[astro744]

Binoculars are a very personal choice perhaps more so than eyepieces and yes the more expensive ones are made better but whether it’s worth it for you only you can answer. From the high end expect a bright, sharp, flat field with no chromatic aberration. I’ve never had the pleasure to look through Swarovski so I cannot comment on those. However there are many excellent binoculars in the low hundreds of dollars, perhaps too many to choose from.

My collection includes the following:

Vixen 7x42 Ultima. A beautiful small lightweight set for birding or astronomy. The colour is a unique warm tone I cannot fully explain other than I like it. Apparent field is 49 deg.

Orion 9x63 mini giant. Again beautiful flat 5 deg field. 45 deg apparent may not appear wide on paper but looking through these it is plenty. The image is bright even in daytime which puzzles me if your pupil is not at max in the day to match the 7mm offered by the binocular. Colours are neutral.

Celestron 15x70. Bought these used and have two glass solar filters for them. 15x is too much for me to hand hold. I use them so little I cannot even remember what the views are like but nothing bad.

Carson 10x42 3D Series ED. These are fantastic for birding and astronomy with a bit more power than my Vixen. Colours are neutral. Binoculars are very compact and come with a nice case that acts like lens covers. These are my only roof prism binoculars. Apparent field is 52 deg. which is nice and not only that is reasonably sharp. (Looks wider than 52 deg.).

10x25mm binoculars from Dick Smith store. Something for the glove box in the car. Images OK but too dim.

10x50 pair from AustraliaPost shop. I bought for my young daughter as she was interested in birding. I would have been better off buying something else. Firstly they have a blue tint to the image because of the coatings on the glass. Yuk! Secondly they came out of collimation. I let her use my Vixen when we go birding as she likes them a lot.

Others I’ve tried (shop front) but not used.

Steiner 7x50. (Not sure which model) about 1986. Always wanted a pair as the image was that memorable.

Bought and dropped breaking a prism.
OPSM 7x50. All I could afford when comparing to Steiner. Converted to home made straight through finder scopes. As a first binocular they served me well.