Newbie buying binoculars

Hi all, I'm a complete newbie to astronomy, and need some advice.
Ok, so I wanted to get a top class telescope, all nice and shiny, but realised from reading advice on the boards here that I wouldn't have the first clue what to do with it. So, I'm buying my first pair of binoculars.
And I'm confused already!
7x50, 8x50, giant binoculars etc.
If anybody has any opinions on which are better, I'd really appreciate hearing them.

Hi,

When it comes to binoculars there are three things to bear in mind:
1) Magnification - too little and you're not going to see much, too much and you'll need a tripod to hold it steady and things will start to get dimmer
2) Lens size - too small and you won't gather enough light to see anything of interest, too big and you won't be able to hold the binoculars without a tripod because they will be too heavy.

So, it all comes down to balancing these factors. For your primary pair 10x50mm is the best balance. If you enjoy the 10x50s then you could consider getting 80mm binoculars with perhaps some more maginification but at that stage you'll need a tripod and you'll be in to fairly big bucks. Sometimes it can also be nice to have a REALLY big field of view for sweeping the milkyway so you might also consider 6x50mm or 8x50mm but again as an addition to a pair of 10x50mms not a replacement.

So, in short, for a first pair my advice would definitely be a pair of 10x50mms. I've had years of joy out of mine and I wouldn't trade them for anything!

Bart.