When buying binoculars, knowing the role that you want them to fill is key to knowing which is the pair for you.
I don’t just mean knowing that you want to look through them, any pair will do that albeit to varying degrees of quality.
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I’m talking about knowing the exact function you want them for, whether it’s bird watching, bug viewing, hunting or watching the stars, different pairs will give you different results.
But what if you simply don’t know what you want them for? Or if you want them for all of the above?
Nikon ACULON 8-24×25 Video Review – Watch Below
Well if that sounds like you, these Nikon binoculars may have answered your prayers with their ACULON T11 8-24×25 Compact Zoom Binoculars.
Multifunctional is all very well and good, but do they deliver, or just compile the faults of all the other binoculars in one small, easy to hold product? These are the main questions we aim to answer in our comprehensive review below.
Compact Binoculars Comparison
| Picture | Binoculars | Size | FOV | Weight | Rating | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Picture | Binoculars | Size | FOV | Weight | Rating | Cost |
| Nikon ACULON Compact Zoom Binoculars | 8-24x25 | 241 ft. | 12oz | 4.4 | $$ | |
| Celestron 71332 Nature DX | 8x42 | 388 ft. | 11oz | 4.6 | $ | |
| Bushnell Legend Ultra HD Binoculars | 10x25 | 285 ft. | 12oz | 4.7 | $$$ | |
| Leica Trinovid BCA Black Binoculars | 10x25 | 273 ft. | 9oz | 4.7 | $$$$ | |
| Leica Ultravid BR Compact Binocular | 10x25 | 273 ft. | 9oz | 4.8 | $$$$ | |
| Vortex Diamondback Binoculars | 8x28 | 360 ft | 14oz | 4.7 | $$$ | |
| Vortex Optics Viper Series Waterproof Binocular | 8x28 | 319 ft | 12oz | N/A | $$$ | |
| Carl Zeiss Victory Compact Binoculars | 10x25 | 285 ft | 9oz | 5 | $$$$ | |
| Pentax Papilio Binoculars | 6.5x21 | 393 ft | 10oz | 4.9 | $ | |
| Nikon Premier LX-L Binoculars | 8x20 | 356 ft | 10oz | 3.8 | $$$$ |
Nikon Aculon T11 Main Usage
The ACULON T11’s are a very versatile pair of binoculars. Stemming from the variable zoom and lightweight and compact build, these binoculars were designed with no major purpose in mind.
However, they do happen to be suited better to some activities than others.
Due to is short focus distance of 4 metres, and the option of a relatively low magnification, these are excellent bug watching binoculars.
The comparatively narrow field of view created by the 25mm objective lens, helps keep small targets in central focus, where the BaK-4 prisms handle delivery of a bright, high contrast image with minimal colour aberrations.
Another excellent use for the ACULON T11s is hunting. These compact binoculars are easy to carry through any terrain.
Their lightweight makes then comfortable to wear and doesn’t inhibit your movement on more taxing hunts.
Furthermore, the ability to observe a target from afar, and then zoom in further to asses conditions or identify further can prove invaluable.
A smooth and easy to access focus knob helps keep your target in crystal clear quality, which is essential for any successful hunt.
With great colors to choose from, small size and easy to use, these are great for kids binoculars.
Glass/Lens
Where these binoculars don’t come with an advanced price tag, they do come with more than adequate optics.
Featuring the ever popular fully multicoated BaK-4 Prisms, these binoculars optimise light transfer through each column of the binoculars, delivering bright, high contrast imagery.
With reflective coatings in the right places, the optimum light levels enter the binoculars, which makes for the best quality viewing experience.
Magnification
These versatile binoculars have a variable zoom, and are capable of magnifying an image anywhere between 8 and 24 times.
A moveable lever governs the level of magnification, with hand annotations at 8, 12, 16 and 24x zoom.
Magnification is over a 25mm objective lens, giving a clear and focused picture around your point of interest.
Image Quality
Where the general image standard is very good value for the price, this binocular unfortunately suffers from a few model specific drawbacks.
To being with, there has been a great deal of user complaints regarding miscollimation. This is where the image from one eye of the binocular is displayed higher than the other, resulting in image fragmentation and blurring, which is not ideal.
Furthermore, when transitioning through different magnification levels, the binoculars are prone to fall out of focus.
Where this is easily amended with a quick turn of the focus knob, it can get frustrating when you quickly want to change from one zoom to another.
At the highest magnification, the image is also prone to wobbling with the slightest quiver of the hand, which makes this binoculars a no go for the shaky handed.
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Eye Relief
As with all Nikon products, eye relief is not ignored during the design process.
This particular pair feature 13mm of eye room, which compared to other models is relatively small, yet large enough to accommodate for your glasses.
With Nikon once again making use of their popular turn and slide rubber eyecups, optimising comfort as well as usability.
Pros
These binoculars really come into their own when they are in your backpack.
That’s not saying they are absolute rubbish and shouldn’t be looked through, I’m saying that they are incredibly lightweight and portable.
Shipped with a carrying case for protection, and weighing a tiny 305 grams, you’ll hardly even know you’re carrying these binocs around.
With a variable zoom, the versatility of these binoculars is also a lot higher than a fixed zoom pair.
Cons
There have been numerous complaints among users about miscollimation in this pair of binoculars, where the image displayed in one eye is higher than the image in the other eye, resulting in fragmentation and blurring of the image.
Where the extent of this varies from pair to pair, it really shouldn’t be present at all. It ruins the viewing experience renders the binoculars pretty useless.
Conclusions
To summarise our review, the Nikon ACULON T11s are not a bad set of binoculars, but don’t stand up to others in their class, such as offerings from Pentax.
Where variable zoom has the potential to be a huge advantage, in this case it’s a hinderance.
With miscollimation and fragmented images at the upper and lower magnification extents, you’re better off finding a pair of fixed zoom binoculars for a more unique purposee.
However, many users have reported none of the above defects, so these binoculars could be worth the risk at around a very reasonable $150.
