As with everything, I suppose it depends on how much you want to spend, ultimately. For sports and action, then a good AF system is probably more important than say resolution. Your Olympus is an older camera, so pretty much anything current is going to perform a bit better. Larger sensors will offer better image quality and low light performance, so perhaps consider moving up to APS-C or even full frame, if you’re willing/able to spend more. The Sony system is pretty extensive, and the AF on their cameras is excellent. Nikon have a small-ish mirrorless camera, the Z50, which has excellent ergonomics, and the advantages of newer technology such as face and eye recognition AF (I think it even does animals). Canon’s smaller ML cameras such as the M50, although these use a dedicated lens mount unlike the Sony and Nikon ML cameras, which use the same mount throughout the range (so good if you decide to ‘upgrade’ later to full frame). Lenses start to get very expensive though. Canon have the RF mount full frame ML range, but again, expensive. Fuji are very highly regarded, but I’m not familiar with their cameras. As for sticking with the Olympus; I think Panasonic were the only other manufacturer to do the smaller sensor, and they’re pulling out possibly, and Olympus’ camera division has been bought up by another company, so their future is uncertain. I think with the small APS-C ML cameras available now, the smaller format has become somewhat redundant.

Nah I sit in front of a 27 in imac every day, 32 in would be great. There’s never been a time when I though, mm wish this screen was smaller!

Depends on how close you are to the screen. I’m less than 2 feet away. 21.5″ is adequate, 24″ would be about spot on I think. Our TV is 32″. And that’s fine (we’re only sat about 8 feet away from it). Sitting close to a large screen requires a lot of head movement. I don’t get the obsession with massive screens. To me, colour accuracy, dynamic range, clarity and resolution are far more important than size.

Speaking of USB-C etc; my wife mistakenly took my only Thunderbolt cable into work, thinking it was a micro-USB lead that she can charge her ‘phone with. And has lost it. It’s the only cable that I can use with my camera; standard USB-C ones don’t work. :( Thirty odd quid to replace it.

Nice! Good sense of ‘urgency’ in that track. Slightly anxiety-inducing.

Something in a similarly hard and fast vein:

talk they are probably going to go bigger than 27 inch eh?

I hope not. 21.5″ here, and whilst I’d prefer say a 24″ screen, I’ve seen rumours of a 32″ one, and that’s just silly unless you’re in say a studio type environment where your screen is some way from where you sit. The 27″ screen would just about be useable. But with a much thinner bezel/surround, so that it takes up less physical space than the current model.

Apple nerds

Why do some people just have to have a dig at others, simply for choosing something different to themselves? You don’t get called a ‘Ford nerd’ or a ‘Heinz nerd’ etc, simply for favouring one brand over another. So much hate.

As for the chargers; it’s true that most people already own at least one USB charger; we have a box full of spare chargers, leads and those cheap crap earphones you get with new ‘phones. Some friends of ours, a household with up to 8 people at any one time, held an ‘audit’, and discovered they had about 30 different USB chargers, 20+ pairs of earphones/headphones, and countless leads of various types. Daft. I’ve fitted some USB/power electrical wall sockets, so we’re not always looking for a charger (my wife will routinely lose them/leave them at friends’, work etc). Our local charity shops won’t take any USB chargers as they’re inundated and had to simply throw hundreds of them away. So; I think Apple not including a charger with every device, is a sensible thing to do. Yes it’s mostly a marketing ploy, but it’s still better than supplying yet another probably surplus charger and more packaging.

I’ve been wondering this. Spoken to a few London shops; the outlook isn’t great. CV aside; Brexit will mean unit prices will be significantly higher, so this will impact on the higher end stuff a lot more. Getting something like a Specialized Epic Evo in to test ride will be a challenge, from what I gather. Shops aren’t going to want to be lumbered with expensive stock they can’t sell, taking up space. The demand for ‘ordinary’ bikes for commuting has soared, so that’s what shops will be getting in. Hence my plan to go on holiday and see if I can pick something up abroad. Yes; it’s not good for the UK market, but if I can’t get what I want here, I’ll look further afield.

I’m wanting a 27″ M1 iMac too, won’t be till later on in the year apparently.

