in focus but even then the focus was uneven and showed muddy colors. For all except the Nikon monarch, the cases had a cheap feel. Overall, all but Nikon showed a lot of spheric aberration in other words if you were a little bit out of focus, you saw these rainbows on the edges of the leaves and branches and they were muddy overall. One important point is that the monarch was only 8 power, with the others having higher powers up to 15 power. Generally, I think people pick binoculars thinking that the higher power the better. This is usually not correct, the higher the power generally the more the issues you have with them optically they are also the heavier, longer and they are and have a shallower field of focus and are harder to get a good focus all the way across. Number five on my list was the 12 x 30 IBQ. I couldn't get the entire field in focus at all about 30% was in focus. For this and the Gigapenguin you couldn't even focus on the edge of the field. If you would take your eye and look at the edge of the field and try to bring it into focus and that wasn't possible so it means that there's bad optics to the binocular overall. I would say that the only binocular of these six worth purchasing with the Nikon monarch M5. They do a complete set of these various powers and fields of view, mine 8 x 42 is really nice solid binocular. It cost about three to five times what the others cost. This second one was the 12x42 Adorrgon which was acceptable and a whole lot cheaper than the Nikon at $40-$48 and none of the rest really are worth purchasing at all IMO.

Excellent optics with crystal clear viewing even it low-light conditions. They were a gift to a family member who was stunned to be able to clearly see the shadows of the moon’s craters.

These are the best binoculars if you are bird watching. I’m pretty new at it, but I ended up buying another pair so i can leave them on different floors in my house in case i see something out the window!

good binoculars for the price. made well, looks and feels sturdy. easy to use.

Excellent performance and value. Bought the Nikon Monarch M5 8x42 on sale. Very well made. Clarity is much better than another pair purchased from a top 5 brand.

Love the quality of these for bird surveys

Purchased to do a little bird watching from my balcony and while camping at the lake. Sharp image, easy focus. Smaller size, so comfortable to hold and easy to travel with. Lens caps attached, so I won’t lose them. Eye piece cover seems to fit well so far. I haven’t tried in lower light yet. Budget friendly. Arrived quickly and packed well. Very happy with purchase. Meets my needs.

Just a basic binocular ,similar to the previous version but with a slimmer body , redesigned diopter knob and neck strap, that,s longer, narrower, thicker with a contoured shape to fit around the neck, a slight improvement on the FOV (6ft). Images are bright and sharp with ED glass and all adjustments work well, one star removed as the finish is a bit basic but that,s a personal view.