Gregory, If weight is not a concern but brightness is I recommend you consider 10X50 bino's by any of the manufactures you listed. If you do not already know, the first # 10 is the magnification and the second # 50 is the size of the objective lens (the big lens you do not look through). The larger the objective lens is the better light gathering capability. This along with the quality of glass determines the brightness. The companies you mentioned all have excellent glass in their product line but they do vary so do your homework before spending the kind of money to get good quality glass and construction. Good luck and have fun with it. Don Stover In a message dated 4/27/2012 8:13:09 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, [log in to unmask] writes: I would appreciate any input as I attempt to "buy the best binoculars I can afford." I don't really like the idea of buying Chinese so these are the contenders from least to most expensive: Zeiss Conquest 8x30 B T* (demo) - big gap- Minox HG 8x33 (argon purged) Leupold Golden Ring HD 8x42 (made in US-- IF I can find them) Zeiss Conquest 8x40 B T* (Abbé-Konig prisms, demo) Nikon Premier 8x42 (refurbished) Close focus and weight are not of particular concern. What I really need to improve is brightness. Thanks, Gregory Bennett Akron OH ______________________________________________________________________ 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] ______________________________________________________________________ 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]