The new Nikon-Callaway rangefinder - rebadged Monarch's ?

Guest

I wonder if anyone know if the new Callway Nikon Golf laser range finders, called LR800 and LR1200, simply are rebadged Nikon Monarch 800 and 1200 hunting range finders or if Callaway and Nikon have added some extra features to these golf range finders ?

http://www.callawayrangefinders.com/

Guest · Posted: Mon May 28, 2007 12:14 am Post subject:

And I also would like to know if the Buchnell PINSEEKER function is a function that the Nikon Monarch also has ?

I tried the Nikon 500G range finder and it was quite a bit slower at zooming in on the flag from 150-200 yards out - the Bushnell Pinseeker was CLEARLY faster and better than the Nikon 500G. Would like to know how good the new Callawa Nikon LR1200 model will be in competion with the Bushnell 1500 Pinseeker - the most important for me is the fastest unit with the margest magnification. IN my view the Nikon 500G is outclassed by the Bushnell 1500 because of the Pinseeker mode, which the Nikon lacks.

Would ne nice if the new Callaway-Nikon LR1200, which is based on the Monarch 1200, has a function that zooms just as fast or preferably even faster than the great Bushnell Pinseeerk 1500, in on the flag.

I want the best quality optics, the fastest at zooming in on the flag and most portable - and I will gladly give up $600.
The most important thing is its ability to zoom in on the flag FAST and NOT slowly like the Nikon 500G !

opticsplanet.com · Posted: Mon May 28, 2007 7:01 am Post subject:

Hi

Since we have yet to receive one of the new Nikons, can't give you any feedback at this time. Will gladly share a review when we have one to test.
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Guest · Posted: Mon May 28, 2007 8:55 am Post subject:

opticsplanet.com · Posted: Mon May 28, 2007 11:45 am Post subject:

Hi

That's anyone's guess when it comes to Nikon. I wouldn't get in a hurry, though.
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ycross · Guest

hello,
after having the pinseeker 1500 w/ slope and seeing that callaway was rebadging the monarch... I, without much thought, went ahead and bought the monarch 800 model (not callaway's). When I got the product, I was stoked as the size is amazingly smaller that the pinseeker and the optics while a bit less zoom (6x vs. 7x) were great as well.

so here I was stoked and ready to use it. I had loved the ability of the pinseeker but not its size. WELL i was in for a shock...went to the range and couldn't get an accurate reading for a flag anywhere past 150yds, and I found it was much harder to hold still (i had been using 2 hands for the pinseeker, and because of the size could use one for the monarch...ended up having to use 2).

I am sending mine back right now and going back to the pinseeker straight away. Hopefully the new callaway models will have some "pinseeker" magic inside. BUT the standard Nikon models (assuming the 1200 is the same as the 800) can not even come close to the pinseeker as far as zoom, speed, and pin pickup.

sorry if jumbled, in a hurry.

It also should be said that the pinseeker was my 1st rangefinder so my experience is not that great. That being said I know that the 800 monarch is not even close to a good a rangefinder for GOLF than the pinseeker.
hope this helps.

opticsplanet.com · Posted: Mon Jun 11, 2007 7:47 am Post subject:

Hi

Thanks for taking the time to provide the excellent feedback. Yes, to date, I have not seen a better golf LRf than the Pinseeker.
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givm6 · Guest

ycross,

I just bought the Nikon Monarch 800 and love it for golf. You didn't have to send it back and there was nothing wrong with it.

The Monarch 800, because it is designed for hunting, comes preset in the "far-target" priority mode. In this mode the unit looks for the farthest target (such as distant trees) and ignores the near target that the laser may hit (such as a flag or flagstick). This allows a hunter to capture the distance to an animal in the woods or grass despite brush that the beam may hit between the hunter and the animal. The Callaway model, essentially a rebadged Monarch 800, I'll bet comes preset for the near-target mode since it is marketed as a range finder for golf.

All you had to do was take a quick look at the directions to shift the unit from far-target to near-target mode. Press down on the power button to turn the unit on, then press the mode button and, within 1.5 seconds, press the power button. The mode shifts from far-target to near target and you will see a G in the bottom part of the sight picture that indicates that the unit is now in near-target priority mode. I did the same thing for a dim-witted golfer friend the other day that was ready to send a new Monarch back for replacement because of the same reason. After changing the target priority he loves it.

I took the unit out the the range yesterday and was easily able to range the distance to every pin from 60 to a far-distant flag at 356 yards. I was able to target either the flag or the pin for ranges out to about 200 yards. It is an awesome rangefinder and ideally suited to use in golf and hunting this fall and winter.

Guest · Posted: Sun Aug 12, 2007 9:33 pm Post subject:

I have the Nikon 800 LRF. The 800 has both first target (used for golf) and distant target (used for hunting). I find the 800 is the fastest LRF i have used.

Nikon Monarch 1200 owner · Guest

All,
I recently purchase the Nikon Monarch Gold 1200 and found it superior to the previous Nikon 400 range finder I had before. Its close object priority vs distant object priority is the same as Bushnell's Pinseeker technology and works great. You do need to turn it on, as by default the NMG1200 is set for distant object priority. The only difference between the Callaway version and the NMG model is the case. I'd rather have the CAllaway neoprine case over the NMG carrying case, but with the price on the Callaway being hyped, they are not discounting it as much as the NMG model. Almost $150 less... I'll live with the other case. I've compared it to the Bushnell (a friend has the Bushnell 1500) and they are both very accurate, the Nikon being a tad bit faster and smaller.

Ryan_W · Site Admin Joined: 16 Jun 2003 Posts: 427

Hi,

We received a shipment of the Callaway LR800 models. It is basically a Monarch 800 yet as predicted by givm6, this unit is factory set to first target priority mode, which will greaty speed up the acquisition time of a flag. Also, using Scan mode, you can sweep from left to right around the flag and see when it targets the flag instead of the trees behind it. This will prove to be an excellent model for quick and easy acquisition to the flag.
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