Here is a follow up to my message. I didn' t think buying binoculars would be this difficult. The hardest part of my search was finding a place that had the particular binoculars I was looking for in stock. It was no good if they had just one cause I was trying to compair one to another. The most common and ones I looked at where the Pentax, Nikon, Leica, Brunton,Steiner and Swarovski. All in a 8x42. I found the 8x42 slightly more clear and a bit sharper then the 10x42. The upper end Leica, Steiner and swarovski where the best but out of my price range. I did use these as a comparison to the rest though. It came down to the Pentax and the Nikon. They where so cloce to the Leica that I could justify the extra $400. After looking at them both a couple different times I didn' t see any difference in sharpness or clarity. Both have coated prisms,fully multicoated lenes and water and fog proof. The difficulty was buying them for the right price and without waiting for back odered double talk. I wanted to buy them locally but most couldn' t come close to the internet prices. I was leaning towards the Pentax DCF-WP but the new Nikon Monach' s where equal in every aspect and the best delivery time. I end up with the Monach' s from an internet supplier(Advanced Photo Scource) for $238 total including shipping and was pleasently suprised with there customer service. I was a little reluctant with buying over the computer and uneasy waiting thru the weekend. Come Monday afternoon they where delivered sooner then promised and exactly as advertized. After getting them and looking at them really close they' re outstanding for the money. I' m glad I took the time and completly satisfied with these Nikon' s. Thanks for all the imput. JERRY