Nikon 7218 Action 10 X 50mm Binoculars

I have owned a pair of these binoculars for years. This new pair is for my husband who has always said that MY binocs were so much BETTER than his. For catching Hawaii's red i`iwi and apapane (native birds)in the koa forests, these cannot be beat. For scanning the hillsides for sheep on Mauna Loa or elk in the Rocky Mountains, these are the best. These binoculars bring details alive in the landscape that you will totally miss out on otherwise. Long live inventions that really help!

This binocular works well with back yard nature watching, powerful but not too powerful. Able to fucos on humming birds quickly.

Excellent celestial binoculars for the price. The view is generally quite good, the device is not exceedingly heavy and they are rugged. This is an inexpensive pair of binoculars perfect for casual celestial viewing. The distortion of at the perimeter of the field of view becomes more apparent after usign them for a couple of hours, but overall the quality of viewing is good.
Update to my review 7-22-08. After using these binoculars for another year and some others, I can make additional recommendations for astronomical viewing. These ones still perform reasonably well for hunting down objects in dark sky (M, etc.) and are OK in bad conditions for getting oriented. However, for less money (about $50.00) I got a much better pair of Barska 15x70 at Big5 Sporting Goods. The Barskas are a better celestial scope, pariticularly in dark skies. I sometimes still start with the Nikon to get oriented, but once I am set to look in detail at things, the Barska gives a much better view, higher magnification, clearer field, less distortion. Therefore, I revise this review to indicate that the Nikons are perhaps not a great value. Also, the Barskas come with a really lame case, but who cares, cheap binoculars are meant to be out of the case and heavily used - don't baby them.

I purchased this product as last year's Christmas surplus at a very good price, but even at the list price it is a worthwhile buy.

Image quality for most average uses is excellent (you would invest in something much more expensive if you were a serious hobbyist). The advantage of this pair is that it is well made, and serves the purpose over a range of multiple uses (backyard birding, airplane spotting, landscapes, etc). And at the price point, if the kids drop it into the water, not a huge loss.

The unit is made well with excellent fit and finish, worthy of the Nikon name. I would recommend unhesitatingly for family use.

Quality optics and solid construction, as I would expect from Nikon. Good binocs for basic astronomy. Smaller diameter of the light exiting to the eye is better for old eyes.