The Nikon Aculon 7x50 Is Great
I’ve tested the Nikon Aculon 7x50 for a short while, and it’s a great binoculars.
Aculon is Nikon’s sub-brand for cheap binoculars.
I’ll compare it to the Nikon OceanPro 7x50 center focus, which costs twice as much:
+ Both are sharp.
+ The OceanPro has a wider apparent field of view: I can see more things to the left and right of the primary subject. It feels panoramic.
+ The view from the OceanPro is more beautiful in some subtle way I can’t put my finger on. It’s a marginal downgrade to the Aculon — one I could spot only because I’m so used to the OceanPro.
+ Both have a 50mm objective, so they’re great for use at night. Both have a 7x magnification, which is the maximum you can manage hand-held. Both are sealed with nitrogen to prevent fogging. In addition, the OceanPro is waterproof.
+ The Aculon is slightly lighter and more compact1, and so may be better for people who value practicality over a slightly better optical performance, which is to say, the majority of people.
+ At night, both perform identically.
+ As you can see, the Aculon gives you 90% of the quality of the OceanPro for half the price. Sometimes companies make a cheaper version of a product that is noticeably worse. Not the Aculon — it’s cheap and great. Nikon should be praised for their product design. You can see the Aculon’s drawbacks only if you’re used to the OceanPro or other high-end binoculars. If I didn’t have the OceanPro to begin with, I’d be happy with the Aculon. If this is your first pair of binoculars, or you don’t have high-end ones like ₹20K+, or you have only binoculars with a small aperture like 25mm, or your existing binoculars are shaky, or budget is tight, buy the Aculon, and it will make you happy.
I also compared the Aculon with the Nikon Trailblazer 8x25, and the Aculon is a huge upgrade, with a much better image. I wouldn’t even use the 8x25.
Only in comparison with the OceanPro. But both are far from pocketable or light in an absolute sense. No 7x50 binoculars can be.