So annoying. I would have bought an M1 MacMini to tide me over for a while, if I’d known. Rumours first suggested around late Nov last year, in time for the Xmas market, then Spring this year, now what? I suppose the next big window for retailers is the new academic year in September, so perhaps late July-ish? I do hope so. M1 (or whatever they call it) iMac, 24-28″ 5k screen, thinner bezel, smaller effective ‘footprint’, user-upgradable RAM. It’s not much to ask for.

It’s encouraging just how little most people really cared about the death of a racist old man, and that the monarchy isn’t held in anywhere near the same reverence as it once was. It shows people are less willing to be ‘ruled’ perhaps (they still are, effectively, but not so much by a ‘monarch’ as in previous times). And there has been a political shift in thinking more towards democracy (precisely why those in power are desperately trying to undermine that), so it’s a progression, of sorts. The BBC, effectively the ‘state broadcaster’, has an obligation to show deference to the Royals, it operates under a Royal Charter, after all. And programming would have been organised to have a much distraction away from actual important events as possible. I think if people understood the nature of the BBC, broadcasting and propaganda a bit more, they wouldn’t be surprised why the TV was awash with content surrounding the death of a royal. Oh look, a squirrel!

I just wish Apple would release some new desktop computers. Lifestyle devices such as iPads are all well and good (I have an iPad, I love it), but I need a replacement for my ageing iMac, and with ‘new Macs coming’ since nearly a year ago now, I’ve been patiently waiting to spend some money, yet there’s still nothing new other than various rumours. Apple still have the older Intel models on sale, but the M1 chipped MacBooks and MacMinis are reportedly better in many ways, so I’d rather wait for the newer products.I would happily have bought a new iMac last summer, but talk of new machines made me hold off. And I’m still bloody waiting. Come on Apple; less of the frippery and more proper computers please.

Have a look at the first couple of minutes of this

That’s exactly the same video I posted earlier.

The main thing is that a larger wheel has lower rolling resistance and rolls over obstacles more easily. However, a larger wheel and tyre will be heavier and you need a longer wheelbase to fit them in, so it’s a matter of finding the best compromise.

The science is about the rolling resistance and a bigger wheel (especially off road) just simply rolls better. Try riding a 20″ wheeled bike off road (I have done the a bit too) and you will really notice how wheel size matters.

I am well aware of all the theory, and I’ve ridden enough different types of bike/wheel sizes to have a reasonable idea about the physics etc. And as I’ve said; so far, I prefer smaller wheels off road, for their advantage in certain situations, and the ‘feel’ of the bike. I really want to try some current bikes out, to see if there is indeed any significant improvement in that regard, with 29ers. I fear bike shops won’t have sufficient stock and means for testing for a while though at least. So looking more perhaps for 2022 than this summer really (travel is probably effectively out until Autumn now as well, I’d imagine). Are there still autumn bargains like there used to be? Or will the lack of stock mean shops can flog stuff off at full price regardless? And can anyone answer my queries regarding buying a bike abroad? If I pay full tax and ride it abroad, does it then constitute a ‘new’ bike in terms of bringing it home?

Stopped watching after Ep.2. It’s dreadful. I feel sorry for the cast. It’s so appallingly written, totally unnatural, stilted dialogue, lack of any real humanity in the characters, it’s like a computer wrote a drama series. It’s trying to be all ‘edgy’ and ‘noir’, and failing miserably. All so predictable really. Shame.

The most important thing right now is that the party sticks together, and unfortunately for some on here, that means the left shutting up for a little while … and for double God’s sake dont put any ideas to ‘duh membership’ to vote on.

So basically; shut down democracy within the party? Exclude anyone who doesn’t subscribe to a form of ‘ideological purity’? So; the answer to claims that Labour aren’t listening to anyone, is, to not listen to anyone? Great idea. I can’t see how that can go wrong. :D

Something like a parakeet, which contrasts well against a background, is a bit different to say a Wren in it’s typical habitat. I used a set of 20s for years, and the 8x42s are so much clearer, sharper, brighter.

Any thoughts on theae for £100?

The ‘Aculon’ range seem to be the older porro prism design, so will be bulkier and heavier than the now more popular roof prism designs. Porro prism binoculars are technically better than roof, but these days, optics are so good there’s little or nothing in it. If you’re not so fussed about size and weight, those Acculons are very good value.

I can’t even do a picture of me with my own bike, let alone anyone else’s. :(

The reason everyone switched to 29ers was because they are faster.

