u/Whitefriar0716

Hi all. I’ve gotten into birding these past two years and I believe I’ve outgrown the Nikon Prostaff P3 8x42 I bought as a budget entry. I also purchased these because I have poor vision and they have great eye relief when I wear my glasses.

I’ve found that my real love is for shorebirds and waterfowl, though I’m in the forest/ around town a lot and there struggle with detail. Maybe it’s the poor lens quality ?

My question is this: knowing that 8x is preferred for birding, but since I have vision problems, do you think I’ll get more mileage from better quality 8x binoculars or would 10x make sense? I’m also aware that many 10x have poor eye relief.

I’m looking at $500 or less used or new. Thanks for any insights you all have. I really just want to see the birds more sharp/clear, but also acknowledging I’m seeing many at a distance anyway.

Does anyone have any information on D.C.'s new HomeAdvantage DC program? There's a single page about it on the DCHFA website, but no information anywhere except for vague news articles from back in May.

Specifically, it has income limits for household size and "Non-Target" and "Target" Limits. I spoke with a mortgage company that does all the other D.C. first time homebuyer programs and he had never heard of it, so I'm turning here.