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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Wolf Beam" data-source="post: 1658416" data-attributes="member: 48888">I have no experience of the Minox monocular but I do own the Opticron 6x16 monocular (close focus 0.23m) and the Pentax Papilio 6.5x21 (close focus 0,5m).Both are really good, the Papilios are a just a little sharper but the Opticron has a very wide field of view which makes it really easy to spot a bird or an insect.Some experiences: it is surprising how hard it is to keep a monocular steady compared to a bino,  therefore I would not recommend an 8x monocular.The shaky view is VERY noticable at close distances, even with a 6x monocular. Even though the obejct is a little further away with the Papilio you really see more detail due to the stable view. Additionally, at closer distances the depth of field is REALLY short which also makes it really hard to use a monocular at close distances. I would say the 6.5x Papilios is the best tool today for watching insects in the field. A 6.5x bino which fucuses at 0.5m gives an enough stable view and enough depth of field for a detailed pleasant view of bugs.A stabilized monocular would be needed for an improvement, I would say.Wolf (professional entomologist)</blockquote>