ZEISSSFL Binoculars 8x40 Lightweight, Compact, Waterproof, Ultra-High Definition Coated Glass for Bird Watching, and Hunting for Twilight and Low Light Wildlife Observation with SmartFocus, Black

We've been birding for a few years and have done stepping stone upgrades. Started with a beginner 8x42 pair, then upgraded to $500 bins, then to Monarch M7. Finally these Zeiss SFL 8x40 bins. Yes, there is a difference in quality each time, sometimes small, but you really do get what you pay for.

These binoculars really deliver a bright and clear image at an incredibly light weight. I would not have believed it was possible without testing them out, but you can believe it!

These are worth every penny. The optics are top-notch, super bright, crisp out to ~3/4 the field of view, and with amazing depth of field. Depth of field gives the "3-D box" which is the volume within the objects your viewing fully retain all the 3-dimensional aspects of being there. It's something cheap binoculars don't have and intermediate cost binoculars have a little bit. These also have excellent coatings such that even when the sun is near the horizon and toward my back, shining onto the sides of the eyepieces, the coatings do an excellent job of killing those reflections. I wear eyeglasses, so I cannot use the eyecups, and therefore this aspect of stray light control is very important to me. I recently took this on a safari and I highly recommend them for wildlife viewing! When you are going to spend a long amount of time looking through glass, having glass like this makes it delightful!