My husband and I will be spending 25 days in Ecuador and want to buy a good pair of image stabilizing binoculars so that we can enjoy the night sky. I've read lots of reviews, including Gary Seronik's review and Cloudy Nights plus others, and am still debating which ones to buy. I'm considering Canon 10x42L, 15x50 and 18x50. The 10x42 has a wider field of view at 6.5 degrees but I'm concerned that 10x may not be a high enough magnification. My concern about the 15x and 18x is the field of view (4.5 degrees and 3.7 degrees respectively) - will we be able to find what we're looking for which small field of view? I can't find anywhere in the Salt Lake City area to actually get my hands on any of these binoculars to actually try them so it looks like I'll be ordering and then returning ones I don't want. (Cabela's MIGHT have a pair but I can't get the binocular department to answer the phone....) BTW I'm a birder so I'm hoping to put these to use while birding but that's not a main decision point. Does anyone on this list own a pair of IS binoculars and would you recommend what you have? Any input would be greatly appreciated. Nancy Matro