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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Troubador" data-source="post: 3413506" data-attributes="member: 109211">GiGi I think I would rather call this syndrome Magnification Anxiety as it is not so much that folks climb the ladder of magnification in search of more and more power but can't ignore the little voice of anxiety in their head that says they might miss something.There could also be an element of choosing magnifications that everyone else seems to have. This brings reassurance that you have chosen the right thing and avoids having to defend the choice of a magnification that 'everyone else' has avoided. So fitting-in with the crowd, or to put it another way, 'staying on-trend' or opting for the same fashion as your contemporaries, is probably a factor too. And outright beginners and the less experienced have logic on their side here. If you are unsure about the technicalities of bins and birding why wouldn't you choose the same as more experience observers?I am sure there is an element of this in the popularity of Swarovski ELs. They thoroughly deserve their popularity but having acquired a 'critical mass', that is, the number that are seen being carried around by other birders, they became the default choice over here. Choosing something else would mean being different from others and having to defend an unfashionable choice. Its easier for many folks to 'go with the flow'.Lee</blockquote>