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Message: <blockquote data-quote="FrankD" data-source="post: 3324401" data-attributes="member: 18544">My name was mentioned a few times in this thread so I feel the need to chime in on my take of your original comments. No disrespect intended whatsoever. If I might offer my interpretation? The Maven has a very wide field of view with good sharpness in the sweet spot. Good apparent brightness because of the newer optical coatings. The larger diameter of the ocular lenses make for easy eye placement. It is a lightweight even by 32 mm standards.Again an interpretation of your comments...Despite having many positive optical characteristics the binocular could be blackened better internally as there are some stray light issues found under certain conditions in regular use. The contrast and color saturation level is good but not as good as other models. My words, not an interpretation, the diopter issue is definitely a quality control problem and I would return the binocular to Maven on that issue alone as it makes everything else, positive or negative, pointless.I would agree with one of the other poster's comments that ergonomics are extremely subjective. Having said that I would agree with some of your comments in this quote. My B3 did come with a central hinge tension that was too loose. I mentioned that in my review and also let Maven know about it. My solution was to simply pull out a small screwdriver, loosen the lock screw under the tripod socket cap and then tighten the tension with a spanner wrench.The focusing knob tension was a bit tight when I originally received my unit. It loosened up considerably over time. For my preferences I enjoy the "dampened" feel to the focuser because the focusing speed is so fast on the Maven. Without the dampening I feel that I would easily overshoot "perfect focus" on any given object. This is an extremely subjective area though.I, personally, like the texture of the focusing knob but could see where it would be less than pleasant if the focusing tension were too stiff on your unit....which sounds like it is the case.Translation again....The Leica Trinovid BN has more deeply saturated colors, a larger sweet spot and better stray light control. I think the easiest way to answer the question your are posing here "Why have mid-range (assuming price) binoculars?" is to point out the differences or advancements one receives as you move up the price ladder.Hypothetically speaking (and assuming the same manufacturer for the different models) the increase in price gets you better quality glass components, better quality coatings and more sophisticated optical designs...which in turn yields wider fields of view, sharper images and brighter images.I specifically reference "assuming the same manufacturer" because you can't always compare prices from one manufacturer to the next. Why?Well, Manufacturer A gets creates their product in Country A which has a high labor cost. Manufacturer B creates their product in Country B which doesn't have as expensive of a labor cost. Is the first product better than the second?Why?Because it costs more?</blockquote>

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