alf85 Loc: Northumberland, UK.

A lot of people think if it costs more it's better, most of the time you are only paying for a name, the £15.00 pair i bought are far better than my most expensive pair.
Regards, Alfie.

wj cody Loc: springfield illinois

that may be your experience, however, i used leica binocs for the last 50 years and they are stunning, durable, dependable, and never fail.

lone ranger Loc: Port Saint Lucie, Florida

I purchased a pair of , Leica Binoculars.and i must say the clarity and crispness of these truly are spectacular, yes they are very expensive.. but are built very well and light weight, and came with a beautiful leather case, that i purchased on amazon...I highly recommend them...

ad9mac

I bought a pair of Nikon Monarch 7 bins. The CA was awful. Light objects outlined in red and green. Supposed to have ED glass, etc.
May have been the one pair that slipped through QC but negative.

I would look for a FOV of at least 390-400 ft@100yds.

Ended up with Vortex Viper 8x32. Used for birding. Very happy. The Razors likely even better.

Robert R Loc: Indianapolis and Naples

Vortex Razors are amazing. One of the rubber covers for the lens objective broke. I emailed the company, and a new set arrived in several days without charge.

wingclui44 Loc: CT USA

I have pairs of 8x30 12x50 and 20x60, no IS, They have tripod mount except the 8x30, this is for general use. The 12x50 is good for spot and small bird watching, the the 20x60 is for sky watch with tripod. For your question, 10x42 is a great for general use including bird watching. For $1000, you will have many good choices, look for the product from Leica, Swarovsky, of course Canon or Nikon even pentax. Some of them even nitrogen filled for fog free.

Dds82

Thank u all for the great advise.....I ended up with Nikon monarch 5-8 by 42 ......didn't want too much more heavy glass to carry with my camera lenses. Furthermore it had great ratings......thx again.

GENorkus Loc: Washington Twp, Michigan

Most binoculars don't have a shake control built into them, so for those I'd recommend eight power units for maximum magnifying. Above that and normal body shake screw up useage.

The Stein brand are very good as are most higher-end camera brands. (High dollar)

Besides Nikon and Canon binoculars don't forget to check out the Pentax line of binoculars! They are right up with the best!

wotsmith Loc: Nashville TN

We bought a "pair" of 10X IS Canon binoculars about 6 years ago. Yes the IS is remarkable. without IS a 10X is wobbling all over the place in my hands, but rock stable when you push the IS button. Get'em

DaveC Loc: Illinois

I['ve owned binoculars for many, many years. The best I've had are Leitz and Zeiss. And cost appropriately. There are several other brands in that stratospheric price category which I haven't tried. As I got older I developed Benign Essential Tremor, which means that the more I try to hold something steady the wobblier I get. Photography-wise, V-R has saved me. But I can no longer hold even a six power pair of binoculars steady enough to be practical. So, several years ago I bought a pair of Canon 10x30 IS. The IS feature is not perfect but it is certainly effective enough to allow me to continue using binoculars. Any I buy from now on will have that feature. There are several brands that have it besides Canon, I have not tried any. I picked the Canon 10x30 for two reasons, I really didn't want a higher power and most binoculars with VR/IS are. Plus, not knowing how effective it was I didn't wish to spend a lot of money. But I'm very pleased with them. On the other hand, if you are steady, why spend the money for VR?

wj cody Loc: springfield illinois

[quote=DaveC]I['ve owned binoculars for many, many years. The best I've had are Leitz and Zeiss. And cost appropriately. There are several other brands in that stratospheric price category which I haven't tried. As I got older I developed Benign Essential Tremor, which means that the more I try to hold something steady the wobblier I get. Photography-wise, V-R has saved me. But I can no longer hold even a six power pair of binoculars steady enough to be practical. So, several years ago I bought a pair of Canon 10x30 IS. The IS feature is not perfect but it is certainly effective enough to allow me to continue using binoculars. Any I buy from now on will have that feature. There are several brands that have it besides Canon, I have not tried any. I picked the Canon 10x30 for two reasons, I really didn't want a higher power and most binoculars with VR/IS are. Plus, not knowing how effective it was I didn't wish to spend a lot of money. But I'm very pleased with them. On the other hand, if you are steady, why spend the money for VR?[/quote]

and you can always plonk them on a tripod or monopod - i have the same difficulty, and my monopods and tripods are my best friends!

DaveC Loc: Illinois

I have them (tripods, et. all.) for my big binoculars (20x100s, etc.) but not practical for wandering around birding, when I also have one or more cameras, lunch and the like.

wj cody Loc: springfield illinois

i understand

texaseve Loc: TX, NC and NH

I Just did this and went through two pair before settling on a third fabulous one. 2nd one was Nikon pair 10 x 42 and it was too hard to hold steady and focus. Settled on Bushnell 8 x 42, the most similar to my Burris 8 x 42 that I love and stays at the cabin. These were $350.00 and are very nice. I also like the instruction that came with them to get the focus perfect for each eye and lock it in.

TomV Loc: Annapolis, Maryland

I have a set of Nikon 7486 Prostaff 12x25. Light (13 oz) and compact, I have no problems holding them still enough for birding. I also have a larger set of Vortex D5012 Diamondback, 12x50, 31 oz, that has a tripod mount. Pleased with both of them.