Of your choices I've only owned the Canon IS 8x25. I didn't like it. Cheap plasticky build, and jumpy, jerky IS. You don't need IS at 8x.
Get yourself a Hawke Sapphire ED 8x25 and be done with it.
Binastro disagrees with you.
"Canon 8x25 IS brief test
. This test of the 8×25 image stabilised binocular on a bright sunny day.
Weight 498 g with battery.
Field 6.50° or 6.55° approximately, no chance to test it on the stars.
Almost no chromatic aberration centrally, some chromatic aberration at the edges.
A small amount of pincushion distortion at the edges.
Possibly made in April 2014. Made in Japan
Compared with a full-size top-quality 10×42 binocular the image in the 8×25 is much less bright.
However, the white pillars are white.
The resolution of the small pimple on the chimney pot 400 feet away is 50% to 70% better than without the image stabiliser. In fact it cannot be seen without the stabiliser.
But I'm judging it against many other binoculars.
The resolution of the 8×25 with the stabiliser on is equivalent to a good standard 13 times binocular. This is for a static target.
Looking at an aircraft about 2 1/2 miles away it was easy to read the carrier's name on the side of the aircraft with the stabiliser on but impossible to read it with the stabiliser off.
On a moving target such as this the resolution is 100% better with the stabiliser on.
And an aircraft 10 miles distant easily showed the winglets with the stabiliser on but these were not seen with the stabiliser off.
A carrion crow happened to be sitting 1.5 feet to the right of the pimple on the chimney pot.
Much more detail was seen with the stabiliser on, perhaps 100% better.
However, there was a hint of false colour at the edge of the crows outline.
With the stabiliser on, the oscillations have about the same frequency as with the stabiliser off, but the amplitude is about 1/8 as much.
This looks rather strange if you carefully examine the detail, as there is an obvious fairly rapid but very small oscillation.
This seems to be quite different to the stabilisation of the larger Canon binoculars such as the 18×50 and others of 10×,12 times and 15 times.
The 8×25 has a tilt mechanism apparently of the third element of the objective from the front, whereas I think that the others have variable prisms.
There is also an optical window in front of the 8×25 and I think in front of many, perhaps all of the other Canon image stabilised binoculars.
If you look into the front of the binocular you can see an element moving as you press the stabiliser button. The stabiliser only operates when you press the button.
There are two perhaps three uncoated surfaces at the front of the binocular, but the eyepiece, which is quite complex has nice multi-coatings.
I would guess that the transmission is about 75% to 80%.
I don't know how the focusing is done, or whether the tilting element is also the focusing element, but probably not?
This is a great little binocular for some, but it is not waterproof.
It will be mainly used for watching cricket matches.
It does not seem to be as robust as a top quality binocular, but it costs less than half as much.
The guarantee is only one year.
For elderly people or people who have unsteady hands this should definitely be a binocular to be considered.
I have tested an earlier 8×25 image stabilised binocular but I'm not sure if it had a different stabiliser system."
