Very much agree, you get what you pay for, more or less. I'll add that the quality of mid-range optics has improved tremendously over the last decade, and that's where I'd focus (sorry) if I were in the market.

I have some very small and light Minolta binos that are decent, but just that, some compact Nikons that are a bit better, and some wonderful Swarovskis that cost several times the others, combined, used.

My prized optic is a Leica Televid scope, and you don't even want to know what that cost. Again, the marketplace has filled with spotting scopes since I bought it, so I'm certain it can be approximated for far less, if not exactly matched.

The best way to compare any sporting optics is outdoors, where you quickly sift through the winners and losers--for your eyes and interests. It's hard to learn anything inside a store.

Cheers,