They are what they claim to be - Steiner ShadowQuest 8x56mm Porro Prism Binoculars

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 quite stiff and I like that, it keeps the focus where I last set it to. If I could make one change it would be to incorporate an integral tripod mount into the binocular. Tripod mounting greatly enhances success when looking for elk at dusk and dawn, particularly when glassing heavy cover.