A question for all those who use 10x as their primary or only birding binocular:
Do you find the narrow field of view to be a hindrance? I am particularly interested in high end models, where the 7-8.5x versions have ~7.5 degrees or more and the 10x have around 6.25 degrees, but the apparent view angle is roughly equal. Is the apparent view more improtant for comfortable and easy use than actual field if both are more than 6 degrees to begin with?
Having swapped from an old set of Mirador Porro's that had a good fov for 10x to Nikon Sporters which seem about average I admit it took me a while to adjust, but 6 months on I'm finding the smaller fov less of a problem when sighting moving birds. Personally I'd put sharpness ahead of fov in priorities but if all other things are equal...
Anything less than 315 ft at 1000 yards is unacceptable for me, and the more the better. However, there is a big catch here...
It's not the entire FOV that matters most. Often times it is the extent of the nice flat area free of distortion in the middle of the FOV that matters. Nikon LX and Swaros are excellent in this respect, almost all, or all of the FOV is nice and flat.
It's also the psychological factor. I just can't use binos that feel as if i am looking through down a pipe.