>>1517722>Biting the bullet>$150In all honesty though that's about the min for a real pair, check the Audubon website they have binocular recommendations for the different price ranges, sub 200 is their categorization of budget optics and I agree with that classification. The cheap/old stuff is often more a hindrance than an enhancement.
Binoculars are great, but it is a different way of enjoying nature, at first I found I almost never used them until I learned to slow down my pace overall. You don't realize when you're looking just at the large views and changes in scenery how fast you move through them. Until you get into the swing of moving sloooowly and really stopping to see what's happening that you start to notice how much nature there is. Most animals just wait like 10 seconds while a noisy bunch of dog walkers bustle past without moving or making a noise.
Last thing, 10x is a lot. I would recommend 8x for a handheld binocular, the higher the magnification the smaller the field of view and the more shaking is amplified, 8x is still a ton of magnification you won't miss any detail but you will see things much clearer. 8x42 is as close to standard as it gets, I recommend it.
