Rating: 
Summary: Canon 12x36IS a real winner!
Review: Being a bit of a snob when it comes to binoculars (I own now and have owned both Leica and Zeiss binoculars), I was very sceptical of some of the reviews I'd read heaping such high praise on the Canon IS series of binoculars. But since I always want to own the best, I thought that I had to try these binoculars out and disprove all those glowing reviews. Well, the first time I focused a pair of 12x36IS binoculars and pushed the image stabilization button...it was like magic! I've always had a problem holding my 10x binoculars steady enough to get a really satisfying view, and here I was looking through 12x binoculars and getting a rock steady image that brought out amazing amounts of detail in everything I was looking at. And they were acting more like 12x50 binoculars than 12x36 binoculars because you could see so much more easily and clearly when the image was so steady. So believe everything that you're hearing about how great the Canon 12x36IS binoculars are - it's true!
Rating:
Summary: The state of the art...
Review: I also have the Zeiss image stabilized 20x60 binoculars, which run about $5000, and the comparison is interesting. First, the Canon eats batteries, and I've tried using lithiums which are much more expensive, without much improvement, so take a set of alkalines along on field trips. The Zeiss does not use batteries, but it will take a while for those savings to balance the cost difference! Second, the Canons won't stabilize in a rough sea; the Zeiss will. (So will the noisy gyro-driven Yamahas, by the way.) Third, the Canons give a rock solid image with fresh batteries; the Zeiss only give an easily readable image, but of course it is 20x instead of 12x. Fourth, the Zeiss weigh a ton, the Canons are easy to carry. Fifth, obviously, the field of view of the Zeiss is considerably less than that of the Canons. However, it's pretty good for a 20x; it's a portable scope without the need for a tripod. Both are easy to use for the complete techno-handicapped.Against the best of the standard binox, the Nikon Super E and the Leicas, which I also have, the gains are terrific for most but not all purposes; e.g., the twilight performance of the stabized binox, with their limited 3mm exit pupil, is notably inferior, and the weight is less handy. But on balance, the 12x Canon is great!
Rating:
Summary: a really great product
Review: I COULD NOT HELP BUT NOTICE TWO REVIEWERS WERE DISSATISFIED WITH THIS CANON PRODUCT BECAUSE THEY SAID THE EYEPIECES WERE AT A FIXED DISTANCE AND COULD NOT BE ADJUSTED TO THE WIDTH OF THEIR PARTICULAR EYES. NEWS BULLENTIN: THE BINOCULARS CAN INDEED BE ADJUSTED TO FIT A WIDE VARIETY OF EYE SIZES. PLEASE READ YOUR OWNER'S MANUAL. NEW BINOCULARS ARE A LITTLE TIGHT TO ADJUST. I ALMOST DID NOT PURCHASE THESE BINOCULARS BECAUSE OF THOSE COMPLAINTS WHICH WERE IN ERROR. I AM VERY HAPPY WITH THIS PRODUCT AND IT IS EASILY THE BEST BARGAIN FOR QUALITY BINOCULARS ON THE MARKET.
Rating: 
Summary: Canon IS 12x36 binoculars
Review: I have about 20 sets of 10X30 IS and three sets of 15X50 IS Canon binoculars and have ordered two of these. My officers rely on these to enforce game and fish laws in Minnesota and use them in very demanding weather. We have had few failures, only a couple of repairs(due to dropping and running a set over with a boat trailer). They make the difference between being able to tell that a guy shot a duck or being able to tell what kind of duck he shot. For the money there is nothing better when detail if important.
Rating:
Summary: We haven't found anything better.....
Review: I have about 20 sets of 10X30 IS and three sets of 15X50 IS Canon binoculars and have ordered two of these. My officers rely on these to enforce game and fish laws in Minnesota and use them in very demanding weather. We have had few failures, only a couple of repairs(due to dropping and running a set over with a boat trailer). They make the difference between being able to tell that a guy shot a duck or being able to tell what kind of duck he shot. For the money there is nothing better when detail if important.
Rating: 
Summary: QUICK EVALUATION OF PRODUCT
Review: I LIKED THE FEEL OF THE PRODUCT. I WAS AMAZED AT HOW WELL IT STEADIED MY VIEWING AREA. THE EXTERNAL FEEL OF THE PRODUCT WAS GREAT, NOT TO HEAVY AND MY HANDS DID NOT SLIDE, I WAS ABLE TO MAINTAIN A GOOD FIRM GRIP ON IT. I SENT MY WIFE A E-MAIL OF THE PRODUCT AND ASKED HER TO TELL ME WHAT SHE THINKS. WE WANT THIS FOR VACATION. I THINK THAT MOST USERS WOULD ENJOY THIS PRODUCT, 3/12/2002 MR. FIELD TEST OMAHA, NE.
Rating:
Summary: Awesome
Review: I was lucky - I found a nearly new used one on eBay, cheap. Image-stabilized binocs are incredible. You won't believe the extra detail you can see. Need that little bit of detail on feather or bill for that rare bird ID? Does that bull elk half a mile off have a rack worthy of an extended stalk? The astronomy crowd touts them because those faint photons saturate the same cells in your retina, giving better images than giant binocs. They're not exactly light or compact, but they beat carrying a spotting scope and tripod, hands down. Battery goes dead? 123 batteries aren't all that big - carry extras. You can find them for a buck apiece or less online. I use my 12x36's all the time and I get a month or more out of a battery. See also my review of the Canon 8X25's RB
Rating: 
Summary: For someone else's eyes only...
Review: I was very excited when my new Canon binoculars arrived. I was particularly eager to see how the image stabilization technology that I'd read so much about would work in practise. Would it really make viewing with binoculars realize its full potential?
Well, I still have no idea if the technology works, because I never got that far. Here's the problem - the eye distance is fixed. When I put the binoculars to my eyes I can see with one eye or the other - but not both....i.e. totally useless.
So - my advice on these binoculars is to try them out in a store to see if the eye distance works for you - if it does, go ahead, buy them, and let the rest of us poor unfortunates know how well the IS system works. Otherwise, join me in waiting for the technology to develop to a point where the binoculars can be used by everyone. And if we're lucky, the price might have fallen by then, too...
Rating:
Summary: Don't try IS binocs if you're on a budget
Review: Lucky me, I found my 12x36's slightly used, at a fairly reasonable price (hint, look around at the auction sites). Once you use IS binoculars, everything else seems useless. Cost aside, so what if they're bulky and heavy, do you want to lug a tripod around? Can you always find a convienent rest? If I must travel light, I'll carry a pair of 8X20 roofs, and still wish I had the Canons. An extra bonus is that the near focus is something like 10 feet, so they also act like a long range microscope. By the way, the key to longer battery life is to keep your finger off the button while scanning, until you find something interesting to look at.
Rating:
Summary: Don't try IS binocs if you're on a budget
Review: Lucky me, I found my 12x36's slightly used, at a fairly reasonable price. Once you use IS binoculars, everything else seems useless. Cost aside, so what if they're bulky and heavy, do you want to lug a tripod around? Can you always find a convienent rest? If I must travel light, I'll carry a pair of 8X20 roofs, and still wish I had the Canons. An extra bonus is that the near focus is something like 10 feet, so they also act like a long range microscope. By the way, the key to longer battery life is to keep your finger off the button while scanning, until you find something interesting to look at.
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