) newbie!What I am looking for:
Water and weatherproofing - they are for regular outside use in the UK - so at some point they are going to end up getting rained on!
Fog/mist resistance - I think this comes from nitrogen filling and some specialist coatings on the lens - again important for effective outside use
Light - these are to accompany me when I am out with my camera kit, so weight is an important factor to consider as is:
Smallish - not looking for super small, but easy to pack would be a great help (would be extra great if you know if they will/would fit into a: http://products.lowepro.com/product...-AW,2041,43.htm - that is 20 width X 10 depth X 21 height cm)
Good range - a quick look around others with similar interests shows that 8*40+ or 10*40+ ranges are the general ones used by birders and wildlife enthusiasts in general
Budget (the all important budget) - I have set myself a maximum of £300 for this - I am not ideally looking to go over this amount; further looking around at the general advice concerning construction it seems as if there are a few pitfalls (such as collimate checking) which one can fall into if one does not test the binos in person - to me this says go for shops rather than online (which of course affects prices).
The above is what I have worked out and even within one single company (I have Bushnell's product list) I can see that there is a lot of scope for different models and settings - leading to a sea of confusion for me in this - so any and all advice is very much welcome -
Thank You