Roof Prism Vs Porro Prism Binoculars

The difference between porro prism and roof prism binoculars is in the design and the respective features.

Roof prism vs porro prism binoculars.

Roof prism design looks as if the light goes straight through. The prims are in the shape of a right angled triangle and they reflect the light rays through the binoculars so you see your image clearly. So if you re on a tight budget go ahead and look for a porro set sporting bak 4 prisms. Porro prisms are the more traditional ones and these are seen in older binoculars with a zig zag shape.

Roof prism binoculars were compact light and comfortable to hold. Roof binoculars are in a higher general price category than porro prism binoculars and represent a class of more powerful viewing instruments. Therefore at the cheaper end of the market they can often outperform a roof prism of the same price because to save money the will use less layers or lower quality mirror coatings. While light loss and transmission rates are huge factors in optical quality there are many other factors that allows a roof prism bino for possible superiority over a porro prism bino.

In roof binoculars prisms are arranged in a straight line which makes roof binoculars more compact and lightweight compared to porro binoculars. It is difficult to say whether porro prism or roof prism binoculars are better. And they re much better for overall general use. Prism in roof binoculars doesn t reflect 100 of the light that enters its lenses.

That s why usually porro binoculars produce brighter image. These are easy to hold for you are more compact and more expensive than porro prism binoculars. Of both types there are good and not so good instruments. The myth are roof prism binoculars are superior to porro prism binos.

Roof prisms are the newer option. Contain 2 prisms called dach or dachkanten prism and derive their name from abbe koenig ak prism design. Roof prism binoculars have lately become more popular than porro prism binoculars. If you are traveling with your binoculars roof binoculars will be a better choice than porro prism binoculars because they are designed to be a lot more durable and are usually waterproof.

Roof prism bino sets are often much more expensive than porro designs of the same magnification. You ve probably seen most of the hunting shows and read the magazines where most of the professional and sponsored hunters use top quality roof prism binocular from such optical firms as zeiss swarovski and nikon you ve probably also seen your known cheapskate buddy bob using an old gigantic porro prism bino those. Porro prism binoculars however do not need these coatings to reflect the same amount of light and so can match the better quality roof prisms at a lower cost. However porro prism binoculars are great watching birds or other small objects.

Porro prism design has a jog in the light path through each barrel. They made the offset zig zag shape of the porro prism design look as old fashioned as propeller driven aircraft.