Roof Prism Vs Porro Prism

Both types of prism have advantages and disadvantages.

Roof prism vs porro prism.

With components and labor efforts being equal porro prisms are superior. The prisms are usually coated to increase reflectivity and to keep the light waves in the right direction. Porro prism vs roof prism. 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.

Binoculars with roof prisms are straighter and more compact. Roof prism bino sets are often much more expensive than porro designs of the same magnification. Porro prism design has a jog in the light path through each barrel. 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.

The difference between porro prism and roof prism binoculars is in the design and the respective features. However we know that hunters and bird watchers demand a waterproof compact and lightweight binocular something that zeiss and leitz introduced in the 1960s with the roof prism binos. Roof prism binoculars were compact light and comfortable to hold. Roof prism design looks as if the light goes straight through.

But like most things in life the reality is all things aren t equal. But it would be bulkier. Contain 2 prisms called dach or dachkanten prism and derive their name from abbe koenig ak prism design. However porro prism binoculars are great watching birds or other small objects.

They made the offset zig zag shape of the porro prism design look as old fashioned as propeller driven aircraft. Roof prism binoculars have lately become more popular than porro prism binoculars. If a company put all its resources into a porro prism binocular it would be at least as good as a roof prism if not better. As these prisms are easier to make they are cheaper to buy.

These are easy to hold for you are more compact and more expensive than porro prism binoculars. And they re much better for overall general use. Porro prism binoculars have eyepieces that are closer to each other while objective lenses have larger distance. Spotting scopes are available in both the roof prism design and in the porro prism design.

Like binoculars the roof prism design in the spotting scopes results in a more streamlined shape but the porro prism design offers greater depth perception and generally offers a wider field of view. So if you re on a tight budget go ahead and look for a porro set sporting bak 4 prisms. Roof prism binocular is more streamlined as the glasses are in line with one another.