Hi Gregory, I agree with the advice of Don S. and Matt V. The mid range optics are quite good for the price of what these folks say. And yes, I do believe if like in the past at BSBO and the Biggest Week, Robert Hershberger from Time & Optics in Millersburg, OH., will again be at the festival. Check with BSBO though. Indeed they are very good people and know Optics. My suggestion would also be to look at the higher end optics also and certainly do your homework and compare the difference of mid to high quality range. If your at the point in your level of birding that you have become picky about optics then I would certain look at both. Here's a few things I wrote on Binocular Thoughts. Thing to think about http://kymry.wordpress.com/2010/09/23/binocular-thoughts/ Cheers, Mardi Dickinson Norwalk, CT http://kymrygroup.com/ http://twitter.com/MardiWD ______________________________________________________________________ Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society. Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list. Additional discussions can be found in our forums, at www.ohiobirds.org/forum/. You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask]