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It's interesting to hear others experiences with their binoculars. I'd been after a compact pair for ages but never found a pair I could afford or had the image quality I was after. I wanted something ultra-portable to aid my wildlife photography (spotting the wildlife before I get close enough for them to spot me and scamper away).
I ended up picking up second hand (here on IIS) Leica Trinovid compact 8x20 binoculars. Optics and build quality are superb and well worth the wait and price to pick up. I also use them for scanning the skies while my camera or scope are on astrophotography duty. Picking out Jupiter and four moons or Saturn is dead easy with them. The Orion Nebula also is easy to make out too, better than I would have expected. This is under light polluted skies too.
Over the years with photography I guess I have learnt to hold a telephoto lens steady for shots so pocket binoculars aren't too much of a hassle to keep relatively still. Certainly with photography one thing I've learnt (the hard way, much like many amateur astronomers too) is with optics you get what you pay for. You can end up spending a small fortune on cheap equipment, then upgrading slightly, and again and again until you've spent more than a top of the range item. The fun of buying new toys is exciting, but you'll be better off equipment-wise and money-wise if you be patient, save that bit extra, and buy the better quality toy up front.
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