Binocular thoughts... - Vortex Viper HD 12x50mm Roof Prism Binoculars

Excellent binocular. I have a number of binoculars/spotting scopes including Leica, Swarovski, Razor HD. Mechanically, fit & finish, these are right up there. Focus wonderfully smooth, steady, eyecups very nice, etc. Optically, I am very impressed at this price point. The FOV for a 12x is pretty good, and the eye relief is also pretty good, yet edge performance is still decent. Not top of the line decent, but very good till you get to about 10%. And center performance is in my subjective opionion as good as the top of the line binoculars. Very sharp, very nice color rendition, and I have yet to notice any chromatic abberation. There is diminishing returns as the price goes up with binoculars, and these (for me) strike a very good balance of price to performance. I also like that they weigh in at less than 30 ounces, and are very comfortable to hold, partly due to their light weight but also the ergonomic grooves on the barrel.