Here's a preview of the new Nikon super binocular, the Nikon EDG.

Our Nikon sales rep stopped by and placed one of only three EDG binos floating around the country in my eager little hands. For those of you who don't know, Nikon is repalcing their long admired Premier LX with this new model and are pulling out all the stops to make it the best ever Nikon binocular. How did they do, in Joanie's opinion? First thing I noticed, because I am very fussy about focusing, is the exceptionally smooth focusing. It's pinky finger smooth and effortless with no slop. This is a great feature for those of us who have to use a bino with one hand, since we are also carrying a spotting scope. Handling is Swarovski EL style all the way, complete with thumb grooves on the barrels, which are also armored for comfort.

Okay, no one is going to pay big bucks for a binocular that just focuses and handles well. Got have the optics to justify this price. The new Nikon EDG did not disappoint. Edge sharpness contines in the Nikon Premier LX tradition at 90% plus - as good as it gets in a binocular. There was an ever so slight trace of barrel distortion, but still better than most other premium grade binoculars I have tested.

The big news about the Nikon, though, is their use of ED glass in the objective. Did it make a difference? Oh, yeah. Color was near perfect, with an ever so slight trace of colr off axis, but none I could detect on axis. Birders like me will ove this.

Now, the best for last. This was a 7x, but in terms of resolution and contrast on the optics chart, it scored higher than some premium and equally pricey 10x binos. No way. Just didn't seem possible, so I checked it again. I swear I could see separation on the lines on the smallest grid. Just not possible in a 7x, but there it was.