Lots of good info here from people that have more experience than me. I'll give you my binocular buying experience from 2 years ago...
I wanted to find "decent" pair of binoculars and keep the wife from going ballistic, so I settled in on a $400-500 price range.
Keep in mind you'll have these binoculars for many years to come, if you take care of them and before the next "technology jump".
I went to "Kittery Trading Post" in Maine, which is my local "big hunting store" and grabbed all the binoculars that I liked in this range.
Bushnell, Nikon, Leupold, etc. probably 6 or 7 total and went to the closest window and played with them. Then I even grabbed some $1,200
models to compare what I would be missing. Surprisingly, I choose the (10X42 black) model below,
for under $200.
I had taken them to Texas on my 40th b-day hunt from my wife and a few guys forgot their optic,s so I let them borrow this pair and they loved them.
Two of the guys said it makes them sick that they spent $1,500 for binoculars 6 or 7 years ago that they didn't feel were much better at all.
My buddy has a 15 year old pair of Leica's he got cheap from a passed friends wife and they don't appear to be any better, just bigger.
Lot's of great technology in the past years, to be able afford a better value in Binocular's. Check 'em out
http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/te...amp;hasJS=true