I've always been a lake sailor and the only use I've had for binoculars is girl... uh... bird watching. Getting ready for the trip south, I've been looking around at different binoculars trying to determine if Steiners are really worth the price. It looks like the Fujinon Polaris 7 x 50 w/ compass is about $500 cheaper than the Steiner 7 x 50 Commander XP. The Fujinon has a rangefinder reticle and the Steiner doesn't. The Fujinon transmits 95% light and the Steiner 97%, not much difference. I don't think I need image stabilization, although I've heard it's pretty cool.

Any opinions? Likes or dislikes about your binoculars?