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Message: <blockquote data-quote="OwenM" data-source="post: 1350856" data-attributes="member: 63408">Revived this thread rather than keep dragging the "bargains" thread off-topic. I have recently received the Vortex/Stokes DLS 10x42(sale priced at $449). Good: -Gorgeous binoculars. Pictures do not do them justice. Best looking binoculars I've ever seen. The armor is fairly thin, but firm, perfectly fit, and very attractive. The silver diopter and focus knob, with their black knurling, accent the deep green armor beautifully.-Outstanding ergonomics. Fit me perfectly, just as hoped. The high position of the strap lugs keeps them out of the way, and the curvature of the armor as it rises to surround them, in conjunction with the inward curve of the tubes themselves, makes for a very comfortable grip.-With one exception(listed below), build quality appears to be as good or better than any binocular I've had the opportunity to handle.  -The eye relief vs. eyecup height matched up well. I'm sure this varies by individual based on facial features, but it fits me perfectly, with no need to adjust position to avoid blackouts even during rapid panning.-Focus knob looks nice, the knurling gives positive traction, and movement is extremely smooth.  -Diopter adjustment doesn't lock, but has click stops. It is very firm, and nicely knurled like the focus knob.-Color neutral with great contrast. Very similar to the view through my DCF ED, but a bit better, having no evident color bias. Yellow/blue was balanced, but did not have appropriate subjects to see how the red/green compared. I think the EL and SLC 10x42s I looked through a few days ago show deeper color(as they do compared to the Pentax DCF ED), but did not have the DLS to until a day later. -Minimal CA from what I can see. Viewing conditions were good, so it's hard to make a judgment based on my limited time with them. Subjective:-Extremely fast focus. DOF was actually decent for a 10x42 roof, I thought, but the slightest nudge of the knob takes them out of focus. -Stray light is not bad, but in challenging circumstances expresses itself in a single straight "spike" of light across the view from the direction of the light source, along with a section of the view opposite showing a bit of glare(sort of a combination of how the Pentax DCF SP and ED exhibit glare, but not better or worse than either). Bad:-Eyecups collapse from the intermediate positions. Not an issue for my use, but come on. Bushnell's Brownings and Pentax's DCFs have positive detents, how hard can it be to get an eyecup right?-My unit is out of collimation. Images at less than 50+ft. do not merge completely. Looks fine at the center, but leaves overlapping circles at the edges of the view, and is very distracting. No doubt it would also cause eye strain with much use. Failed the "star test". Instead of the focused star image being centered in the defocused one, it wasn't even inside the circle. Looked kind of like this>> O.So it goes. I want to love them, but instead return yet another Vortex binocular(3rd of 3):-C</blockquote>

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