Review on BARSKA Colorado Zoom Binoculars - Reverse Porro Design by Anthony Arcos

Well, things could get worse! I personally really like these binoculars! I have been an amateur astronomer for over 35 years and have a lot of experience with all kinds of telescopes and binoculars. Of course I have better binoculars than Barsky but for the price you really get a great discount! I didn't actually get them for astronomy, but for terrestrial use. I needed a decent aperture with zoom capability. Most amateur astronomers will shy away from zoom binoculars, but I disagree if you only use them for earth observation. First off, these cheap binoculars are built like a tank! The rubberized surface is well made and feels comfortable in the hand. They're a bit heavy, but that sometimes makes them more stable than lighter ones. The coatings are pretty good, and the lenses and eyepieces deliver sharp images from 10X to 20X. Anything above that and you get purple fringes in the image and make it difficult to focus. I find that between 10X and 20X everything is what you'd expect from binoculars with this makeup. It's really not a bad picture! The diopter compensation works smoothly, as does the focusing mechanism. The only reason I didn't give an extra star is because they aren't as sharp at the 30X setting. I think they are a great deal and I would recommend them to bird lovers or anyone who doesn't need them for astronomical purposes. (although they do a good job on the moon if you turn off the power)