I’ve looked for actual evidence of this, and all I can find are a couple of not particularly scientific ‘tests’, and loads of people shouting ‘it just is!’. And then there are arguments for smaller wheels being faster in certain situations. So it surely comes down to type of terrain, riding style, size of rider etc. As a smaller person, I feel more comfortable off road on a smaller wheeled bike (yes, I have tried 29ers, before anyone starts screaming at me…). I haven’t tried all bikes though, so perhaps there’s one that’s designed that would suit me better than others. Some manufacturers seem to offer smaller frame sizes with 27.5″ wheels, so there must be something in that. I know I’m not the only person wanting to at least have smaller wheeled options available.

Some interesting opinion here (from the beginning to about 3’50”):

In the last few weeks, my research has led me to conclude that trying some bikes out is probably the best way forward, and that fashion still plays as much a part of defining MTBing as it did when I was last properly involved. ;) Marketing spiel is as virulent as ever, and there are many more things to spend your money on now. Carbon rims, electronic gears, seatposts that go up and down! Marvellous.

it’ll never be a main job for me but the work I have been offered crosses over several of my hobbies, I will get to see work being carried out I would never otherwise get to see and meet people I would never otherwise get to me. And the people I will initially be doing some work for have already done some work for me so if it leads to other stuff – great, if not then it is a favour repaid :).

Great stuff. My philosophy has always been to be able to take pictures other people will enjoy, and if I get paid now and then, that’s a bonus! I’ve had opportunities to go ‘pro’, but as I’ve said, I chose a different path and I’m more than happy with that. Meeting people, doing things, going to places you otherwise wouldn’t, is more reward than many get in life.

Sorry, who died?

DMX.

No clue at all

Clearly. I think that sums up your ‘input’. I have no desire to continue indulging your need for confrontation, and I’m sure everyone else is bored with it too, as it contributes nothing to the discussion. So, if you don’t mind, can we just agree to ignore each other from now on? Thanks.

My wife has an aversion to 29″ wheels so we stuck 27.5×2.4 rubber in her 2018 spark 910 Contessa with a 43mm BB drop.. it did not work. Pedal strikes galore with 165mm cranks.
The Sparks 43mm drop is considered low already.

Interesting, and very useful information there.

to make a living from wedding photography is my idea of hell

Tried it once, went fine, but never again. Far, far too much stress. And I enjoy photographing people.

At the moment this is going to be very much a side line and mainly to help out some people who have helped me out in the past but am hoping it’ll lead to some interesting gigs. These folk are connected to say the least and if it leads to other work great, if not then I am, if not monetarily, very much indebted to to them for work they have done for me.

Photography isn’t anywhere near as lucrative as it once was, and even then it was a struggle to make a living, never mind anything else! I’ve had all the ‘oh this will definitely help you out, you should pick up some good jobs off the back of this’, but that rarely if ever bore true. You’ve got to really hustle for work, all the time, unless you’re on someone’s ‘books’, and even then people just aren’t making the money they once did. A combination of photography being much more ‘accessible’, and the raw image being somewhat devalued (Photoshop etc can make silk purses out of sows’ ears, it seems) has led to the profession having to take a dive. That’s life I suppose. I decided many years ago, that trying to pursue a professional career in photography wasn’t for me; I just wasn’t driven enough to do stuff that other people wanted (I’m still in love with photography though, and to me that’s the most important thing). Anyone who can make it stick, and make a living out of it these days, has my respect. So I really do wish you all the best.

I think the summary was you’re an idiot because you won’t try a modern geometry bike before you make up your mind AND seem to think weight is the be all and end all for bimbling about Epping Forest.

Er, I think people simply just didn’t understand what I wanted, and suggested something they wanted instead. Which wasn’t the advice I was after. Hence why I chose to ignore those who weren’t understanding. And the bike won’t be just for Epping Forest; if you actually read what I’d posted you’d know this. Oh well.

As was pointed out because in our experience they will climb better than your old FSR but you don’t want to try one and keep saying its not possible.

You really don’t read stuff, do you?

I’m more than willing to try a light 29er, but that’s not possible right now

It’s actually up there, in black and white. Actual words. That you clearly didn’t read. And have you any clue why trying bikes out isn’t possible right now? Right. Let’s move on.

Just pick a 29er/27.5+ frame with a highish bb it will be the same as some 27.5 bikes. There is a massive cross over in geo. Ignore the manufacturer’s stated wheel size and look at the geo.

