Hello. I'm new to "birding" as a hobby, but have been a suporter of the Cornell group and subscriber to "Living Bird" for a few years, now. My main thing is enjoying the beauty of birds. I have been using my Nikon 7 x 35 Action EX Extreme binoculars, which are handy porro prism binoculars that I use for "stargazing". (I'm older and so the 7 x 50 aren't going to give me much more in the exit pupil size department and are much heavier than the 7 x 35). I now planning to get a light, roof prism 8 x 42. (Can't go higher -- at least without a tripod -- because of the "shakes"). I found this forum thanks to the binocular discussions. Looking forward to learning from everyone!