Pentax PCF WP II 20x60 Binocular

Pros:
Good image clarity and brightness.
Focus lock? May be a plus, but I have not put this to use.
Comfortable to hold. Fits my hands well enough (small hands with short fingers) and thumb impressions fit.
Well constructed.
Waterproof.

Cons:
Relatively heavy at nearly 3 lb (45.1 oz).
Focus wheel is rather stiff (1.5 rotations, lock-to-lock).
Parallax suffers signicantly at close focus range.

For my use to scan, search for & count birds on the water, this works well, even better than I anticipated. I expect it will also be my choice for shorebirds and gulls. Have yet to try it for astronomy. Still love the poroprism design and prefer it over roofs. And this is much more fun than a spotting scope if you need only the 20x. Large and relatively heavy but still usable hand-held, although a tree trunk or a car window support helps for long viewing.

Recommended

This is a fantastic binocular for certain uses. I use it mostly for astronomy. It has a narrow, but very sharp 2.2 degree field of view(FOV). The whole FOV is very usable(sharp). With its 20x magnification, it can resolve some star clusters, and see many more stars than lower power binoculars. While it is very light and feels good in my hands, I have to mount it most days to enjoy it. It is powerful enough to see many craters on the moon, and some people have seen Saturn's rings with it. It definitely shows the moons of Jupiter and Saturn. Since it is lightweight, it is much easier to mount and doesn't require a "heavy duty" tripod, though I would recommend one that can hold 2x this binocular's weight. The eye relief is very comfortable, and the twist out eye cups work well. The coatings are very good. I give it four stars because of its very specialized nature and very narrow FOV, think of two spotting scopes.(If this is exactly what you want, consider it 5-stars) If you're thinking of a 20x80 binocular, consider this one as well. It will be easier to mount and carry, and has better build quality than many of the cheap 20x80's out there (which are often effectively 18x72). With its high magnification, I can see some chromatic aberration, but its well controlled and I don't think it's problematic. This is visible on the moon, and in some high contrast daytime scenes.

The Pentax PCF WP II 20x60 binocular serves dual purposes for me. I use it at night for beautiful views of stars, planets, and brighter galaxies and clusters. I also like it during the day as a substitute for a spotting scope. The bright, sharp, 20x view is great for spotting distant wildlife, including whale-watching! The 3-D effect of the porro prisms is great for identifying distant shorebirds and waterfowl. Its size invites hand holding, but to really appreciate the sharp 20x image it's best mounted on a tripod or window-clamp.