This is interesting. I was wondering how much putting smaller wheels on, would affect things. Anyone got any experience of this?

as per the rules

I wouldn’t want to be avoiding the tax on it anyway. I’m assuming I’d not be paying local VAT, and then paying import VAT on arrival? Or; if I pay full price for it (inc local VAT), then use it for a week or whatever, what’s the status then? I’ve never quite understood any of that. And Brexit has made it so much easier to understand, of course. I’ve never bought anything more expensive than a couple of hundred quid, when abroad.

My wife’s reaction to me telling her Prince Phillip had died, was ‘what’s for supper?’ :D Priorities.

British winters off-road kill stuff.

My commuter regularly gets used off road (the BB was on at least 2 MTBs prior to being installed on the commuter). And seldom cleaned. The amount of much it sees is horrendous. The grinding paste that is to be found on urban roads is pretty destructive, trust me. External type BBs don’t last that long in town.

According to some people on here, if you don’t want a 30lb+ ‘trail’ bike, then you’re a ‘troll’ and an ‘idiot’ for not listening to them. ;)

I’d quite like a nice, light XC type bike, with wheels that aren’t too massive, but they don’t seem to exist. I’m more than willing to try a light 29er, but that’s not possible right now. As soon as European travel is allowed once more, I intend to go on holiday somewhere with plenty of bike shops, and hire/test a few out over a couple of weeks or so, and then buy one there. This may work out cheaper and easier (and a lot more fun) than trying to source something in the UK. I’m aware some might see this as a ‘tax dodge’, but that’s not the intention; if UK suppliers can’t get stuff in, I’m not going to sit around waiting or chance buying something online without having tried it first.

Shimano UN73

‘Ooh lah-di-dah, look at me with my fancy hollow axled and slightly lighter BB’.

Show off.

Yes I can hear you Clem Fandango

Great minds.

Ray ****ing Purchase.

I have a Shimano UN5x that’s been in my commuter for about 8 years, prior to that it was in at least 2 other bikes, probably over 20 years old, so I’d estimate it to have seen about 40-50,000 miles or more. In all weathers. I think the BB in my wife’s bike may possibly be even older. Square taper isn’t just for Christmas…

There’s a lot of stigma around high rise local authority buildings, some of it warranted, but some of it not. The building I grew up in is still standing, over 50 years later, and is very solidly built. Many 50s/60s/early 70s council built housing is significantly better quality than much of the new build wave that followed. My childhood home has seen two subsequent waves of new building come and go; one lot lasted 12 years before demolition (early 80s, replaced mid 90s, the succeeding buildings are now marked for ‘extensive redevelopment/demolition’). So; if the flat is very cheap, and the building of that older generation and sound, I’d say go for it. Could end up being a shrewder ‘investment’ than some 80s Barrat box.

A neighbour’s son lives in a high up flat in the Barbican estate in central London. Incredible views, and it’s worth millions apparently. And surprisingly spacious; none of the 40 square metre shoeboxes that are going up now. I’d live there in a heartbeat.

TTL is pointless for non moving subjects when you will likely be shooting tethered to a laptop and adjusting lightning accordingly.

I wouldn’t say it’s ‘pointless’, I’ve had some fantastic results with the Nikon iTTL system. It’s surely witchcraft. But for larger setups, you will probably want a more powerful system anyway. Using a flash head at 1/32 of its power, is much better than blasting a flashgun close to it’s max output, it’ll last a lot longer. The Nikon system will also trigger flashguns and heads remotely in other modes, A and M, so you wouldn’t necessarily be reliant on TTL control, although it’s only the most recent guns that offer wireless rather than optical/line of sight triggering. As mentioned, other wireless triggers are available, and surprisingly inexpensive.

If only I had not lost my Sekonic 758 when out hiking 🙁 . That was a beast of a tool…

Yes, the current L-858 is £700! I bet you cursed when you lost that! I had an older Sekonic spotmeter for a short while; got it ridiculously cheap second hand, but my cameras had perfectly good spot meters built in (Nikon F4 and F5), so the Sekonic became redundant. I did also use a L-308 in a studio, that was really good. Second hand versions are still pretty expensive though, last I looked.

