Last year I purchased a set of Pentax DCF WP 10x42 binoculars. I can tell you that for the money these are superb roof prism binoculars. Pentax also makes this model in a 10X50. I did a considerable amount of research before buying and I was convinced this was as good a set of glass as you could get without spending several hundred dollars more. If you shop the internet you can probably find a pair of the 10x50s in the upper end of your price range. I believe that Pentax discontinued this model line this year and came out with their new top end model that cost a couple hundred more. I think there are still plenty of the DCF WP models available in the market and I have been very happy with mine. Good luck.
