[Petesot]

Hello all

Out of interest, does anyone have any experience with the Minox BL 8x56 BR? I was wondering about it's optical and handling qualities. I'd also value any opinions to how these might compare to other large objective lens Minox binoculars or say the Vortex Razors, Zeiss Conquests, Meopta Meostars, Nikon Monarch 8.5x56, etc.

I'm thinking about buying a decent, mid-price, low light binocular for bird watching and for viewing the night sky but with a higher magnification than 7x. For bird watching, 8x50 might be more convenient than 8x56 (lighter) or 10x50 (steadier) but the angular field of view is fairly narrow and similar in quite a few 8x50/10x50 models I've checked; must be a quirk of optical design. For astronomy, 10x50 seems to be the general recommendation. Also, for low light, I've been reading that higher magnification brings up important detail in low light; larger objective lens diameters on their own may not provide this. I'm not particularly interested in greater than 10x magnification as I'll be hand holding them.

For information, my eyes dilate to about 6.25mm in semi dark conditions (I'm 40). I realise that 7mm exit pupil will be slightly wasted on me (and getting worse over time) but the Minox 8x56 BL's seem pretty good value and I'd be willing to live with the weight.

Many thanks in advance.

Pete.