The Canon 15x50 IS binoculars appeared to be well built but with lots of plastic (to save weight presumably).

Not having to carry any kind of mono/tripod however small and light would be a great help hence the interest in the Canons.This level of magnification is versatile and provides comfortable viewing for a wide range of uses at longer distances. A shorter close focus distance allows birdwatchers to observe small details on nearby birds, and is especially important for insect observation. It worked very well, and regularly allowed me to spot and identify raptors at distances fellow birders using 8x-10x binoculars would need their scopes to either find or identify them.

Field of view (FOV) refers to the width of the area visible through the binoculars at a specified distance. Was expecting a bit more resolution from the Canon on planets, but both binoculars delivered identical details: small empty disk of Jupiter with 4 moons and smaller Saturn with ears.However, I ended up spending the refund money (with some change to spare) on a pair of Nikon 8x30 E2, imported from Japan, and am happy with the outcome.

BUT, on the canon 15x50, I don't see the "swivel" in the center of the binoc's that allows someone to make them wider or narrower (swing out/swing in) to fit in a persons eyes.With the one I had on loan, I viewed stars a few times, and the images remained pinpoint with the stabilizer on, meaning that the stabilizer did not begin to wander off axis on its own, and there was no need to disengage/engage the IS to keep the image optimum. I made a triangular aluminium frame ( from a discarded Zimmer frame ) with bicycle grips at the bottom and the bins attached at the top resting lightly against my brow.