Nikon Sports Optics India

Nikon India launched their line of Sports Optics today in New Delhi. They had booked the lovely rooftop of The Oberoi Hotel so that we could take advantage of the view when we used the demo binoculars and other equipment. Also, because I was expecting to use a Fieldscope or two, I brought my Nikon D7000 to the event, instead of the FujiFilm X100 that I had taken to the previous Nikon event.

Above : making our way [ the driver of the cab and I ], through rain and snarly traffic.

Made it in time to exchange some banter with Nikon’s PR and other press / bloggers.

Was met by heaps of binoculars on the tables where the audience was to be seated. Sweet looking tiny ones and large military-grade ones.

Personally, I find it incredibly nice that Mr. Hiroshi Takashina, the Nikon India Managing Director, spends time with each of us at the Nikon events. And each time he sees a camera – regardless of the brand – he asks “How is it doing? Any problems?”

While I don’t have any interest in binoculars [ I’ve been brought up an Army-Officer’s child and I’ve seen enough military grade ones with too many options and dials to count ], I did have an interest in the Fieldscope above. I knew about it and had assumed there would be at least one demo piece. Alas, there wasn’t.

I can understand the reluctance of the team to keep a Fieldscope demo unit as they are expensive – around Rs. 1 Lakh, but they could have included at least one of the middle-range products. Same with the microscopes. My interest, as a photographer, was to see what I could further attach to my camera.

Once the presentation was done, we quickly stepped out from the crisp air conditioning into the extreme humidity of the rooftop. While it had stopped raining, the air was laden with moisture and instantly, all glass surfaces were fogged up. After a succession of rounds of cleaning with tissues and t-shirts, the optics cleared up and we all looked around.

Above : the binoculars I had at hand.

Above : The view of the students in the sports field of Delhi Public School across the road – through the binoculars.

Above : The naked eye view of the same school and sports field. Well, not that I expected the binoculars to do anything different but I’d spent so much time waiting for the moisture to clear that when it did, I had to do something gimmicky.

Above : View of the Humayun’s Tomb from the rooftop of the Oberoi Hotel.

Above is a small version of a panorama from the rooftop. Below if you hover your mouse and take it left or right without dragging, you should be able to see a larger scrolling panorama. Also, the crow on the left, is the same crow on the right. By the time I panned to the left from the right, he had flown.

Above : another view from a different binocular.

Above, same view from the naked eye – well actually from the D700 I was shooting through.

Stash of binoculars. When you don’t feel like stealing one even though there are so many strewn around, that’s when you know for sure you don’t need one *grin*

Lunch was fabulous. When I can combine my meat with fresh greens.

Just as I rushed out of the venue to leave, the gentlemen at the desk ran right after me to hand the above to me. I am so glad he didn’t miss me. I could have definitely stolen a few of these *wink*

To put things slightly in perspective, Nikon has been around, globally, since 1917. They have also had binoculars in their product line up since 1917. In 2012, this year, Nikon completes 95 years of existence. I can’t WAIT for their 100 year anniversary!

All Rights Reserved. All images photographed on the Nikon D7000. This is not a sponsored blog post. If you would like to purchase any of the images / prints or commission me for a shoot or if you would like me to cover your event as a feature, please email me on [email protected] for further details.