As a Christmas present for my theatre-loving wife, I knew this item would not only meet our aesthetic needs, it would far exceed them. What I didn't expect was the build quality. The optics are excellent until the end. The field of view is extremely wide, meaning your entire eye is involved, rather than looking through a paper tube. The magnification is also just right from our balcony seats. It's easy to follow the action of the show, where the 8x binoculars they replaced only allowed a close look at the performer's face and a bit more.