Telescope Reviews: Poll: What Size Binocular Do You Use Most Often?

None of my favorite sizes are on the list, so here's a few "add ons":

FUJINON 6X30 FMTR-SX (best "finder binocular" in my opinion, wide 8.2* FOV, FMC, exceptionally sharp, amazing depth of field -- 20 ft. to infinity, field flattner lenses, sharp almost to edge, WP/FP, long ER, also good for marine use, the IF EPs somewhat limit their use for birding, mil specs, very ruggedly built, significantly heavier than most 8X30/32 porros. Oversized prism housing may be hard to hold in small hands and prisms are inverted so most of the weight rests on your thumbs. I found them more comfortable to hold upside down. Production discontinued. Price ranged from over $600 at marine optics stores to under $400 at discounters.)

NIKON 8X32 SUPERIOR E (pulls double duty for birding and wide field stargazing, superb for both, exceptionally sharp on axis and sharp to within 5% of the edge, very good color correciton, long ER, FMC, 10 ft. close focus. Price ranges from $450 to $599.)

NIKON 8-16X40 XL ZOOMS, (in many reviewers' opinion, the best zoom binoculars ever made. Though 40mm may seem smallish for astronomy, the exceptionally sharp views, ability to "dial in" the appropriate power, and smaller exit pupils than 50/60mm bins yield pinpoint stars and very nice views of brighter DSOs against a dark background from light polluted skies. Sharp out to the edge, close to Nikon SEs in resolution. Not as good for close-in birding due to overlapping barrel shadows near close focus (can focus down to 20 ft. w/out eyestrain, shadows disappear at about 30 ft.) and the need to refocus both the left diopter and central focus for each power when zooming in (no diopter refocus necessary when zooming out, so I usually start at high power and zoom out). The 5.2* FOV is wide for a zoom binocular, but like telescope zoom EPs, the AFOV is smaller at low power ("tunnel effect") but increases rapidly as you zoom out. Excellent as a long distance "spotter". I haven't compared them to a FMC good quality spotter at 16X, however, I would suspect the Zooms might yield better contrast due to their two-eyed binocular views, though they are not FMC (MC). ER is short (12.9mm), however, the small exit pupils make glasses unnecesary for mild to moderate astigmatism. Weighs less than 2 lbs. Production discontinued, however, still available at Hotbuys and Focus Camera for $579.)

Brock