Good mid-grade binocs for birding/astronomy?

I was hoping some of you could shed some light on a good weather-proof roof-prism binocular that is moderately priced. Of course, I one day will purchase a $1800 Leica or Swarovski nitrogen-purged blah, blah... but for now I would like a good quality set of 10x42's (or comparable) for birding that I don't have to worry about getting a little mist on or that could get dropped and not break like my Orion 8x56 Mini-Giants (doh!).

Does anyone know anything about the Nikon Monarch series? It claims a lot of good qualities (such as fully multi-coated, waterproof, etc.) and is priced at $300 on Anacortes. Here is a link:

http://www.buytelescopes.com/product.asp?t=&pid=4356&m=23

Anyway, all advice is welcome!

Ken

This may not be quite what you had in mind, but I’ve been extremely pleased with my Canon 10x30 image stabilized binocs. I picked them up here on astromart a couple of years ago for $250. I do more observing with them than anything else. I always keep them handy for looking at birds and wildlife, and they’re pretty respectable for astronomy too.

I know 10x30 sounds really pitiful, but the image stabilization seems to make up for the small aperture and provides very pleasing views. After using these a bit I found a new home for my old celestron 10x50's. I liked the steady views a lot better, even through the smaller binocs. Sure I’d like to have the canon 15x50 but even if I did I still think these would get used more. They’re so much lighter, which means I take them with me on every hike, but the light weight is most important after I’ve been holding them up for a while looking at the sky.

The only thing is, I sure wouldn’t want to drop these… I don’t think the stabilization would help at that point. :-)

Hey Ken,

Have you checked out these?

http://www.buytelescopes.com/product.asp?t=&pid=4898&m=

Celestron roof prisms for less than $400. Nice binos for 10x42, you might even want to check out the 10x50s for slightly more aperture (and weight).

Clear skies! (Since we haven't been having any for a long time, how about Lotsa' Birds!?)

Ken B., check your private messages here on Astromart.

I'm a big fan of Pentax roof prism binocs. My Pentax DCF SP's (10x50) are an extremely good binoc for the money, and give up very little to high-end Swaros, Leicas or Nikons.

One place to check for birding binoc ratings is the betterviewdesired website. Then you just order them from ATWB and you're set. :-)

Doug