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poro’s or roofs

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smmstclair View Drop Down
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    Posted: August/01/2004 at 13:42
Can anybody tell if there is an advantage as to which bino's to buy as far a roof style or a porro style.
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ranburr View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote ranburr Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: August/01/2004 at 14:32

I prefer roofs because they are more durable, usually waterproof, smaller and handier.  Porros are large and gangly compared to the same power and objective roofs and there seem to be issues with waterproofing porros.  If you want roofs you will have to spend more money to get the same quality as you do from a porro.  Porros are an easier design to manufacturer.  Also, it is important to make sure that your roofs have phase correction coatings.  Essentially, most any roof you would want to own starts at about $500.00 and you can get comparable quality porros for about half that.  I personally think that the waterproof ruggedness of the roof design makes them worth the extra money for hunters.

ranburr

 

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gremlin View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote gremlin Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: August/01/2004 at 21:35

Not knowing what you're most often intended use for the binoculars is going to be makes it tough to answer your question.

Of course, that never stops us from offering opinions around hereWink!

If you just want a good pair of binoculars for general use and don't have several hundred dollars that you want to spend, it's tough to imagine getting a better optical image, sharper detail, or brighter color than you'll get with a nice pair of porros.  If you pay attention, you can pick up a pair of new in the box, water resistant, fully multi-coated, rubber armored porros for around a hundred bucks from Bushnell, Olympus, or a few other major manufacturers.  For that hundred you should be able to get excellent eye relief (an important consideration if you wear glasses), a 6 degree field of view, something approaching a lifetime limited warranty, and anywhere from 7x35 to 10x50 magnification and performance.

Try getting all that in roof binocular for less than three times the price.

If you reply that you're specifically interested in a particular type of activity like birding, hunting, or astronomy, I'm sure you'll get lots of recommendations here at Optics Talk.

If you reply that you're planning on doing night-time-deep-sea-elk-hunting or the like, well... you'll probably still get lots of recommendations here at Optics Talk...

Just my two cents...

Take the long way home.

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Chris Farris View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Chris Farris Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: August/02/2004 at 10:18

For those that don't know the difference (visually) between the two binocular styles.  Here are examples of both.

PCF WP 10X5010x50 Porro Prism DCF SP 10x5010x50 Roof Prism

Porro prism binos use a dog leg shaped prism that is less expensive to manufacturer because the tolerances can be a little looser.  Porro design can offer a wider field of view and a better 3D effect because the objective lenses are set further apart.  They are larger and bulkier because of the offset barrels.  Harder to water-proof because of the connection points between the housing and barrels also most porros use an external focus mechanism that adds to the water-proofing difficulties.  A porro can be brighter (all things being equal) because the image gets bounced around less.  If you don't mind the larger size and less water-proof then a porro is a better value.




Roof prism are smaller and usually easier to hold.  The have straight barrels that house of more compact optical design that is glued together in one piece making them able to tolerate rougher treatment.  Higher end roofs use an internal focus mechanism that is more robust and easier to water-proof.  Roofs require precise tolerances in complex configurations plus Phase Coating so they tend to cost quite a bit more.  Roof prisms do need to compensate for the phase shift that occurs in the light rays and that is what the Phase Coating does, referred to as Phase Coated or Phase Corrected.

Here is the technical explanation of Phase Coating:

Phase Coating
An optical technique used with roof prism binoculars to increase color fidelity.

Due to a roof prism’s optical design, the light entering a binocular’s image-erecting roof prism is split in two. The two halves travel through the prism independently and are rejoined before entering the eyepiece. Because the two light paths are slightly different lengths, one half of the light takes a little longer to travel through the prism than the other. When the two halves of the image are rejoined, the longer light path half is slightly out of phase with the light that took the shorter route. This can reinforce some colors of light and cancel out others, affecting the color balance and fidelity.

Phase correcting coatings are optical coatings that are applied to one surface of the shorter light path half of the prism. The coating slightly slows down the short light path half of the incoming light that passes through that surface, causing it to once again be in phase with the light that traveled the longer path when they halves are rejoined.

With phase-corrected prisms, no colors are reinforced or canceled, giving a more accurate color reproduction. The effect is particularly visible when looking sun ward at a back-lit or silhouetted bird, where more color and detail can clearly be seen in the shadowed areas of the bird.

 

 

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smmstclair View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote smmstclair Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: August/02/2004 at 18:13

thanks guys for the info. I will be using these for hunting. I don't have the money to spend on a good pair of roofs at this time.  Thats why I was wondering about the quality of the porro image's compared to the roofs.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Chris Farris Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: August/03/2004 at 12:29
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote gremlin Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: August/03/2004 at 20:39

If hunting is your intended use and you don't have a ton of money to spend, then Chris hit it right on the nose with the Pentax PCF Waterproof series. 

Another option that I have had great success with is the Bushnell Legend line.  Their RainGuard product really works for me--especially in cold weather hunting.  With their coating, my breath doesn't fog the ocular lenses when I exhale--a problem I used to have with my old Swift Audubons from time to time.  I'm inclined to recommend the 8x42 because they've got pretty good low light capability yet are easier to manage out in the field than the 10x50's, but I also own a pair of the little 8x26 reverse-porro's and they are a great value in a small glass.  I have to confess that the little ones see more time in my kit than the big ones.  I tend to use the 42's more often as foul weather bird watching glasses (or should I say fowl?) and use the 26's for hunting because they're so light and compact.

The Pentax PCF WP's are brighter and just as waterproof as the Legends, but they typically add 50% to the cost.  If you're on a budget, this ol' hunter will tell you from experience that you can get a lot of mileage out of those Bushnell Legends and seldom, if ever, cuss them for letting you down.

Just my two cents...

Take the long way home.

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