Home > Consumer Reviews > Canon 18x50 Image Stabilization All-Weather Binoculars w/Case, Neck Strap & Batteries

As a novice astronomer I really enjoy the sharp, steady view with these binoculars. The view is fairly steady even with the I.S. off - depending how stable you are of course. My binoculars cost more than my telescope !! And my telescope is a decent one too. But I think they are worth it. You see so much more in the night sky than what the naked eye can see - by far. They are of course great during the day too. Their weight is not much of an issue for me, although each person is different depending on their viewing habits. I think a hard carry case would have been the best but it's not a big deal for my use. I recommend this pair of binoculars to anyone who is serious about great quality and performance.

I bought the Canon 18x image stabilizer binoculars a month ago and I love them.

The reason I bought these high-powered binoculars is I want to identify all the major landmarks in the San Jose South Bay area. My wife and I ride up to the mid-hill of Mt. Hamilton once a month. Most of the time before we are ready to turn back and coast down the hill, we spend a fair amount of time looking at the spectacular scenery of the San Jose and South Bay area. We want to identify as many landmarks as possible. With our compact Minolta 10x binoculars, we get a clear look at downtown San Jose and of course the Lockheed aircraft hangers. But we could not find the San Jose airport. With the new Canon binoculars, we can identify the airport and many other places. We can even find the street intersection that is only one street away from where we live. The interesting thing is once we identify a place, we can also use the compact Minolta to see the landmark, although with smaller vision. These Canon binoculars make excellent spotter.

The image stabilizer is an interesting high-tech feature. It helps to get a clear and stable view if you press the stabilizer button. However, the binoculars weight 2.6 lbs. I am tired after holding them for two to three minutes. Last time we rode up Mt. Hamilton, we bought a regular camera tripod with us. These Canon binoculars come with a built-in screw thread that can accept a standard tripod quick-release plate. With the binoculars mounted on the tripod, we spent a good half hour looking down the beautiful landscape. The obvious question is, does the use of the tripod defeat the purpose of paying extra for the image stabilizer? How much something is worth is a very personal question. It differs from person to person. I am not going to attempt to answer this question.

We are very happy to own these binoculars. This is a very pricey toy, but we love it. I first saw the Canon 15x image stabilizer binoculars at Wolf's Camera web site and they have a price tag of around $1,200. I was shocked by the price. I told myself some day I might buy it. A year later, amazon.com was carrying this 18x version at a much lower price. I was overjoyed and broke down and bought this toy the following month.

I love these binoculars -- they do everything they promise
and the performance is spectacular. My only complaint is
that the rubber eyecups are furiously uncomfortable. I
guess I have deep eye-sockets. The eye-relief is much too
much which greatly reduces my field of view and I find
myself smashing my eyes against the cups. The cups are too
large in diamater to fit comfortably against my eyes. If I
roll the cups down, the rolled down portion of the cups is
very thick and I can't get my nose between the eyepieces...
Haven't found any sort of replacement -- may start hacking with
scissors soon!

These are my second pair of Canon IS binoculars. The 1st were the 12x36's. There is simply no comparison between the image quality of Canon Image Stabilized binoculars and even the best manufacturer's non-stabilized versions. The current generation IS is simple to use and compensates for significant user shake. My new 18x50's hold an image relatively still even better than my 12x pair.

The field is extremely flat and crisp with zero visible distortion from edge to edge. Another useful feature is the ability to easily adjust the interpupilary distance so the two fields merge into one. Color is excellent and so is contrast. Canon optics are very good indeed.

18x power binoculars open a whole new vista into night time sky observation....the edge of the Milky Way looks absolutely incredible, you can see crystal clear views of moon craters, etc. All this viewing can be done without preocupation to hold the binoculars still and refocus all the time. Your observation time is actually spent looking at moons, double stars, and clusters.

I am very glad I decided to spend the extra money these cost. The image quality and stabilization definitely make these binoculars worth it.

These are GREAT binoculars! Worth the money!

I agonized and agonized. Should I buy the 15x50s? Some purchasers said the 18x50s don't TOTALLY stop the image from moving around, but the 15x50s will. What will I do if I don't like these things? Is $1,000 just too much money? Will I use these things or will they just sit in the closet?

Well, I took a chance, knowing Amazon's reputation for great customer service. One guy who bought these things said he didn't like them, returned them to Amazon with no problem. Well, I got 'em and... I LOVE THESE BINOCULARS! They're WORTH the money! The jitter is TOTALLY GONE from the image. TRUE, the entire image itself DOES move around a little with the movement of my hands, BUT I CAN LIVE WITH THIS in exchange for the FAN-FLIPPING-TASTIC views of aircraft, wildlife and the moon! I like to use binocs while lying down on a chaise lounge, so I just support my elbows on the chaise's arms. Even when I hold them in my hands, the image doesn't wander all that much. I can live with it. My arms DO get tired after about 5 minutes of using these binocs, but who cares? I'll get stronger arms!

I bought two Canon lens caps and two Hoya 58 mm UV filters. Yes, the Hoyas are more expensive than the recommended filters but, hey, if I'm gonna spend $1,000 plus for the binocs, why should I skimp on anything else?

A point here: I'm not a rich guy. I saved money to buy these things. And again, to ME, they're WORTH the money! Do what you need to do for you, but, for me, they were an essential purchase!

If you choose, buy these and HAVE FUN!!!!!!!!!!!!1