After this, though, the discussion usually becomes a little sticky, if not downright stuck. The culprit here is magnification. For sure, magnification is why birders buy binoculars, but it is also one feature that generates a lot of hot air. Every birder has an opinion on magnification, and there is never a shortage of advice as to what constitutes the best magnification for birding. But much of this opinion is subjective and personal.
People tend to be emotional about magnification, and quite irrational.
Some birders recommend the highest magnification possible for a birding binocular, regardless of the consequences, while others maintain that an entire arsenal of binocular magnifications is needed to be a complete birder. And then there are those who proclaim their personal choice of magnification to be superior to all others. No wonder beginners become confused. The tragedy here is that beginners often dwell on magnification at the expense of other features. They fail to recognize that magnification is just one part of the overall optics package, and not necessarily the most important one.