"Mark & Roslyn Elkington" wrote in message
...
I've heard generally bad reports about zoom binoculars optical quality,
but
these Minolta zooms seem nice with BAK-4 prisms, full multicoating, 15mm
er
etc:


http://www.minoltausa.com/eprise/mai...PG/CPGProducts
?cname=bino&fname=bino_activa&Mname=Activa_Standar d_Zoom

(Watch for line wrap with long url)

I have a pair of 8x40s which are lightweight, compact, sharp, and great
for
just panning around the sky. I enjoy getting up from the scope, having a
stretch, and and lying on my back and cruising around the sky with these
binos. So I thought, even with the narrower 4.5deg FOV of the zooms, the
ability to zoom in on an object of interest (realistically 12x-16x I'm
guessing, in terms of shake and useable mag) would quite enhance this
casual
approach.

My thinking was much the same as yours a few years ago, when I bought a
multi-zoom binocular made in the UK (also quite expensive). I thought they
were great until I got over the "wow factor", then I realized they were
nearly unusable and finally sold them at a hefty loss. The problem was
holding them steady enough to see what you're pointing at. This problem
could be solved by using a binocular mount, but then it's easier to use a
small scope than one of these contraptions. Nevertheless, once you get over
10x, the image is so shaky it's not worth the effort. Suggest you try
before you buy.

Al



Previously on saa I've given a happy review for a zoom ep; a good pair of
zoom binocs on the face of it have similar appeal - if such a thing as a
good pair exists.

Any experience or thoughts?

Thanks,
Mark