I own a pair of Swarovski 10x42 ELs and they are, by far, the best binoculars I've ever owned. However, they are EXPENSIVE. I bought them years ago because of low-light bird surveys I was doing at that time, so I justified them as a work expense. If someone suggested to me buying them now, there is no way I could afford them, especially with 2 kids. However, I've looked at several other brands and have found Leupold, Burris, and Nikon to be GREAT binocs for quite a bit less money. I agree with several of the others here in that if you want good low-light glass, these four brands are hard to beat. Zeiss and Leica are just as great as Swarovski, but are just as expensive, but you're getting a lifetime investment there. I've beat the living snot out of my Swarovskis in the mountains and riparian areas down here and they are still holding great. One thing to look for is how the occular and objective lenses are coated. Get binocs that have fully-multi coated lenses (both sides of all lenses, not just the outsides). They are much brighter than only coating the outsides of the lenses. Again, Burris, Nikon, Leupold, and the other expensive brands are all fully multi-coated and have great reputations and great warranties. If you think about it, Nikon is the leader in camera lens technology, so it only makes sense that they have great binocular and scope lenses. I've heard great things from a friend out here who has a Vortex scope for his rifle, so I would look at them, too. Unless you are dead set on the compacts, I would look at 8x42 (better field of view) or 10x42 (closer looks), esepcially when trying to judge subtle differences in low light. In short, the general rule of thumb for binoculars is to get the absolute best you can afford and keep for a lifetime. That's my long-winded 2 cents, anyway.
