I received the Barska binos from Heartland America in fine shape. The 15x70mm is the same model & package as sold by Big 5. (Thanks to Jim Gibson for an advanced peek). Probably the best all-around astro binocular currently on the market, we're pretty familiar with this little gem by now. The 9x63mm is a curios unit. The add copy states that it has BAK-4 Porro prisms, but the prism housings are almost perfectly straight, like a roof prism housing. There is only about 1/4" of offset of the eyepiece axis from the objective axis. As a result, these have the "long and lean" look. When the interpupilary distance is set at minimum, the objective cells are nearly touching, to give you an idea of how slim and racy this bino looks. The eyepieces appear to be the same ones used on the 15x70, but with a slightly smaller field stop, so the apparent field is a tad smaller. Daytime imagery is great. Center focus with right-diopter adjustment. One problem immediately encountered was that the tripod socket on the front of the hinge was not threaded cleanly and I couldn't get the L-bracket attached. I eventually had to re-chase the threads with a bottoming-tap, then the bracket threaded-on nicely. Not a problem for me, but someone without a tap set would be out of luck if their unit had the same problem. Also, there were no dust covers included for the eyepieces, so aftermarket caps will have to be obtained or made. It's a solid unit, weighs almost as much as the 70mm binos, I can use them on the parallelogram without moving the counterweight from the 70mm position. The 7mm exit pupil provided by this unit will yield the brightest image possible in a 63mm bino, but to reap the benefit your own pupil must open to 7mm. All in all, a nice little bino. I'll report again once I've had them under the stars (if we ever get a clear sky on a weekend again, argh!). Will try and get a photo posted to the Gallery soon. C. __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Free Pop-Up Blocker - Get it now http://companion.yahoo.com/