I have seen posts on the Fire stating the Pentex 10 X 43 DCF SP w/ phase coat is a great glass. Mule Deer had a post a couple of days ago praising them. They are no longer made by Pentex, replaced by the Pentex ZD HD 10 X 43. Are these binoculars comparable in performance? In looking for a used pair how do you tell if they have phase coating, or do they all have it in this model?

I have 8x32 and 10x50 DCF SP; they are great value in glass. You should be able to find some on EBay and Pentax has great customer service.

I'm pretty sure the old models and new models are all phase coated. I had a pair of the older models. They were the best bang for the buck back then. I think you can do better for the money today

they are great binoculars however the ones I see listed for sale are for over $400 bucks. IMO that is not worth it and not worth it by a lot. The problem is break an eyecup or mangle the focus wheel, who is going to fix them? I have no idea how pentax deals with this since they left the sport optics business essentially. They were a great value when new and when pentax was still selling them I think I paid about $450 for mine back nearly 15 years ago. For $400 I save my money an pick up some meopta meostars from doug, albeit at a bit high cost. I personally would not pay more than about $150 for a pair of these, knowing I am my own warranty station.

The first thing I ever bought from Doug @ Cameraland was a pair of these - probably 15+ years ago. I remember calling him and asking if they where real or fake ones because his price was so good:) Anyway, still have them and use them mostly on every hunt, they have been through heck and still are nice and clear. I might upgrade to a pair of the Meopta's this year but its tough since the old DCP SP's are still going strong.

I have a couple of these binoculars. I like them a lot and they were great for their time but I think there are better values available today.

There's several pair on flea-bay right now for $189.00. I have a pair of DCF WPs in 10x40 and IMHO they are great binos. Maybe one day I'll replace them with a pair of Meostar 10X40s or Leica Trinovid 10x42.

I have a 15 year old pair of 10x50 DCF WPs and they are great binos. I've had to send them in a couple times for small stuff and they repaired them once and replaced them once with a new pair( they said one of the barrels was leaking, but I never had a problem) They have a lifetime warranty and if you Google it you will see Ricoh does the warranty service.