Bushnell Elite 8X42's for $450 shipped off the Gunnutz equipment exchange! If you can live without waterproof try and find a a pair of the 8X40 Bausch & Lomb Customs. The Pentax binos are very good. If you want to do some reading/comparison take a look at:
http://www.betterviewdesired.com/RefSet.html
Take a look at the reports on "BEST BUYS"
Pentax 8x42 DCF WP with Phase Coating $500 US List Price
Until the Pentaxs, phase coating was the one thing (well, that and nitrogen purging) that separated the $1000 roof prism glasses from the new crop of fully-multicoated waterproof roofs from Bausch and Lomb, Canon, Celestron, Fujinon, Nikon, and Swift. Phase coating makes a difference. Phase coated roofs are slightly brighter and the image appears slightly sharper. A high quality roof with phase coating can come very close to the open, transparent view that exceptional porros provide, while unphase coated roofs always look just a little dim and subdued in direct comparison.
The Pentaxs also bring phase coating into the price range of the best porros.
Pentax included many of the other features of the higher priced roofs as well: pop-up eye cups, excellent rubber armor, close focus, excellent field of view, and an ergonomically shaped body that feels good and handles exceptionally well in the field. They also managed to keep the glasses several ounces lighter in weight than most of the $1000 glasses. With full-waterproofing, they make an impressive package.
The bottom line for me, however, is always going to be the view. I'm impressed. The view through the Pentaxs, without direct side-by-side comparison with a pair of $1000 roofs, is very satisfying. The contrast is excellent. They deliver all the detail you would expect from 8x glasses and a bit more. The view is open and easy, from one edge of the field to the other. Impressive.
Even with direct comparison, the optics in the Pentaxs hold up well. In the NEED test, they score slightly lower than the Nikon Venturer LX and the Bausch and Lomb Elites (the current and immediate past Reference Standards for roof prism binoculars) but significantly higher than unphase coated roofs like the Fujinon or Celestron. They actually outperform both the Leica 8x32 and the Zeiss 8x30 roofs. More than that though, they manage to provide a overall view in the field that is very close indeed to that provided by the best roofs...so close that only the most critical observes are likely to notice it.
Given their excellent, I am going to say their exceptional handling, their excellent optics, their waterproofness, and, of course, their price, the Pentax DCF WPs are the first roof prism glasses that I feel match the value of the best porros. I have always liked waterproof roofs, but I have never been able to justify spending twice as much for a roof as for a porro, especially when I know that the porro provides a noticeably better view. The Pentaxs are the first waterproof roofs that I would consider actually buying.
Yes, you still have to compare them to the Nikon 8x32 Superior Es in the same basic price range. If waterproofing is not an issue then the Es do still provide a significantly better view of the bird. If waterproofing is an issue, however, the Pentax glasses provide an exceptional value, and would give you the kind of performance that will keep you happy in field for years.
The Pentax DCF WPs with phase coating are a definite BVD Best Buy in waterproof roof prism binoculars...and the first an only roof prism glasses that rate a overall Best Buy, regardless of design. Very impressive!
)
