I'll try to find somewhere that stocks the Sunagor and have a peer through them - but as they are primarily for astronomical or plane spotting use they aren't so easy to find as those preferred by birders.

Even the makers recommend a tripod which implies they aren't good for watching things that are moving..!

Have you already seen this review of the Olympus?
Currys are selling this on their website (only) at £230.70. Should be good - has anyone used one? It looks good for snorkelling - nice big screen and several underwater modes - so can white balance etc.

Looks interesting... I know someone who has the 720 SW... but of course I want to go one better ! It seems that it can record sound with the video underwater... would be nice to film ( and record the sound of ) those parrot fish nibbling at the coral !

If all goes well I ll have the Sunagor by mid June... just need the Olympus to go with it !

Afterall.... got to be fully armed for the arrival of the Wild Bunch !

Swiss - try posting a question about the Sunagor bins on the flights pages - the plane spotting anoraks are more likely to have tried them..
My little Fuji records sound underwater too - lots of sloshing noises then a clunk when I press the 'stop recording' button.

In todays Daily Star (not my purchase, I hasten to add) there is a full page advert for the Sunagor binos that they say are the most powerful in the world. I still worry that with that level of magnification, you would be using a tripod all the time! Plus, why are they suddenly appearing in newspapers? Are they discontinuing the model or something?

That Olympus camera does look "the dogs doodahs", Swiss. I'm just concerned that, you would not wish some of the noises YOU make underwater to be preserved on a video!

Sunagor website shows these bins with a comment "catalogue suspended" so Mr. Carrot may be right.
I tried 'phoning a couple of specialist binocular shops earlier - neither sell zoom binoculars because, as one of the guys told me,
"They are great except they don't work!"

That's interesting, Alan. I do believe that there is some "odd reason" why the tabloids are running ads for these binoculars.
I do take issue with whoever you spoke to that said zoom binos. dont work! I am absolutely delighted with my Nikons which you will obviously get the chance to try soon enough. I have now had a few days to try them out and they certainly work for me!
Dont be too hasty, Alvin, thats a lot of money to spend without any real experience of them. The camera is a different matter, its a well known and respected manufacturer.

Alongside the prime Nikon, Leica, Zeiss etc you would notice a difference Carrot.

I see that Argos sell the 25-140x Sunagor porro prisms. I'll see if our local store will let me have a look.

Why do you want such powerful binos Swiss - 'cos if it really is to spy on the young ladies of Saudi we may need to print out a few of these postings and mail them (anonymously) to a certain someone...

Well I do have my Bushnells... 10 - 30 x 30... but at max zoom which I rarely use the vision is rather dark, hence the need for the 25 - 150 x 70. I reckon that even at only 60 - 70 x magnification they will be far superior to my Bushnells. 150 x would be superb for moon gazing during the full moon when the WB visit.

So... let me know by early tomorrow morning if you can whether I should go ahead or not ( my mother is coming down here on the 8th June )... otherwise I ll be looking at someone else to carry them down here - and at a good 1.5 kg weight they ll no doubt take up quite a bit of space !

My Sealife froze the other day whilst snorkelling ( second time that has happened ) and with the only way to fix being to remove the battery, it can be rather annoying !

Water must've been cold then

My Sealife froze the other day whilst snorkelling

Well, there is one way that I can think of to warm the water around your camera a little.................................................................

I see that Argos sell the 25-140x Sunagor porro prisms. I'll see if our local store will let me have a look.

Seems we had the old edition catalogue - they don't flog 'em any more...

OK.... so what about Spion or Barsk zoom binos ??

Whose..
Just found a review of the Spion's om-line. Wasn't great. Several customers moaning about poor alignment - with high power binoculars that'll always be the issue.
One reviewer was happy with moon-gazing; but that, of course is black and white - big issue is how good they'll be when used in colour.

How about the National Geographic ones (up to 108x) from Argos. Anybody got a local store with some in stock

Cheers Alan.... I ll google that when I am in Cairo - leaving in ten mins !