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Message: <blockquote data-quote="FrankD" data-source="post: 1297337" data-attributes="member: 18544">Actually I ordered the Diamondbacks from Doug, Tero. He talked me into them after I asked about the non-ED Promaster Elites. His take was that they provided practically identical performance but since he had the Diamondbacks in the Coyote Brown Blemished for only $130 (as compared to the $200 for the Promasters) then they were the better buy at the time.And for what it is worth I am keeping the Diamondbacks. There are several reasons why (not the least of which being the price versus performance issue). For starters I think it makes alot of sense to consider your intent for buying the binoculars...as well as your expectations. I purchased the Diamondbacks with the thoughts of using it as my primary hunting binocular. With that intended use in mind I realized I did need the most tack sharp image nor necessarily the brightest image (though I wanted a 42 mm versus a 32 mm for the "just in case" type of scenario). I also wanted a bin that I could beat up on a bit and not worry about whether or not it was in perfect alignment all of the time. And, if there was ever a repair issue then I know Vortex will hook me up. They always have in the past...and quite well I might add.I know you had the Diamondbacks but indulge me for a minute. I do not have the Monarchs on hand at the moment but the reason I am bringing them into this discussion is because they have often been considered the benchmark for $300 roof prism bins for the last several years. At the present time I believe there are several $300-$400 roof prism models that have surpassed their performance. I also believe that there are now several $200 roof prism bins that offer similar performance across the board and possibly increased performance in several areas. In my opinion the Diamondback is a perfect example. In comparison to the Monarchs the Diamondback have a significantly larger field of view (420 vs. 330 feet) along with a larger sweet spot. As I mentioned earlier I do not have the Monarchs on hand but I would be willing to bet that the Diamondbacks would also compare very favorably to them in terms of brightness and apparent sharpness level.So for $130 I bought a fully-multicoated, phase coated, waterproof roof prism binocular that provides optical and "practical" performance way beyond my own personal expectations.</blockquote>

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