Here's an update: I tested the Fujinons and the Nikons. First off, waaaay too heavy. Secondly, what's with the irritating controls? "Press this button for 5 seconds, then tap it again to turn it green" etc. I was apalled at the UI of these two brands after the simplicity of the Canons.
But now lets talk about the most important issue, how they performed. I had heard that both the Fujinon and Nikon IS binos stabilized better than the Canons, but I had also heard that a function of the way they stabilize makes the image "jitter" or "slightly vibrate" while the stabilization is on. I found both to be true.
First I tried the Nikon 12x32 StabilEyes, and after pushing three different levels/buttons I finally got the thing on (I told you I didn't like the UI!  ) The Nikons stabilized much more than my Canon 12x32s (which I brought with me to test against); I could hardly make them shake even if I tried. With my Canons I've noticed that they definitely stabilize the image, but you have to concentrate on helping them along by not shaking too much. But now to the drawback I was talking about. When I concentrated on a white oil drum about 300 feet away againts a dark background, I noticed quite clearly that the edge of the drum was ocillating or "jittering" up and down at a electronic rate. It was subtle, but it was there. And the more I concentrated on fine, small, subtle details of the oil drum, the more the jitter irritated me.
Next up was the Fujinon 14x40 Techno Stabi. These had slightly easier controls, but still way to complicated for something that should be a simple on/off button. I noted that these stabilized even more than the Nikons! Try as I might, I could barely make them shake. I was intentionally shaking my hands quite a bit and the binos didn't show it in the view. However, the jitter I noticed in the image of the Nikons was even more pronounced in these. This immediately made me wonder if the more the binos can stabilitze, the more the image ocillates? No idea on that, just some wild guessing. But as I concentrated on the same oil drum, the jitter was so pronounced that it actually started to make me feel queezy. Perhaps this was only because I was really straining to see fine, subtle details, but I was totally turned off by it.
Next I pulled my Canon 12x36 IIs out. They definitely had the most anemic stabilizing function. I had to hold my hands very steady to enable a rock steady view. But try as I might, I could not detect any jitter or vibration in the images as I had seen with the Nikon and Fujinon.
Just for fun, I grabbed some 8x25 Canon IS binos too. These were so much FUN! Ultra small, ultra light, and at 8x with the IS on, it was like looking through a tripod without even trying to hold them steady. These were just a great kick in the pants. I heartily recommend them for someone who wants tripod views without the pain of setting up a tripod.
Lastly I pulled out the venerable Canon 18x50 IS. While they didn't jitter like the Fujinon/Nikons, the image quality was worse than the 8x25 and the 12x36s. I noticed more light scatter off the edge of high contrast items, due to the astigmatism found in these larger Canons. I can't believe people don't notice this more. Look at Jupiter or Vega and you'll see a huge flare coming off the object. The 12x36 series I binos I owned for a while had this problem too, but the series II improved on this.
Hope this helps with your selection of the right IS bino for you.
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