The binoculars have be grouped into price categories, ranging from those costing $700 or more to budget models costing $200 or less.

Note 1. The manufacturers' suggested retail prices are usually much higher than the actual prices you'll find in stores.

Note 2. Some virtually identical binoculars are sold under more than one brand name, and their retail prices often differ significantly. For example, Swift Ultra Lite look-alikes appear under the Celestron name at Wild Birds Unlimited stores and again as Eagle Optics Voyagers. The Eagle Optics Ranger series binoculars are essentially the same models as Swift Eaglets and Celestron Regals. In the case of the models "manufactured" by Eagle Optics (many of which are actually built by Celestron), the prices reflect those of a discount retailer rather than more typical manufacturers' suggested retail prices - which is great for binocular shoppers but makes it tricky to make direct comparisons based on price categories.

Note 3. To get a copy of the complete binocular research project see the spring 1999 issue of Living Bird pages 28 - 35, "Desprerately seeking Binos" by Ken Rosenberg. Living Bird is the monthly publication from the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology.

SOME TABLE HEADING NOTES.

Price: Manufacturer's suggested retail price. Actual prices are often much lower.

Field of View: Measured as width of field, in inches, seen from a distance of 15 feet.

Eyeglasses: Overall 'friendliness" to eyeglass wearers. 1 = best. r = rubber eyecups

s = snapping eyecups, and t = turning eyecups.

Ranking: Overall subjective ranking. The lower the number the better the ranking.

Introduction ..... Basics ...... $700 + ..... $400 - $700 ..... $200 - $400

UNDER $200 ... COMPACT