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Message: <blockquote data-quote="peatmoss" data-source="post: 3461404" data-attributes="member: 119647">Hello Wachi.  Everybody has named good ones above. I agree with Phil and Dennis that the Swaro is probably the overall best available in this size category.  It has plus sharpness on axis and has a surprisingly flat field for a binocular which does not advertise field flatteners.  The Ultravid is every bit as sharp as the Swaro on axis, but has softer edges.  But on the other hand it is noticeably smaller and lighter than the Swaro, so one's preference might depend on one's priorities.  Both of these are at the top of the price scale.  At a more reasonable price level, I've tried both the Hawke Sapphire ED and the Alpen Wings ED.  Both are good values at around $200 US.  The on axis sharpness on these two is similar, and just a little bit below the Swaro and the Ultravid.  But both have somewhat smaller sweet spots and softer edges (the Hawke edges the Alpen in this regard).  Both of these binoculars lack the high-efficiency prism coatings of the Swaro and the Leica, and so the views are not quite as bright and not quite as neutral in color.  Between these two price levels are some interesting models which I have not tried.  This includes the Zeiss Terra and the Nikon Lx-L.  You might consider these if they are available locally.  I believe both are made in Japan.  All of the above are double-hinge models, but I noticed that you mentioned the Kowa BD 8x25 and oldfortyfive mentioned the Vortex Viper 8x28, which are both conventional single hinges.  I've tried the Viper and think it is a very usable model, but I don't think it has much optical advantage over any of the models already mentioned except for the larger exit pupil.  If you are considering that model, I might also suggest the Opticron Traveler 8x32, which is tiny for an 8x32 and gives you a more spacious 4mm exit pupil.</blockquote>

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