The Canon 15x50 IS AW binoculars feature Canon's Image Stabilizer (IS) technology, which counteracts a wide range of different types of shake and movement when viewing hand-held, or from moving vehicles or boats.

I used to have a pair of the 14x40 Fujinon's and did not like the swaying effect caused by the prism movement. I have used the Canon 10x42 IS before and they were pretty awesome, the stabilization really does work, I was impressed, the downsize was they felt awkward to hold and they are heavy. On the second night I believe I saw a hint of the gap between the ring and the Saturn glob, but only with Canon. I bought them last month during an attack of astro-addiction, and am painfully missing the money now. 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.

Our mirrorless cameras are easy to carry and distil the best of Canon technologies into a compact body with interchangeable lenses. So I would not recommend them as your first choice birding binoculars, but they are ideal Binoculars for Astronomy and because of the IS feature that negates the need for a tripod can also be convenient enough to use anywhere and for many other purposes.

I don't seem to have much issue with the eye relief, but I do have to fold down the eyecups with my glasses on. Hit your productivity targets with inkjet and laser printers that are a perfect fit for any workspace – including home offices. 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.Field of view (FOV) refers to the width of the area visible through the binoculars at a specified distance. NiMH batteries are much better, but if you don't mind using disposable batteries, lithium cells work best of all. Bright, tack-sharp, high contrast images with snap-to-focus rival some of the best binocs out there and the image stabilization has to be tried to be believed.

The 10x30 and 12x36 models that I reviewed were superb and that has got me thinking, just how much magnification can you get before even image stabilization binoculars need a tripod? I guess that is most useful when looking directly upwards which is awkward if your trying to use any type of support. The 10x42s turn off in only 12 seconds if put into the vertical position but he made no mention if the 15x50s do that either. Even if you need a pair of binoculars of over 10x magnification for bird watching, the most you would want to use since you walk around a lot would be something of 7x or 8x magnification.

This makes my observing sessions fast, easy and simple, with high degree of movement freedom which I value a lot. These clusters are too large to have enjoyed in my 100mm binocular telescope because of the FOV limitations.