It took me many years to understand, accept and believe that the benefits of 8x bins far outweighed the extra magnification of 10x. I now far prefer 8x and have only bought 8x bins in the past few years. I only very rarely hanker after that missing 2x magnification these days.
Can I apply the same logic to move from an 8x bin to a 7x bin ? I know all the technical and optical advantages, but what magnification provides the optimum trade off? The reason I ask is that I plan to evaluate the Ultravid 7x42 and the new Zeiss FL 7x42 (when available) as my primary bins. Will I miss the extra 1x power in the field? Moving from 10x to 8x is a 20% reduction in magnification. Moving from 8x to 7x is a further 12.5%. Is it a step to far? Has anyone had positive/negative experience with this transition?
see this old thread that I started...i have had the same thoughts...still not sure...but leaning to 8x as a compromise..
http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=12283
They have some 4x binoculars as well, should be even better. Most are made of plastic and are for sale with souvenirs and other tourist junk.