Nikon Venturer LX 8x42

The Venturers are Nikon’s flagship line of their Premier roof prism binoculars, and they are very impressive. Venturer LX binoculars come in 6 different configurations from compact to full sized although only the 8x42 model is reviewed here.

The 8x42s are optically bright, producing a sharp and undistorted image right to the edge of the field. Based on an alloy chassis, it is well shaped and sits easily in the hands.

With an MSRP of $1441, this ranks in the highest price range for birding binoculars. Deep retail discounts can bring it down to around $900, making it a serious contender in this price category and certainly an excellent value.

Nikon has done a lot of things right with these binoculars. The Venturer is O-ring sealed and nitrogen-purged to be completely fog- and waterproof. The black rubber armoring is nicely textured for a no-slip surface on the barrels. Nikon describes it as shockproof, a strong claim over shock-resistant. Unlike most binoculars, which have a fairly straight taper from the objectives to the oculars, the Venturers are nicely contoured to fit comfortably into the hands. The 8x42s have a close-focus of 10 feet, which is a bit long by today’s standards, but still acceptable performance. The field of view at 1000 yards is 366 feet, about average for an 8x binocular.

A number of other features show the real care that went into the design of this binocular. The locking-ring diopter adjustment is on the right ocular. To adjust it, lift the ring up and twist in either direction. At the desired position, push the ring back down, locking it permanently into position. This mechanism should be the standard for all diopter adjustments. It’s easy to use, won’t shift from the desired setting in the field, and does not lock the overall focus during diopter adjustment.

The eyecups twist out to properly match the 20mm eye relief. They have a click-stop depression to fix them in place when fully down or up. Technically, this is an all-or-nothing mechanism. However, there is substantial resistance in the twist mechanism, and when partial extension was tried in the field, the cups tended to stay in place rather than collapsing down. The eyecups feature rather pliable rubber armoring so they conform slightly when pressed against the eye sockets, thus helping to minimize glare and stray light problems in the field.

The focus knob is large, and features the same rubber-armored surface, augmented with grooves for extra grip. The binocular shifts from close-focus to infinity in just one full turn. The model we received for review was slightly stiff, which may simply reflect its newness. In any case, the sure grip of the finger on the knob made focusing simple and easy to achieve. As noted above, the optical performance is superb: bright, sharp and completely free of edge distortions or chromatic aberrations of any kind.

The rain guard is two cups of the same pliable rubber, joined by a flexing bridge segment. This allows you to put on the rain guard without changing the distance between the eyepieces. Unfortunately the cups are loose enough to dislodge under some conditions. The strap is threaded through a loop on the left side of the guard and features a split loop on the right side so it may be slipped onto or off the strap as desired. They even angled the split in the right hand strap loop to make it easier to slip on, yet harder to slip off by accident. The hard rubber lens caps fit snugly on the ends of the barrels, and were not easily dislodged, even when shaken. The pliable leather case has a stiff leather bottom for additional protection and is designed to close around the strap with a Velcro-attaching flap.

If there is a knock on this binocular at all, it is the weight. At 6.2 inches tall by 5.5 inches wide and weighing 34.2 oz., it’s among the heavier entries in the high performance optics class. Inexplicably, after so much thoughtful and rational design, the strap to support this weight is thin cordura with a wider section at the neck and a bit of foam rubber padding on the inside. Our advice: buy it for the optics and supply the strap of your choice. Overall, the Nikon Venturer LX is an excellent binocular with outstanding optics.