Steiner Military/Marine 8x30 Binocular

I researched many brands before purchasing the Steiner 8x30. I hunt in southeastern US for small and large game in heavy woods and open fields of 200-300 yards. My concerns stemmed from reviews saying a larger objective was needed for low light or thinking higher power was needed. After one season of use I am beyond pleased with my purchase! Rugged, perfect size to stabilize with hands, clear image, great auto focus, and quick to use.My observations in low light usage were excellent. I can see 50+ minutes past sunset and well past legal shooting light across 300 yard fields and into the woods. 8 Power has also been the perfect size as I can stabilize it with my hands and really glass by stabilizing using the brim of my hat. Set the focus for each eye and you are ready to glass near or far. The clarity and detail I can see far surpass most of the scopes on my guns. The only scope that comes close in clarity is a weaver v series 4-16 scope; this makes my mid priced Nikon scopes look like a joke!The only area for improvement would be the lens covers I find the eye piece cover not as easy to use at the end caps. The neck strap is not practical as it is thin and not padded. Again minor complaints. For the price range I feel I have the best pair of binoculars made without spending 2-5x the price for something better.I'll update if something changes. If you are on the fence like I was, then go ahead and spend the money on quality and affordable glass!Now I'm ready to test these out west on an elk hunt in the near future.

I've used a lot of binos in my time and the last pair I bought about 10 years ago were Russian military surplus 6x. I bought them from Sportsmans Guide for $40. They are indestructable and clear especially at dawn and dusk. However, as I get older so do my eyes so I thought something a little more powerful was in order. I looked around and read a lot of reviews and I kept coming back to these Steiner 8X30 rubberized binos. I got them at a good price and when I first tried them I was amazed at how clear they were and how for away I could see. I felt like the Bionic man.Like the Russian binos, the eyepieces are focused individually and once you have them set you are good to go. These are the clearest binos I've ever used.

After reading some of the reviews I was concerned about the low light capabilities. I tested these the other evening in very low light after 9pm and was completely happy with the performance, peering into dark areas where I could see nothing by naked eye every detail was visible with the binocular. I live in the country with no street lights, when I did scan past floodlights on my house there was a reflection ring image that moves through the field of vision. It only happened at certain angles to the light source but I could see where this could be undesirable in an urban setting with lots of bright lights. The daytime image is wonderfully sharp and the focus works from about 30 yards to infinity. The eyepieces are set just a tad off 0 for both my eyes, they are stiff enough that the focus is never disturbed once set.If you need to do night time police surveillance or lead a platoon in combat you probably want to invest in the 10X50 versions. But this compact binocular is half the size and weight of those and works wonderfully for general use and hunting in particular. I bought a 'used' pair for less than $200, the only indication of used was the box was a bit crushed which is typical of Amazon Warehouse deals, they are just previous returns of new items, well worth taking advantage of. I am very happy with this purchase.

Update:I was experimenting with my other binoculars and monoculars and would say that the quality of the Steiner MM8x30 is much better. The binocular is not too big and not too small. Just right.Even in dark conditions (yes, I am aware of the "halo") it gives very good results. I can get much better picture than with my 10x50 and 20x50 Barska.I am upgrading my review to 5 starts.Original review:The preview image is deceptive. On the label It says '"Steiner Germany" while on my version of the binocular is says simply "Steiner". I am not sure if it is made in Germany as the claim. It could be only assembled in Germany, but made in China - who knows. I have wrote my thoughts in a "question/answers" section, however my post miraculously disappeared.I am giving 2 stars for now - for the deception. I am still evaluating the quality. I will update my review later.

I wasn't 100% sure what to expect having never bought binoculars before. These were purchased for sporting events and I did a good amount of research before settling on these. They fit the bill perfectly. They're lightweight, compact, rugged (admittedly only limited use so far), and I really love the fact I don't have to refocus when moving them from subject to subject. They are crisp, clear and probably how I saw the world before glasses.

Excellent focus free binos that I have been wanting for years. The bino is perfect and will handle any need for zooming in on something. They are made to rugged standards and can be abused if needed. I particularly like the covers that go over all the lens. The price is unbeatable for such a quality product. My only regret is not buying them several years ago.

I bought this as a Christmas gift for my son that was taking a trip to the Antarctica. He said of all the passengers on this trip these binoculars were better than some of the more expansive ones. Great binoculars..

Unreal! Don't think I purchased these knowing that they were the "Compact Size". I was expecting a fuller size I suppose, but NTL, they are perfect beyond compare. I can put them in a cargo pocket, or jacket pocket with no problem. That is IF I felt like keeping it off my neck for a while.

A fantastic pair of Binoculars. My husband wanted a good quality smallish pair of binoculars with good magnification. These are excellent; he had spent much time researching them to get the right pair. Auto focusing to a degree, they are fantastically clear during the daylight, and seem to work extremely well at dawn and dusk given that the image size does not exactly match the retina size.All in all a very good pair of binoculars at a very reasonable price.

Good Product...