Nikon Aculon T11 8-24x25mm Zoom Binoculars, Black

Powerful, clear and bright. Very compact for the power, will fit into a large jacket pocket like on a field jacket, or cargo pants pocket.We went from those compact 10x25's you get everywhere and are so cheap they are disposable - which they have their place, in the glovebox for when you forget to bring something. They are better than nothing.Then I got my wife the Pentax 8-16 compact, which was SOOOO much better, brighter. Larger than what we had, but still compact. Made me jealous, so I got these Nikons. Same size as the Pentax, bit more power on the zoom. We love 'em both. The Pentax is cheaper and lower power but still quite good. If you can spring for the Nikons, do so. Either set you will not be disappointed.

Very lightweight and compact. I use them mostly for birdwatching. When not in use, very convenient to keep them in the case on my belt. Adjustment is good. Zoom works well but you need to be very steady if using full zoom. Minor irritiation is that focus needs to be slightly readjusted when zoom is changed. Seem to be good quality coated lenses but I am not an expert. Good value.

The good:-Nice clear sight picture on low to medium magnification-Small, compact, lightweight, easy to carry-Variable powerThe bad:-Field of view shrinks tremendously when zooming in with higher power-Difficult to steady in hand at high power, causing high power to be nearly useless

The Past:I had a pair of Nikon "Travelite" compact zoom binoculars for about 15 years until they finally got misplaced, lost or stolen somewhere ... haven't yet figured out when or how. I didn't use them all that often (e.g., sporting events, concerts, hiking, etc.), but liked them fine when I did.The Present:This "Aculon" model is apparently Nikon's current version of the same nocs, and I was able to get the price under $100 by applying some "points" I had built up over the Christmas season, so I went ahead and ordered a replacement pair. I think I would have tried another, less expensive brand if I hadn't gotten the discount, but I also would not have gotten the spectrum of zoom offered by this product.Optics/Eyepieces:I think the optics are every bit as good as the originals. Very clear and sharp to my eye, even at the highest zoom magnification. My previous pair had flexible eyecups on the eyepieces. These ones have a screw-out fitting/extension on each eyepiece instead. Works fine for the purpose (screen light entering between your eye and the lens), and probably a bit more stable/strong than the eyecups were.The movement of the eyepiece barrels when adjusting for individual eye separation is smooth and tight, but the point where the barrels contact/stop at the glossier, fixed-position plastic housing in the top/center of the nocs is a recess that will pinch the tips of your fingers if you have them too high up on the barrels when you open them up all the way to put the nocs back in their case. Just a design quirk to be aware of/get used to, I guess.Zoom:As many (including me) have previously said, the field of view (FOV) for these compact binoculars is fairly small to start with (that's the tradeoff for their compact, lightweight size), and use of the zoom function progressively: 1) reduces both the FOV and the amount of light passing through the lenses to your eyes, and 2) makes it more difficult to control "jitter" in your image. Translation: you probably won't be able to use much zoom for moving targets at all, and will need some kind of support accessory (e.g., monopod or hiking pole) for best zoom viewing of stationary targets.The zoom on this pair works with a lever on the top of the case, instead of a rotating eyepiece knob like the old ones ... makes it easier to operate the zoom while you're looking through the nocs. The zoom lever is smooth and easy from lowest magnification to highest ... it doesn't "stick" at any fixed magnification points (as one might think from the appearance of the labeling on the lever) ... definitely an improvement over the older version.Summary:All in all, I'm happy with these. Only "negative" impressions I have are actually "two-sided." These nocs just look and feel a bit more "plasticky" than my old ones. The rubberized armor coating that used to cover the eyepiece barrels seems to have been replaced with some kind of flat-finish plastic. However, the "business" parts of the nocs all seem to work just as well as my old ones, and the design changes/lighter materials make the nocs a bit easier to carry than their predecessors, which is definitely a good thing in a set of compact binoculars ... same performance, lighter carrying weight. That's an acceptable trade-off for me. Four stars.

I got these binoculars for my wife. We do a lot of hunting and go on a lot of out door adventures. She loves how light these are, and loves that she can zoom in to take a closer look at things. She has been very happy with these so far. I've even borrowed them a few times because my binoculars are only a 7 power. These are nice & clear, but of course you may need to steady yourself when zoomed in. They are light and great for hiking & hunting, they would also be good for bird watching, or just checking out what that lump is on the hill.

Likes, size, ok clarity, nice case.Dislikes, price, dark...especially on zoom, worthless lens cover, controls are impossible to use with gloves on....very Baaaaad for hunting.

For an 8x bino, these are great. I used the zoom to look at a bird that was a silhouette in a tree about 40 feet away. With the low end of the magnification, I couldn't see the colors. At the high end magnification, I easily identified it. Also used it with solar eclipse protection during the Aug. 21, 2017 eclipse to see the sun closer. It worked just fine.

Just received these today and unfortunately I'll have to return them. I have a larger pair of Nikon binoculars that are excellent but wanted smaller ones for hiking. I had high expectations for these. However, I've noticed the same problem that another reviewer stated earlier. At anything other than the minimum magnification, you have to use these with one eye closed as they are badly miscollimated (mismatched). The image from each eye can't be merged. Using with both eyes makes me dizzy and gives me a headache. The optics seems ok but at the highest zoom, the FOV is so tiny as to be useless. All I see are two tiny circles, each with a slightly different image.

Absolutely awesome! Nice snd light for hiking and easily adjustable. First pair of binoculars that I can say I love them!

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They are one of the most amazing and compatible binoculars.ProsEasy to carryLight weightClearity is amazingGood choice for trekkers and ornithologistsConsCost is too muchBiocular setting not up to the markI wish there was a camera attached to the eyepiece

So so optics.

not that great. returned it.