For anyone who is looking for very good quality binoculars at a great price, I bought a pair of Pentax XCF 10x50s on eBay for well under $100 (including postage to Australia), and can't speak too highly of them! (They're noticeably better in both optical and build quality than the Pentax Whitetails that you'll see all over eBay - get the XCF if you can find them at a comparable price!) They're bright, sharp, and wide-angle, and comfortable and light enough for extended hand-held use. They're good for both daytime terrestrial use, and night-time usage - here's my quick review:
http://julianh72.blogspot.com.au/201...inoculars.html
And for something with a bit more light-gathering power, I bought a pair of Barska X-Trail 15x70s for just under $100 (including postage). The optical and build quality isn't quite as good as the Pentax XCF, but the extra light-gathering more than makes up for it when star-gazing, as long as you can hold them steady. You'll definitely want a tripod or monopod to use them, but they are a great budget buy! Again, here's my quick review:
http://julianh72.blogspot.com.au/201...ars-quick.html