Nikon ACULON A211 16x50 Binocular | Multilayer coating, Porro prism Binocular with turn and slide eyecups, Tripod Adaptable | Official Nikon USA Model

Pros:Thick solid metal tripod adapter.18mm wide eyepiece, vs 16mm on my Celestron 10x50 and 13mm on my Tasco 7x351.5 inch wide neck strap with leather backingThick, padded carrying pouch, without a strapMy reflection in the Nikon lenses (Objective and eyepiece) are dimmer than in my Celestron 10x50's by at least half, which is good for the Nikons.Sharp images with easy smooth focus. Not much turning required to focus.Near focus of 15 feet not 28 listed, but I am a bit near sighted but don't use glassesLight and easily hand holdable by me, but I've had lots of practice and am young. I can hold it steady with one hand.Measured exit pupil at thinnest point, and it is exactly 3.1mm, vs 4.3mm on Celestron 10x50Pressing my eye sockets against the eyepieces does not move the focusI can see veins in distant tree leaves that my 10x50 only shows the general leaf shape ofThe objective covers stay on easily and can clip onto the neck strap.As I look around my dark house inside, lit only by one computer screen, the view through the Nikons is no darker than with eyes.The smooth sides of the eye cups makes it easy to tape paper light shields on them to block side glare. It made the viewing that much more enjoyable.Careful measurement confirmed that the apparent field of view is indeed 61 degrees, a degree wider than my 10x50 wide angle, and that the magnification is indeed about 16x.Cons:During the day, I must look straight forward. I can't move my eye to look around the field of view like I can with my 10x50, because the exit pupil is smaller and gets blacked out. This is not a problem at night. At 5pm, with my pupil a bit larger, this is no longer an issue. I get better use during the day if I'm very careful to measure my interpupilary distance and match the eyepiece distance to it exactly.The eyepiece covers are too big and fall off the eyepieces. But they do clip on the neck strap so they don't have to fall on the ground. With some tape, I can make my own covers that double as side light shields.The carry pouch, although nicely padded, is small, and you have to really stuff the binoculars in there to barely close it.===The Andromeda galaxy and M33 are easier to see with the 16x50 than with 10x50. I did not see a dimmer view with the smaller exit pupil. In fact, the Nikons seem a bit brighter, even when looking at houses without any porch lights nearby. The Pleiades look better and show more stars in the 16x50. When looking at Venus, near sunset, I noticed some faint stars with the 16x50 that I could not see with the 10x50. Orion's belt also had a denser star field in the 16x50 than in my Celestron 10x50, though not by a large amount. Venus looked larger, but I still could not see its phase. Jupiter looked larger and rounder in the 16x50, and the moons were a bit easier to see but still small. I could not see stripes on Jupiter. The moon looked a bit better too, though not spectacular. I did not see any extra details at 16x that I could not see at 10x; however, I did not have to look as hard to see them. Any detail obvious at 16x could be verified at 10x. I was getting tired from being up late, and shake was more noticeable in the 16x than the 10x.I can locate M82 and M81 in my 16x50, but not in my 10x50. M51 and M101 are much easier to locate too.During the day time, the 16x50 expands every detail I could be curious about with my naked eyes. It makes me feel like I'm over on that distance hill, walking through that tall grass. The 10x50 is more for seeing the full picture.16x is as high as I can go and still have good depth of focus on terrestrial objects at different distances. At 25x, I have to refocus for each distance. Also, 16x is as large as I can go and still figure out where I am in the sky just by panning around. At 25x, I can just point and look but not know where I'm truly at unless I recognize and object of known location.I recommend owning a Nikon 7x35 and a Nikon 16x50 for both big picture views and detailed inspection. Get a telescope if you want more power.

Was between this and their 10-22x50 zoom model, am very satisfied I chose this pair. The 16x zoom provides plenty enough viewing power as I can now see actual people in their boats out on my favorite lake and tell who's catching fish and methods they're using. Can also see all the wild life close up now, not to mention a decent view of the moon on those clear evenings. With 16x all you need to do is select your target and focus, no messing around with the zoom which I suspect I'd be doing if I purchased the 10-22 model, not to mention the cost savings. I actually bought a used tripod for it and it connects easily with the included adapter, but in hindsight probably overkill as I ditched it on my last few trips because I can easily hold it steady enough for my needs.

I intended to use these only with a tripod but found I could use them handheld if necessary. Surprisingly. Also, remarkably bright image for this much power. Very close focus. Much closer than specs say. I can look at birds at 20 feet, and maybe closer, in astounding detail. Crisp detail. I use them in the house on a tripod to look at birds at my bird feeder about 23 feet away. Amazing. So much value for the dollar. I don't know how Nikon does it.

Can you get a pair of 16x50 binocs for $40? Yep. Then why pay $140?Because the quality is worth it.I have bought dozens of Nikon products over the last 30+ years and have never, not once, been less than thrilled with the quality and dependability of their products. You simply don't have to question whether it is going to be good or not.These binocs are no exception.The only criticism I have is that the diopter adjustment knob is a little hard to use if the eye cup is down all the way and you have large fingers.Apart from that these are great!The case is nicer than I would have expected too, very well padded.The Nikon tripod adapter is not plastic but solid thick aluminum.Even the neck strap isn't El Cheapo.So yeah, if you are looking to spy on the neighbors, go spend $40.But if you are looking for a high quality pair of binocs, you can feel very confident about spending the extra money for these.You really do get what you pay for...and that is a good thing.****EDITED OCT. 29, 2017****I do have one beef with Nikon that needs to be mentioned here. I buy a lot of their products because they are simply that good. But when you pay top dollar for something you expect that the details will reflect that. And on the binoculars (and other Nikon products) they do...except the lens caps. Nikon makes the worst lens caps on the market, whether it is cameras, or binoculars, and these may be the most frustrating lens caps of all time. The eyepiece cap just sits loose over the eyepieces. There is not even tension to hold it in place. The barrel end caps don't go over the barrel like most caps do, they snap into the inside of the rim...if you set them in just right. If you don't, then they stick in place for a few minutes and then fall off. Nikon has fixed something that wasn't broken here, and ended up making it worse. Fortunately, after-market standard lens caps can be purchased cheaply, and I would highly recommend it. Again, not an issue with the binocs themselves, but just a fairly important detail that could have been done better. -1 star.