A Work Commenced September 10 2024

Product: Nikon Prostaff P7 8 x 30

Country of Manufacture: China

Chassis: Polycarbonate overlaid by protective rubber

Exit Pupil: 3.75mm

Eye Relief: 15.4mm

Field of View: 152m@1000m(8.7angular degrees)

Dioptre Compensation: +\-4

Coatings: Fully broadband multicoated, Phase corrected Schmidt Pechan prisms, Hydrophobic coatings on ocular and objective lenses

ED glass: No

Field Flatteners: No

Waterproof: Yes

Nitrogen Purged: Yes

Close Focus: 2.5m advertised, 2.28m measured

Tripod Mountable: Yes

Dimensions:12.5 x 13cm

Weight: 485g advertised, 476g measured 

Accessories: Soft padded carry case, objective covers, ocular rain guard, padded neck strap, microfibre cloth, instruction manual

Warranty: Limited Lifetime Warranty

Price: £189.00(UK)

The Japanese sports optics giant, Nikon, has firmly established itself as one of the most successful marketers of binoculars in the modern world. What sets them apart from the European manufacturers of sports optics is their excellent bang for buck. Another distinguishing feature of all the Nikon products I’ve tested is their excellent quality control. But, as we shall see, there are apparently limits to this.

In the last few years,   Nikon gave their entry-level and mid tier binoculars – the Prostaff and Monarch series- a makeover, incorporating more advanced features into these models that would have been quite out of the question only a decade ago. In this review I’ll be discussing my thoughts on the new Prostaff P7 8 x 30, the successor to the original Prostaff 7S 8 x 30 I reviewed back in 2020.

So What’s New?

Quite a few things actually. There’s a new hydrophobic coating applied to the lenses, which causes condensation to bead and slide off the optics in damp weather conditions. The right eye dioptre is now lockable and the field of view is substantially wider, going from 6.5 degrees to a whopping 8.7 degrees! And while it’s about 60g heavier than the first-generation Prostaff 7S, it still tips the scales at a featherweight 476g. The rubber armouring is also new with a more textured grippy feel than the original model.

I liked how it feels in my medium-sized hands. The textured rubber affords a good grip and the barrels protrude far enough beyond the bridge to allow your fingers to securely wrap around the instrument. But other things about its ergonomics niggled me. For one thing, the central hinge was too loose, so much so that I had to keep adjusting the IPD while in field use. The focus wheel is covered in thick black rubber with deep ridges. It turns smoothly enough but my unit had a small amount of play which detracted from the overall viewing experience. 
The eyecups are excellent, clicking firmly into well-established detents.
I’m not really a fan of lockable dioptre mechanisms, especially the designs used by Nikon and Vanguard. I find them overly delicate and a bit flimsy to say the least. And while the dioptre locked well enough on this unit, I was always left wondering when it was going to snap. In this capacity, a simple rotatable ring under the right ocular lens, like that exhibited on the less expensive Prosfaff P3 would have been more welcome …. and more durable I suspect!

Optics
Examining how the instrument handled a bright light source from across my living room showed up a few significant internal reflections as well as a small diffraction spike, which also showed up on a bright sodium street lamp after dark.

Daytime views are very good: it’s got a great big sweet spot, with excellent central sharpness and contrast owing to its phase corrected roof prisms and highly effective multilayer coatings. Colour tone looked neutral to my eyes, and its performance against the light proved to be above average. Testing on the brighter stars of summer in a twilit sky showed good off-axis control of aberrations with only mild field curvature slightly bloating the stellar images in the outer 20 per cent of the field. That said, what most impressed me about the little Prostaff P7 8 x 30 was its huge field of view: an enormous at 8.7 degrees! It really has to be seen to be believed! Indeed, it’s noticeably wider than the more expensive Monarch M7 8 x 30. 

1.3 revolutions clockwise takes you from closest focus(a decent 2.28m)to infinity. But there was not much ‘beyond infinity’ focus in my test unit. Eye relief is decent but nothing to write home about: I struggled to see the entire field using glasses with the eye cups fully retracted.

Conclusions & Recommendations

Clearly, the little Prostaff P7 8 x 30 has a lot of things going for it. It sports very good optics and a huge field of view. But in my unit at least it was let down by a somewhat dodgy focuser and a loose central hinge. The presence of internal reflections and a diffraction spike on bright light targets after dark didn’t endear it to me either. Maybe I got a bad sample? Maybe if I bought another unit it would turn out fine? If you purchase from a reputable retailer capable of checking these features prior to dispatching, then you might win the jackpot. All in all, I would cautiously recommend this binocular to the community and hope Nikon can iron out some of these mostly mechanical issues in newer batches. It downright deserves that much at least!

Dr Neil English is the author of Choosing and Using Binoculars: A Guide for Stargazers, Birders and Outdoor Enthusiasts, first published earlier this year.

De Fideli.