I want to thank everyone who responded to my previous post regarding binocular magnification. I have decided to go with an 8 power, however my budget is limited. I was thinking about the mid-priced binoculars. I know the Nikon Monarch ATB and Pentax DCF WP are considered good bang for the buck but I am also looking at The Zeiss Diafun. Does anyone have any experience with the Zeiss Diafun? I am looking for both praises and criticisms.

Craig

Craig,

Have you considered buying second hand?

With Leica Swarovski and Zeiss having all released new models of late, there should be plenty of deals on the secondhand market. in particular look at the Swarovski 7x42slc..

I don't know about the States, but the place to look for good optics in the UK is the various Bird Watching magazines. Avid bird watches take there optics as serious as we take our rifles,

Regards,

Peter

Craig,

From talking with one of the Zeiss reps, the diafun series is a good choice. Only problems I've heard about was the noise they can make if they're banged up against something. They're lightweight and bright and clear.
Another brand you may want to look at would be the Minox brand.
Owned by Leica, it's a good mid-range bino. Uses a rubber armored aluminum body and, to me at least, has a better feel than the diafun's do.