These binoculars are outstanding value for money considering the advance features that you normally only find in binoculars ten times the price. I compared them against my much more expensive Vortex 8 x 42 binoculars that I normally use when I bird watch (purchased the Helios as a spare pair to keep in the car). Although the Helios was not as good (and I wouldn’t expect it to be) I was pleasingly surprised by how well they competed and held up against my more expensive pair.

When you look through the binoculars and examine them very critically, the sweet spot that stays very sharp is approximately 60% of the view. There is a noticeable softening of sharpness on the outer 10% of the field of view (fov) but given the fact that the fov is a wide 141 metres @ 1000 metres, this is excellent in a relatively low cost binocular.

The focusing wheel is refined and although there is a little play on the pair I have, this is minor; more importantly the focusing wheel is smooth and fast.

I can’t think of what possibly more you could have and expect in a pair of binoculars at this price. I am extremely pleased and impressed and in my view you will have to pay a lot more to obtain significantly better.

I find these remarkable value for money - very sharp and contrasty across approximately 90% of the field of view. No stray light issues, and great build quality. The sharpness is such that you can see stars at the edge of visibility popping through behind the brighter stars giving plenty of depth to the observing experience. I also really like the captive lens caps. I know you can buy binoculars costing many times more than these, but I can't imagine they would be a significant improvement. I won't be replacing mine, these are all the 8x42's I need