Reviews & Ratings for Steiner ShadowQuest 8x56mm Porro Prism Binoculars — 4 reviews — Page 1

These bino's are rated as the best in class for low light viewing for a reason. With very low light conditions at night due to 1/8 moon that night or extremely clouded over sky. You won't find a bino more advanced for the natural light gathering abilities no matter the money. I've used all brands imaginable from high end Swarvoski,Leica,Zeiss, Bushnell, Minolta,Leopold, and Hawke. None compare to these Steiners. Especially when the high end bino's are 3 to 4 thousand dollars more. The size of them make finding a bino case extremely hard to find. But discovered a gentlemen who had the connections to get me a custom case made for a very reasonable price. I have had these bino's now over 4 yrs amd can take alot of abuse with no ill effect to looks or mechanical function of them. The no focus feature originally set on them is true to their statement. I would highly recommend these Binoculars and Steiner 10×42 since I also have a that bino too.

I bought these for stand hunting blacktail deer in heavy cover and looking for elk under low light conditions and for those purposes they absolutely have that need covered.

We own Nikon EDG, Swarovski, Zeiss Victory and Leica binoculars, the glass here as judged against some pretty stiff competition compares very favorably for all around use but given their size will more likely than not get only limited use for daytime observation of wildlife. The long and short of it is: For birdwatching and general wildlife viewing, unless strictly used from a blind or stand, you can do much better by selecting a nice full size 40 or 42 mm objective binocular and profit from having much more compact binocular.

When used under low light conditions they really come into their own. I don’t think that this binocular can be improved on for that purpose. We had a Docter Nobelim 8x56 B/GA that was stolen and this binocular impresses me as at least it’s equal. The Docter had center focus and this Shadowquest has individual eye piece focus. For me, the jury is out, as far as which I prefer. Mox nix is what I am inclined to give as my opinion right now. I may be in the minority on that opinion however, due to my many years of experience using Leupold Gold Ring 10x40 poros and a Leupold 9x25A pocket binocular. Both of those were individual focus and I became quite fond of them even though that feature made them less than ideal as far as their close focus distance.

The focus adjustment is q...
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The build quality and optics are superb. I purchased these Binoculars primarily for Astronomy. The optics are coated to provide the highest light transmission possible @ 96% and in low light conditions they excel. Stars are pinpoint tack sharp with no halo or artifacts. At 56mm they are bigger than the standard 50 mm Binoculars for a little extra light gathering but they are not so heavy that a tripod is needed. They are "sport auto focus" which means there is no center focusing wheel, all objects past 60 feet will be in focus due to deep depth of field. The key is to focus each eyepiece individually, take your time to focused to your individual eyes. I used a street sign at 50 yards and I can easily see the screws on the sign. At 100 + yards I can see individual buds in tree branches and small details on birds. These are easily the best Binoculars I have ever used. Highly recommended!