Binoculars
 

Am looking for binoculars and am willing to make an investment. We are taking an alaska cruise and I would like a good pair of binoculars not only for looking at the scenery from the ship but also the wild life and our excursions. Does anyone have any suggestions?

I am very pleased with our Canon 10x30 IS. The cost is around $350. The image stabilization is very effective especially on a ship. Even on land the image is rock solid. It makes a big difference. The optics are very good although not as good as the very expensive Swarovski ($1500+) or Leicas ($800+). They do not have image stablization but they do have excellent optics.

There is a very in-depth thread on this at cruisecritic.com

For Alaska you need to strongly consider wide angle. The above is not and definately not a good choice if they are wanting to spot marine wildlife. the "30" is a too narrow field of view.

Overall you want at least 10 power and an overall good range. With 10x50's a good choice.

Binoculars are just one more thing to carry around. Are you planning on taking photos? If so, a quality camera with either 12X or 18X telephoto with image stabilization will do great for looking and photos. Why just look and not take good photos. You can get a great digital camera for under $400 and will enjoy it all the more later when you review the photos and make prints , CDs or DVDs.