These binoculars were sent to my Marine son in Iraq. His one-word estimation of them was "Awesome". He is a hard person to impress so I'm happy with them.

I tried these binoculars out from a Steiner dealer before I purchased them. I use them for surveillance at night and can differentiate objects/persons easily at a quarter mile--sometimes even out to 1 mile! (If you have them mounted on a mono- or tripod). If you want to use them for anything closer than 80-100 feet, they're not intended for this, so you'll end up being frustrated. They have what Steiner calls 'auto-focus': essentially, you do not need to focus on anything past 80-100 feet. If you want optics to see objects close-up, go with something with a center focus. These binoculars are intended for seeing objects far away. As far as the clarity and ease of 'eye-strain', these are excellent optics! I also use them for stargazing and looking at the moon/celestial bodies, to which they are great for! Again, a good monopod or tripod is very helpful here with this. They're also built very strong (the body/frame is made of polycarbonate) and are easy to use. EVERYONE who has looked through them is very impressed. In my opinion, they're worth the money and you'll have them for 30+ years.