A lot of kit you can easily get second hand. Flashguns and heads could be a bit of a lottery; you don’t know how hard they’ve been used. But stuff like stands, diffusers etc should be ok. What I will say though, is try not to let studio work consume you; it can be reasonable as a source of income, but so much of your time will be spent setting up and in post, so you’ll do a lot less actual photography. And you’re not going to be creating ‘art’; clients may be pleased with your results, but only as far as how well they show up their products. Your work probably won’t be lining the walls of über trendy galleries, attended by skinny androgynous young bohemians, and getting critical acclaim. And you’ll be spending a LOT of time sat in front of a computer screen. If that appeals to you, if that’s your kind of thing, then you’ll love it. I didn’t, and several studio photographers I’ve known, have fallen out of love with photography, as shooting in a studio is all they do. Keep several irons in the fire, is what I’m trying to say; go out on your off days and shoot people, plants, places. Keep your mind attuned to more than one type of thing. Hold on to your love of photography.

Can you back that up?

Yep:

HRH The Duke of Edinburgh first considered the idea of a national programme to support young people’s development in the autumn of 1954 at the request of his inspiring former headmaster, Kurt Hahn.

In the post-war era, His Royal Highness wanted to bridge the gap between leaving formal education at 15 and entering into National Service at 18, so that young men made the best use of their free time, found interests and acquired self-confidence and a sense of purpose that would support them into their future and help them to become well-rounded citizens.

Following discussions with the Minister of Education in 1955, The Duke of Edinburgh consulted a number of national voluntary youth organisations with a ‘boy’ membership with a view to starting a pilot.

Led by Sir John Hunt (later Lord Hunt), who provided the necessary administration and co-ordination amongst the partner organisations as the first Director, a pilot for The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award was launched in February 1956. The programme had four sections; Rescue and Public Service, Expeditions, Pursuits and Projects, and fitness, which would holistically support, guide and upskill young men as The Duke envisaged.

(From the DofEA’s own website)

So; he didn’t come up with the concept, and I think the notion of him doing much more than chatting to a few others about it, is a bit of a stretch really. He certainly didn’t put in thousands of hours work into setting up and running the scheme, that was done by others. It was part of a raft of projects founded in the post war rebuilding era.

Would it all have happened, around the world, without his support?

Wouldn’t it have? Who knows. I think his input in anything beyond a nominal status, is pretty unlikely. People like that don’t tend to do any actual work.

These threads always bring out the classiest of posts, don’t they?

Hmm; inappropriate, offensive jokes at someone else’s expense? It’s what he would have wanted. :D

You are dodging the question

No I’m not, I’m simply ignoring it. I gave those three as examples of current Labour MPs who aren’t white, privileged middle class right wing types. Ergo, possibly a little closer to the kind of people they represent in parliament, ie, their constituents. It’s this disconnect between MPs and their constituents, that has left Labour out in a political wilderness; they don’t know how to move the party forward, because they have very little in common with their constituents, party members, supporters and the public at large. They consider themselves above ‘ordinary’ people, so won’t actually listen to their concerns, wants and needs. I have no idea if the four people I’ve mentioned would actually be any good if in government. But if Labour are to move forward and actually be an attractive proposition to voters, they have to actually offer something that’s a bit more than the sugar-free alternative to toryism.

Do we get a day off for the funeral?

Is the most important question.

Racist old rich man dies. Meh.

But

the legacy he leaves through the Duke of Edinburgh Award will live on.

You know he had bugger all to really do with that, don’t you? Other than giving out the awards.

It’s comments like this which make me laugh:

Just glad they waited until after “Homes under the Hammer” to break the news

:D

Godox is a good shout, but it’s not so much the lights, as the way you use them. For product photography, you’ll be wanting to minimise/accentuate reflections depending on subject, use light and shadow to create the feeling of depth, size, etc, and probably most importantly, to get the colour as accurate as possible. Nothing worse than getting a product only to find out the colour looks nothing like the pictures. Especially difficult given the range of different monitors/screens etc. So, with multiple lighting setups, it’s a good idea to have identical flash heads, or at least the same brand, to ensure consistency. Elinchrom, Profoto, Broncolor and Bowerns are all respected brands. I must admit I’m quite out of date with studio lighting though.

