Customer Reviews
one of life's must haves 
2007-05-21
These are great ! I keep mine on my boat, and they are absolutely indispensable. Even on a steady surface the stabilization is necessary due to the high magnification. I keep the rubber lens cups turned back, I find the field of vision is unrestricted this way. I think these are the best binoculars available, a superb product, one of life's must haves !!
Canon 18x50 - IS All-Weather Binoculars 
2006-12-31
I just bought these Canon binoculars 18-50 at Amazon.Com. Optically they are fantastic and I would rate them with 5 stars..but for the following poor design issues.
When using the holding strap it can and will damage the rubber eye pieces.
Canon designers put no thought into this.
The front lenses are too close to the front edge of the body. As a result the lenses can be easily scratched .
Canon designers put no thought into this.
If Canon increased the throat dept on front lens, they would have assured adequate scratch protection for the lens.
Canon designers put no thought into this
Lastly the protective lens caps are worthless.
Canon designers put no thought into this either.
Why do Canon design people, develop a first class pair of binoculars with world class optics , and then do a cheap crap design to the finished product . Beats me!!
Cannon 18x50 IS binoculars 2006-11-10
I was very pleased with the Canon 18x50 IS binoculars. We took them to the Galapagos Islands and they performed well. Teh IS really assists with ship rocking and minor shakes. I have a few thoughts that would make these binoculars more user friendly.
1. Try to make them lighter. My wife found it difficult to carry them for extended periods of time.
2. Please add fip open ocular and objective lens caps rather than the loose caps. These get lost and the ones tied to the binocular body make it easier to cover the lneses in inclement weather.
3. Making the units water proof and not just resistent would be a big factor for those of us who use the binoculars in nature photography especiall in a canoe or kayak.
4. Having an optional camera adaptor would be great for photography buffs.
Overall this binocular is a great addition to the human eye.
Great but has some design flaws costing another $350 in repair 2006-03-22
Right out of the box, these binoculars, no doubt are one of the best pair of optics I have ever purchased. The Image Stabilization feature is what makes the bincoluars so attractive...and expensive.
They work great on the water or in situations that will reduce hand shakieness.
I own a pair of 10x30 Canon and wanted to upgrade having liked them.
With the 18x50 I got what I expected with the 10x30 model, but the weight of these bincolars is a bit of a draw back. At least they have a tripod hole for support if you need it.
The weight also creates another draw back.
**** Be aware, there appears to be a design flaw with the top eye peice portion. Due to the heavy weight of these 18 x 50 binoculars, one must be careful how you handle them.
These binoculars have a different method for their case carrying strap then the other Canon image stablization binoculars. Other models have a strap for the case and another neck strap for the binoculars themselves.
On the 18 x 50 model it uses the same neck strap, for both the bincoular and the case. Simply, the case has no strap and you place the binoculars in the case and pull neck strap out from the case, over the top case flap and use it as the case's carrying strap.
On first look, it seems like a better idea.
The neck strap attaches to the eye peice portion of the binoculars, while the other 'lighter' models have the neck strap attaching to the body itself. This causes the weight of the entire units to be supported on the eye piece portions.
Having only had these 18x50 IS binoculars less than three weeks from purchase, I pulled the binoculars out of the case when the top eye piece portion separated from the main body. This was with little pressure and being careful everytime I handled them.
I figured it was a simple fix, perhaps snapping pieces back in place. This was not the case. On closer inspection the fastening screws, which held the eye piece portion to the main body, were still in tack, but the screw holes, which kept the main body to the eye peice in place, appeared not to be strong enough to handle extra pressure.
The outer loop of the screw holes on two of the three screw holes broke away.
The screws are set too close to the outer part of the eye peice base for strong enough support and the material supporting the screw holes are too weak to support the existing body weight and pressure exerted on it over time.
This breakage came with little effort and pressure or from abuse.
I thought about repairing them myself, but figured it still was under warranty (only 3 weeks old) and the cost of $1,100 should be enough excuse to send them to Canon Repair for a quick fix.
BOY WAS I SADLY MISTAKEN. Canon Repair charged me another $350 to repair it and it's now over 4 weeks and I have not seen them yet. I've owned them less than 8 weeks and more than half of that time is in repair!
I just wonder if anyone else has had this problem as it certainly appears it's a design flaw because of the overall weight.
So to review them I would say great binoculars but becareful on how you handle these items, if you need a good pair of binoculars, I would say go with the lower models of the Canon IS series as they are more durable!
great binoculars for looking up at night 2006-03-01
As a novice astronomer I really enjoy the sharp, steady view with these binoculars. The view is fairly steady even with the I.S. off - depending how stable you are of course. My binoculars cost more than my telescope !! And my telescope is a decent one too. But I think they are worth it. You see so much more in the night sky than what the naked eye can see - by far. They are of course great during the day too. Their weight is not much of an issue for me, although each person is different depending on their viewing habits. I think a hard carry case would have been the best but it's not a big deal for my use. I recommend this pair of binoculars to anyone who is serious about great quality and performance.
