absolutely love it. Use it every day at work.

The optics are pretty clear and bright. I also have the Steiner 8x22 monocular and you can tell this one is brighter. Given this is 5x vs 8x, it's hard to compare other aspects. The center is sharp. It does lose this sharpness towards the edge. I like this offer which is the same as the other 5x15 Nikon monocular that looks silver and is more expensive, vs white in this picture. When this one came it was silver. Only difference seems to be time. This one came from Japan and took about 3 weeks which I think is not bad. The estimates were way longer. I wish the 7x15 had a similar offering. The best part is the close focus which seems around 22 inches. Creates alot of potential uses. I can't wait to use it in a museum.

Update: I've been wanting the Leica 8x20 monocular and was lucky enough to have a store near me with one. I wanted the Leica to be amazingly better than this monocular for me to justify buying it. It wasn't much better if at all. The salesperson even made the comparison with me and agreed. It was very nice for her to be honest about it. But, at least, now my mind is at ease that this is a pretty good monocular at a very reasonable price. Also saved me alot since I don't need to get the Leica now. The loose cap that everyone talks about doesn't bother me much, but I do know what they mean. And, the case is pretty thick. The build is really solid. I really like this monocular.

Just right for carrying in my purse or pocket for quick bird spotting. Very good quality, with a nice feel in the hand. Of course, the optics are amazing, being a Nikon.

Very small and lightweight. Easy enough to carry in your pocket or purse. The optics are very nice and provide a very nice and bright image.

For a sailing trip, I wanted magnification that I'd be likely to have in my pocket with relatively low power so Motion of the boat would be a minimal problem. I compared this 5x mnocular with 10x and 8x binoculars and found that I could pickout more detail with this 5x because shak was less a factor. The opticsl quality is excellent. The only con I found was that small focus ring rotations made significant changes. A finer thread wold meke this easier to operate. This monocular's near focus of about 2 feet allows close examination of insect activity with a worry about desturbing those that might sting.

This tiny monocular can be ticked away in a pocket or hung around ones neck and be always available.