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Message: <blockquote data-quote="gnowellsct" data-source="post: 1451529" data-attributes="member: 75237">I had the unusual experience of buying some Canon 6x30 fully coated porro binoculars from the early 1970s; they were on ebay, they were some old store's stocks, were in original packing and completely sealed.  I paid $120, and ended up giving them to a friend.  This was about a year ago.  Seeing all the packaging from the 70s and the black leather case which had that new leather smell (! incredibly, after 35 years) was like a little time warp.   Frankly the Leupold Yosemite blows them away.  I have also come to have a jaundiced view about older instruments in general and telescopes in particular.  But I think we need to face the facts modern optics production even at the low end can be extraordinarily good.    So I would suggest you put $200 to $300 into a nice brand name (I would go for Leupold in that range but that's just me) and clean up your old pair "when the mood suits."  One of the things to bear in mind is that it isn't just the optics that have changed--even though they have. The world now has CNC machining.  So the optics can be more precisely assembled and secured in the instrument.  Your 1960s binoculars have more in common with WWII binoculars than they do with contemporary binoculars. Good luck,  Greg N</blockquote>