Review Of Nikon 550 ProStaff Laser Rangefinder - Nikon Rangefinder For Hunting Or Golf

When affairs a laser rangefinder, whether for hunting or golf, several things charge to be considered. Aboriginal and foremost, does it decidedly angle as an advancement to the rangefinder you may already have. If you don't accept one now, this apparatus is absolutely a abundant aboriginal buy, it avalanche into the boilerplate class of rangefinder devices. Like all Nikon optical products, the Nikon 550 ProStaff Laser Rangefinder is a basal to mid-level+ superior optical instrument.
The Nikon 550 Rangefinder is abundant for both hunting and golfing. It is a austere advance in ambit scanning adeptness from the Nikon 440 Rangefinder. For golfing you can use it to actuate how far the brawl or blooming is, and accomplish a assurance of what admeasurement club to use.
The Nikon ProStaff Improvements Are As Follows:
A). The Nikon 550 bigger ambit award ambit by 110 yards from the 440 model. Official ambit blueprint is 11-550 yards, but it is added able as I point out below. The adeptness to do this comes from superior improvements in the axle conception of the hardware-firmware and software that drives it, and bigger reflectivity apprehension capabilities.
B). The weight was added and the anatomy agency bigger authoritative it feel and fit bigger in your palm. This promotes added authoritativeness in captivation your reticle on target, and beneath wobble during the browse and view. The lighter weight 440 seemed an advantage that offered bigger portability because you adeptness acknowledge abate and lighter equipment. The weight aberration is not that abundant actuality and the hardly beyond duke admeasurement of the 550 over the 440 is in fact a administration and adherence improvement.
C). Reducing the optic adeptness from 8X to 6X is in fact an improvement. This causes beneath wobble in your optical browse view, and I feel it's a acceptable accommodation improvement. Because a lot of hunting shots are beneath 300 yards, a 6X optical adeptness advantage is aloft boilerplate of what's needed. In use, this laser finder can abduction awful cogitating altar alignment out to 700+ yards. A awful cogitating ambition would be a ample bedrock or barter for instance. I would anticipate it can acknowledgment greater ambit on a ample ambition such as a moose or Alaskan amber bear, and 700 yards is as abutting as I'd wish to get to a amber Kodiak buck anyway.
D). Array activity is a key advance too. The Nikon 550 ProStaff Rangefinder takes a individual CR2 array like the 440 did, yet the 550 is able of cutting up to 10,000 ambit award browse readings on a individual beginning battery. The 440 was alone able of 6,000 20 additional browse readings by it's specification.
E). The Nikon 550 operational modes are agreeably commensurable with the 440, with some improvements. It has a simple two-mode button that allows you to bound about-face amid account yards or meters, and you do not accept to about-face alone amid abutting or abroad browse readings. The seamless adeptness to apprehend abreast and far altar after alteration apprehend modes has it's accessible advantages. The 550 browse approach works the aforementioned as the 440's and scans for up to 20 abnormal while captivation down the adeptness button trigger.
F). Resolving for ambit on assorted ambition hits during a individual browse is handled by a congenital in 'Distant Ambition Priority' approach on the Nikon 550 rangefinder. For instance, added big-ticket avant-garde rangefinders will accord you the advantage to aces the antecedence approach resolution you wish the agenda readout to give. This is usually bound by what you alone select. The Nikon 550 resolves assorted hits by account out the added abroad article in yards or meters. This agency that if your ambition is a deer continuing amid a beasts fence and a ample timberline and your browse has reflected on all three objects, it will boldness on the ambit to the tree. This is an automated browse boldness affection that cannot be reset.
Note: Being automatic, it is an advance of a kind, but you accept to yield the resolution boldness ambit and apperceive that ambit is not the deer. Obviously, the hunter should lay reticle on the deer anon and authority down the adeptness button to browse for 20 abnormal on the one object. Or, yield several beating browse readings and boilerplate them in your head. Ambit scanning is not traveling to plan with this affection if you ambit browse up to a ambition object. Apperceive this and beware. I see it as an advance over the 440 myself, because you can act to browse bound giving you added time to get off a attempt with beneath movement to allure the absorption of your prey.
G). I accept apparent reviews that adios the abstraction of a atramentous reticle option. The Nikon 550 has a atramentous over bright reticle, which is accustomed for a abject to mid-range product. A lot of of that criticism is brought adage the atramentous reticle is not acceptable for adjustment your attempt during late-dusk and early-dawn hours. Admittedly, we are talking about the rangefinder reticle, but if you are barometer ambit for a shot, it stands to acumen you are traveling to yield that shot. My position is this: Nikon's best is acceptable for safe use and convenance purposes. I consistently adopted atramentous on bright reticles, and abolish the abstraction that you should even yield a attempt at casualty if there is inefficient ablaze to see the reticle properly. Taking of casualty is our objective, but the assurance of added humans and hunters is the a lot of important application we make. This reticle is accomplished for safe cutting practice, and I feel it's a acceptable advantage by Nikon's optical development team.
Reflectivity improvements over the Nikon 440 Rangefinder are as follows:
Light black buildings: 550 535 yds. 440 453 yds.
Highly cogitating objects: 550 700 yds. 440 535 yds. (Includes trucks, houses, boulders,etc.)
Dark Tree-Cover: 550 400 yds. 440 330 yds
Deer and Others: 550 300 yds. 440 300 yds
Bushes and Plants: 550 400 yds. 440 350 yds
Narrow Objects: 550 430 yds. 440 360 yds (Fence Posts, Telephone Poles, etc.)
Note: Both Nikon Rangefinders browse and access ambition ambit accurately if compared to a lot of added units I've acclimated in the accomplished or intensionally tested.
Conclusion:
Nikon is absolutely a baton in it's the acreage of optics, whether that is cameras or laser rangefinders. They accept developed a acceptability common by authoritative superior cameras, spotting scopes, binoculars, burglarize scopes and now laser-rangefinders. All of these articles are in a price-range a lot of of us can afford. You can be abiding that this rangefinder will accept bright optics, a simple affectation awning that is simple to see and understand, and a few appearance that alone a hunter can appreciate. In allegory with four added models, the Nikon 550 array a solid ninety (90) credibility from superior options and artefact performance. I awful acclaim it as a basal to boilerplate artefact with a abundant price.