So the 8x32 has the potential to give a wider FOV. Nice
One thing I would like to know is, does the 8x32 have more shake compared to a heavier 8x42?
The Opticron Discovery you guys suggested does sound good, many thanks.
Weight does help even out the "shakes" to a point, over the course of a day that heavier weight can have the opposite effect and increase shakes because of muscle fatigue.
How much weight is the minimum for you may be different than for me. Bins under 20 oz. start showing more shake, BUT ergonomics play as an important role as the weight.
Take two bins, same weight -20 oz. The 8x30 EII (with Bushwackers added) and the 8x32 Noble (early Jap. version that looked like a mini-me Regal LX).
The 8x30 porro gave me more "real estate" and allowed me to support the weight from the bottom with my thumbs. W/out the Bushwacker covers, the views were a bit shaky due having nowhere to rest my pinkies. With the covers, the balance was perfect.
The roofs, OTOH, were so small -- 4.3" by 4.4" - that my fingers ended up in a praying position (praying I can hold the image steady), with no support for my thumbs folded underneath the barrels, so I'm pushing in from the sides to hold the bin. Shake City.
How well you can handle an 8x32 has a lot to do with the size of your hands, how steady your hands are to begin with, and how well the particular pair of bins fits your hands.
A case in point, mooreorless and I both had a Nikon 8x32 HG. For my large hands, I ended up in the praying mantis position while using it. Eventually, my palms would cramp from holding the bins for long periods and shake would set in.
For mooreorless, less was more, because he could better balance and hold the bins with his smaller hands.
Another case in point, this one with the tables turned. Two bins, same user - me. Two bins - 8.5x42 EL, 8x32 EL.
I found the full sized EL (WB version) big, bulky, and too heavy for carrying around my neck all day, and the thumb indents were in the wrong place for my hands.
The 8x32 EL fit my hands much, much better than OJ's blood stained glove. Perfect, in fact. That was a first for me with a roof, which usually don't fit my hands well.
So while one could say
in general that full sized bins are easier to hold because of their size and weight, it really depends on the bin/user interface.
IOW, there's no hard and fast rules, you got to try them to know for sure.