ORIGINAL: vichris

I made my living in the optics business for many years. Optician, Navy opticalman, opthalmic instrument repair, lazer optics tech.

Most of the brand names mentioned are pretty good. Nikon, Vortex, Leopold all make very good optics. Exceptionally good for the money. Personally I own the Nikon ATB 8 X 42.Now I'm not saying that the Nikons are better (or worse) but I will make some suggestions.

Which ever brand you chose.............get either an 8 X 42 or8 X 46. Here's 4 good reasons. 1... You'll have a great field of view, 2... a large exit pupilwill give you exceptional viewing in poor light situations AND because the exit pupil is larger your viewing will be more steady because that larger "dot" of light will cover your pupil better...more completely, 3... better resolution.....what ever you view will look sharper.... bigger power also magnifies flaws, heat waves, etc, 4...8 X will give youmuch more steady viewing, the more power the more shaking. Its amazing how much more you can see with a little less power just because you can hold them more steady. And remember alot of times you'll be trying to hold them steady with ONE hand under alot of hunting conditions.

With optics power is WAY over rated. Did you know it only takes 20 power to see the rings of the planet Saturn?

Last note........NEVER buy zoom binoulars ie 7-15 X 35 unless you really enjoy throwing money away.

Hope this helps...........