Nikon Action (8x40) Binocular

Pros: Wide field of view, contrasty sharp image, acceptable weight, exceptionally rugged, and cheap.
Cons: Significant edge distortion, ugly, not remotely waterproof, poor close focus and poor eye relief.

There are not many full size binoculars cheaper than these and yet they provide a surprisingly good image. The field of view is exceptionally wide at 8.2 degrees which makes it easy to locate birds in flight. The centre of the image is sharp and...

Pros: Light-weight, good brightness, ease of focus, moderately priced.
Cons: Lens protectors not connected to binoculars

For the past twenty years or so I have been an avid birdwatcher. Travelling around the US, Canada, Scotland, England and Ireland. The one thing I always bring along is my binoculars. At present, I have the early version of Nikon's Egret. They have...

Pros: clear, sharp, contrasty views; comfortable to look through
Cons: slight field curvature

There are a lot of binoculars available for around $150, and the majority of them are poor-performing compact models. If you're thinking of getting some relatively inexpensive binoculars, please avoid all of the compact models with 25 or 30mm objectives....

Pros: cheap, sharp in centre of view, nice to handle
Cons: not sharp off centre, eyepieces move, rubber eyecups abrasive, fogs up, too heavy

If you can't afford better, these binculars are reasonable value for the price, but they can't be recommended overall. Yes, they are bright and very nicely sharp in the centre of view, but from about a half way out to the edge, they are soft, and things ...

Pros: Crisp and clear text at 27 pages per minute;inexpensive cost per page;ease of use
Cons: Small paper storage capacity with 500 capacity optional; relatively expensive replacement cost of the drum

I purchased the Okidata B4600 for use in a small office to replace another Okidata led printer.This compact monochrome led laser printer is slightly larger than the size of a hat box and light weight. It was easy to initialize, set up and operate.The ...

Pros: excellent optical quality, comparable to much higher priced models for casual, and even serious, use
Cons: no twist-up eye caps for eyeglass wearers

I compared the excellent Nikon Monarch 8x42 with the Action 8x40, and couldn't really see a difference in optical quality. I compared distant details, dim objects, colour and peripheral vision. Both very bright and clear. The Action has a wider field of view (8 degrees versus 6 degrees). The Monarch is slightly lighter (610 g versus 745 g) and smaller. Both are rubber-armoured and very comfortable to hold. The only substantial edge of the Monarch (aside from waterproofing and compact roof prism) is the twist-up eye cup for eyeglass wearers (versus the fold-down rubber eye-cup of excellent quality for the Action). But at one-third the price, I got two Action binoculars (8x40 and 16x50) for less than one Monarch.

Update: The Action has a glare in bright light, such as looking at a bright moon against a black sky, or facing sunlight. I wasn't able to compare this with the Monarch, but I would assume this would be similar, as its higher price is due mainly to waterproofing and a roof prism design. The new Action EX series has twist-up eye-cups and waterproofing for about twice the price (versus three times for the Monarch).

Pros: Great lenses with sharp focusing and lots of light.
Cons: Hopeless objective lens caps.

The Action 8 x30s were recommended to me as being very good and that they were comparable to much more expensive binoculars. I have been using some Zeiss 10 x 50s that were extremely good but bulky and heavy and you needed a steady hand.
So I took the plunge and ordered the Actions,to my great suprise they seem just as good as my old Zeiss.They focus very sharply, let in loads of light, colour is very good and they are light enough and easy to use no shake when viewing. They seem very well put together with a very good strap, the only down side are the objective lens caps which are pretty hopeless.
These are great value for money, as they give you everything you want from binoculars at a relativley small cost.