Great, But Not My Favorite Canon IS Binoculars 
2008-06-04
I have been an avid birder watcher for several decades. I've owned most of the top-of -the-line European binoculars (Zeiss, Leica, etc.) over the years. I purchased the Canon 12x36 IS binocs over 2 1/2 years ago and I love them. However, thinking that more magnification would be better, I ordered the 18x50 IS pair a year later. I have since sold them and use mostly the Canon 12 power. Here are a few reasons why they were not right for me:
* Bigger is not always better. The extra weight and size caused me to leave them in the closet and take the 12x36s, one of my other pair, or worst, no binoculars at all. Even the best optics are no good if you don't have them with you when you need them.
* Smaller field of view. It takes some practice seeing a bird with your naked eyes and then swinging the binoculars up smoothly so that you keep the bird (or any other small subject) in line with your vision. As experienced as I am at this I found it harder to accomplish with the narrow view of these powerful optics. Sometimes all you get is a few seconds to spot and identify a rare bird. Quicker is better.
* Shallower depth of field. With greater magnification the accuracy of your focusing becomes more critical due to a reduced range of focus. With distant objects I found myself fiddling with focus knob more than I would like to.
* Less that the best optical performance. Don't get me wrong, these are very sharp, high quality glasses, just not the best. When viewing objects against the sun you can get a color flare, or ghost image (chromatic aberration). Only the highest quality optical designs get close to completely eliminating this problem. When you are trying to tell one bird from another closely related species, color is often all than you have to go by.
I am still a big fan of the Image Stabilization technology and I still use my 12x36 IS binoculars daily, however, the idea that more magnification is always better, especially for birding, is misleading. I am planning to buy the Canon 10x42 L series binos. In the past this magnification has been my favorite and the added benefit of IS will make it an even better choice. The biggest reason for this decision is the superiority of the L class optics. I own several L lenses for my Canon digital SLRs and they are superb.
If you don't mind the size and weight, or you really need the extra power (like for astronomical observation) these are great binoculars to add to your collection. If you looking one pair to use on a regular basis and you want the best optical quality combined with image stabilization, I would go with the 10x42 IS L glasses and save yourself the time and expense of buying the wrong pair. But that's just my opinion. If you can, take a look at both of them in person before you buy one.
Canon 10x42 L Image Stabilization Waterproof Binoculars
Super Stable product 2008-05-16
Buy these if you are into bird watching (any type) live sports, or just want to hear you friends say "WOW!" when you turn the image stabilizer on when they are looking through these binoculars.
Worth every penny!!
Great Binoculars 2008-01-23
I bought the Canon 18x50 mage Stabilization binoculars to use at football games and at golf tournaments. The image stabiliation feature is fantastic. At football games you can look right at a couple of players. It may have to much power for a football game if your seats are close. At golf tournaments it is great to concentrate on one player. I would buy them again. I wish binoculars had a zoom in zoom out feature.
Shake Free Viewing 2007-12-21
These are my second pair of Canon IS binoculars. The 1st were the 12x36's. There is simply no comparison between the image quality of Canon Image Stabilized binoculars and even the best manufacturer's non-stabilized versions. The current generation IS is simple to use and compensates for significant user shake. My new 18x50's hold an image relatively still even better than my 12x pair.
The field is extremely flat and crisp with zero visible distortion from edge to edge. Another useful feature is the ability to easily adjust the interpupilary distance so the two fields merge into one. Color is excellent and so is contrast. Canon optics are very good indeed.
18x power binoculars open a whole new vista into night time sky observation....the edge of the Milky Way looks absolutely incredible, you can see crystal clear views of moon craters, etc. All this viewing can be done without preocupation to hold the binoculars still and refocus all the time. Your observation time is actually spent looking at moons, double stars, and clusters.
I am very glad I decided to spend the extra money these cost. The image quality and stabilization definitely make these binoculars worth it.
failed stabilization 
2007-10-05
When I push the 'stabilize' button, one 'eye' stabilizes - the other doesn't - resulting in 2 out-of-sync images. Canon had me send them to their repair center, then e-mailed me: "We are returning your BINOCULAR 15X45IS to you un-repaired. We regret that we could not be of further assistance." After calling their 800 number they explained that after 7 years they were at the 'end of life' and the parts were not available to repair them. The 15x45IS's appear the have the very same body as the 15x50s - hopefully they've learned how to make them more reliable...
