Vortex Diamondback HD 8x32 Binoculars DB-212

We have been bird watchers for decades and used primarily 10x42 binoculars in the mid-price range. I know I am a slow learner because I just this year decided to move from 10x to 8x, which apparently every birdwatcher knows is the better choice. To make up for my lapse, I have bought seven new binoculars in the last year. All have again been mid tier. I have purchased binoculars from Carson, Nikon and Vortex. The only differences is that they vary from 8X25 to 8X42. Over the years, all binoculars have improved dramatically and in the mid-tier have settled on a set characteristics. All the ones I bought this year have more or less the same specs.: BAK4 prism, water and fog proof, gas purged, fully multi coated lenses, spin-up eyepieces and center wheel focus. In addition, they all have more less comparable specs in other more esoteric categories like eye-relief, field of view and two or three other popular specs. Not surprisingly then, this means that when you are looking through all of these binoculars, they are excellent. What this means, if you handed me any one of these binoculars set up for me and focused at the right distance, I would not have a preferred choice. The big differences turn out to be almost always, mechanical. Some of the spin up eye pieces are loose and you have to mess with them. You almost always have to move the binoculars on the center hinge to make sure your eyes are lined up with the lenses and if the hinge is not really tight, you have to keep messing with that issue. You always have to spin the center wheel to focus and some have the problem of that process varies throughout the range. When you are bird watching, speed is almost more important than any other facet. Having to change a setting while you are out is always a major fail. The standout choice among the binoculars we bought this year are the Vortex. The model we got was the DiamondBack HD. We have them in 8X 25, 32, 42. The center hinge resists being jostled, and thus you never have to mess with that. There are two spin-up stops on the eyepieces and they lock at each setting. The focus wheel is smooth to turn throughout its range and, for us at least, has just the right tension. When I started my search to replace our old binoculars, it never entered my mind that the mechanical workings would have so much impact on what I thought made a good binocular. After several email exchanges with tech support at Vortex, I recognized the person I dealt with was truly tech support and not someone just answering email. Several of the technical specifications were reviewed with me as well as experiments suggested with the binoculars relative to eye-relief. The thoroughness of the guidance was unbelievable. My highest recommendation is any Vortex DiamondBack HD binocular you want to buy.

Compact and crystal clear. Perfect.