Wow Dennis, I am impressed. Many on Birdforum disparage your fickle relationships with binoculars, but it seems we are nevertheless unable to escape being moved by your proclamations, especially when they accord with our own judgments. Now (as in, at this moment), when you have found true love with a porro, all is forgiven, or at least forgotten (at least for now, in the moment) by the SE fan club. What will they think, tomorrow, when you wake up and can't figure what you ever saw in the SE? I wonder how you'd feel about the 8.5x42 SV if you got one that had no issues with the focus, especially if it is true that recent units have a smoother distortion curve and a bit of pincushion (see
http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?p=2485505#post2485505 ). With its 8.5x magnification, it certainly shows more detail than the 8x SE. Just a suggestion.
--AP