Another important aspect is control; will you use TTL flash control, or set everything up manually? Studio lighting is one of the most difficult and challenging aspects of photography, for me at least. Modern TTL systems take a lot of guesswork out of the equation, but some subjects will maybe require more complex arrangements than TTL will cater for. Old fashioned optical ‘slaves’ are still very useful for triggering flashes remotely. Your ‘£1k at a push’ is quickly going to become ‘at least £1k’, unless you want to only do very small subjects, which you can do quite easily with small, inexpensive flashguns.

After the lighting itself, there’s stuff like diffusers, reflectors, backgrounds etc. Things don’t have to cost a fortune; a cut up old plastic milk bottle makes an excellent flashgun bounce diffuser, saving £40+ over a commercial product. But much of it is trial and error; get precticising setups as soon as you can, then you can learn what you need to buy, rather than just buying a load of redundant/useless kit.

I wish you luck. No way I’d want to get into commercial studio photography now.

Are these your immediate thoughts when asked to list thinkers of the labour left?

No; they’re just a few examples of Labour MPs, recent and current, that I think offer something a bit different to Hodge, Hilary Benn, Yvette Cooper etc. The kind of people who are more likely to be found in a fancy restaurant in Highgate, than actually out and about amongst their constituents. Has Cooper ever even been to Pontefract or Castelford?

Lol. Only an insane person would buy a 928 and throw money at it. Get a 996 over a 928.

This is a thread about buying a 1980s Porsche. Where does ‘sanity’ come into it? ;)

Name this pool of talent

I can’t say anyone really stands out for me. Possibly Zarah Sultana, Nadia Wittome, Bell Ribeiro-Addy, as being refreshingly different to many of the old Blairites. Piddock was ok, shame she lost her seat. Labour obviously have some recruiting to do. Perhaps they could start a grassroots campaign to engage new members? The certainly need to gain some momentum on that score…

For some reason, I confused Trail Rat with TiRed. Not sure why. Good to see you’re closer to a solution anyway, Trail Rat. I’ve considered ceiling speakers in our kitchen, but then realised it would be a load of hard work, for little real benefit. So sticking with the Homepod. Less is more.

The left’s best hope is to shut up for the meantime and let the Labour party fight on a centrist platform and hope that he delivers something more progressive once and if he gets into office. Kind of like what’s just happened in America.

An absolutely stupid idea; you’d marginalise significant numbers of party members, supporters, activists and voters. As well as actually suppressing democracy. As I’ve said repeatedly; the problem with Labour isn’t the ‘left’, it’s the very small minority who make up the right wing of the party, who have the wealth and power, who are really causing the damage. If the 2017 election had been fought by a leader with perhaps a bit more public appeal than Corbyn, Labour would probably have won. It’s not about the policies.

No. Labour’s best hope is if it quietly moves the right wing grandees out to pasture somewhere, and gets a lot more progressive thinkers in. Offering a watered down version of what the tories do, is like having low-fat stuff; it might be a little more ‘healthy’, but it’s insipid and appetising. Time to change the menu.

And people need to understand that the notion of where the ‘centre’ in British politics is, has shifted significantly. Blair dragged the party well over towards the right, enabling the tories to drag things even further right, so Starmer is now roughly around where John Major was. It’s very interesting how more objective international observers saw Corbyn as much more ‘centre left’ than the far left wing extremist the UK media made him out to be. Whoever leads Labour, needs the skill and ideas to be able to gently steer Labour back on course. Right now, Starmer is the captain of the Ever Gullible; stuck in a narrow canal, with no room to turn round.

As others have said; pushing the budget up over £100 will get you something significantly better than the £50-75 jobs. Better quality lenses, better coatings meaning a brighter image, better made, waterproof, all that sort of thing. For general birdwatching, 8x is fine; 30/32 front element as a minimum, 40/42mm does make things that much brighter. The brighter the image, the less eyestrain when using them, too. The tiny 20/25 pocket models are only really any good on very bright sunny days. I messed around for years with cheap and small binoculars, and it really is worth spending the extra, if you can afford it. A better quality pair will last ages to, if looked after. Of course, as you go up in price, you get better quality, so a £300-400 pair will be noticeably better than a £100-200 pair, generally; you start to see better edge to edge sharpness, and chromatic aberration (purple and green ‘fringing’ around subjects against a bright background) is reduced. But I think the £100-200 price range is the sweet spot for most people. I use a pair of Nikon Prostaff 8×42, and they are excellent. Not too big and heavy. I think their 8×32 are around £130-140, so something like that might be perfect for size and weight to carry around everywhere.