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Prism types and low light performance.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote River Runner Quote  Post ReplyReply     Back to Top Direct Link To This Post Posted: February/24/2012 at 04:26
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There is a good article at allbinos.com about porro vs. roof prisms.  There is also an article about choosing binoculars for low light performance.  I read both these articles and it has changed my thinking about what I'd look for in my next pair of binoculars and what I should have bought last time.  I think if everyone read these articles before purchasing binoculars, a lot less roof prisms would be sold and older guys, like me, would stop looking for binoculars with huge objective lenses.  If I were looking for value priced binoculars for low light performance, probably the two best binoculars for me would be porros in 8x42 or 10x50.
Randy
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Bird Watcher Quote  Post ReplyReply     Back to Top Direct Link To This Post Posted: February/24/2012 at 08:55
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Originally posted by River Runner River Runner wrote:

There is a good article at allbinos.com about porro vs. roof prisms.  There is also an article about choosing binoculars for low light performance.
 
Here's one more for your reading enjoyment.
 
 
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Bitterroot Bulls Quote  Post ReplyReply     Back to Top Direct Link To This Post Posted: February/24/2012 at 09:05
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Modern roofs give up little, if anything, in practical performance (including brightness) to porros.
 
Give me a roof for field use.
-Matt
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote black crow Quote  Post ReplyReply     Back to Top Direct Link To This Post Posted: February/24/2012 at 09:57
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Originally posted by Bitterroot Bulls Bitterroot Bulls wrote:

Modern roofs give up little, if anything, in practical performance (including brightness) to porros.
 
Give me a roof for field use.

I agree. My porros never make it off my deck.   I'm amazed at the quality of roofs that I can buy now for between $200 and $400. It fact it's become down right dangerous for me. I now have  6x, 6.5x,7, 8x.8.5x,and 9x. 

 Someone stop me before I kill again. Loco

The thing is they are all excellent bins and I didn't pay over $390 for any of them.
“The moment one gives close attention to anything, even a blade of grass, it becomes a mysterious, awesome, indescribably magnificent world in itself”
― Henry Miller
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Bird Watcher Quote  Post ReplyReply     Back to Top Direct Link To This Post Posted: February/24/2012 at 10:55
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Originally posted by black crow black crow wrote:

 My porros never make it off my deck.
I'm amazed at the quality of roofs that I can buy now for between $200 and $400.
I now have  6x, 6.5x,7, 8x.8.5x,and 9x.

The thing is they are all excellent bins and I didn't pay over $390 for any of them.
"Variety is the spice of life!"
 
I use Porro prism binoculars exclusively and have done so for the past 20+ years.  No regrets.
 
I have one 7x, two 8x, two 10x, three 12x, one 15x, two 16x, six 20x, and two 30x.
I am currently eyeing a used 8x56 Porro prism bino.
 
I purchased many of them 'used' and I did not pay more than $280 for the most expensive one.
 
I did, however, purchase 1 Leupold Katmai roof prism for my wife.
She now prefers to use either the 10x44 Porro or the 10x50 Porro.
 
Stan
 
 
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Stan,
 
We will bring you into the modern age, someday.
 
I do own and love many porros, but it is hard to beat a solid roof in the backcountry.
-Matt
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I can't imagine  10x50 porro  on some the hikes I take.  Even a 32mm roof can seem bulky at times. 
“The moment one gives close attention to anything, even a blade of grass, it becomes a mysterious, awesome, indescribably magnificent world in itself”
― Henry Miller
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote black crow Quote  Post ReplyReply     Back to Top Direct Link To This Post Posted: February/24/2012 at 11:44
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And then there's the WP and FP factor.  My porro's that are WP have a stiff focuser which is a no no for the type of birding I like to do.  Lots of fast action in thick wood and brush. 
“The moment one gives close attention to anything, even a blade of grass, it becomes a mysterious, awesome, indescribably magnificent world in itself”
― Henry Miller
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Simon Spiers Quote  Post ReplyReply     Back to Top Direct Link To This Post Posted: February/24/2012 at 15:13
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The ultimate prism design for binoculars is the Porro II  design, specificity the early Ross models for example had the two prisms cemented together. Some of the Canon IS binoculars.  
 
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Bird Watcher Quote  Post ReplyReply     Back to Top Direct Link To This Post Posted: February/24/2012 at 15:40
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Originally posted by Simon Spiers Simon Spiers wrote:

The ultimate prism design for binoculars is the Porro II  design, specificity the early Ross models for example had the two prisms cemented together. Some of the Canon IS binoculars.  
Simon,
 
Love the Canon Image Stabilizer Binoculars.
Hate the price.
 
Stan
 
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Bird Watcher Quote  Post ReplyReply     Back to Top Direct Link To This Post Posted: February/24/2012 at 16:18
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Originally posted by Bitterroot Bulls Bitterroot Bulls wrote:

Stan,
 
We will bring you into the modern age, someday.
 
I do own and love many porros, but it is hard to beat a solid roof in the backcountry.
Matt,
 
The modern age offers Porro prism binoculars for a fraction of the price of a new, top-of-the-line, roof prism binocular, and when I shop for 'used' Porro prism binoculars they are even less expensive.
 
If you lived in Great Britian, where Simon S. lives, they have so many vintage Porro prism binoculars that they seem to grow on trees.
 
The fact that good, used, Porros are so inexpensive, today, makes it even harder for me to part with my money on a large aperture roof prism bino.
 
Another thing, roof prism binoculars do not fit well or feel good in my hands.
The very best roof prism binocular that I ever held onto was the Swarovski 15x56 SLC, and we all know how inexpensive that one is today. Wink
 
I could have picked up a Bosch & Lomb 10x42 roof prism bino, last week, at the local Thrift Store for $45, but it would have cost me an extra $100, or so, to ship it off and have it collimated.
 
Here's a link to a Docter Aspectem 40x80 ED binocular that I have on my wish list, for only $4,800.
I think that this one will qualify nicely for the "modern age".  Big Grin
 
 
Stan
 
  


Edited by Bird Watcher - February/24/2012 at 17:09
 
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Originally posted by Bitterroot Bulls Bitterroot Bulls wrote:

Stan,
 
We will bring you into the modern age, someday.
 
I do own and love many porros, but it is hard to beat a solid roof in the backcountry.

Matt,

Well, it looks like the 21st century has finally caught up with me.  Wink

Yesterday I ordered the Theron WAPITI 10x42 ED APO HD roof prism binocular.

I could not pass up the special sale they are having this week. Big Grin


Previously I had owned the Fujinon 7x42 CD roof bino, but I was not satisfied with the overall quality & sold it.

Stan


Edited by tahqua - March/06/2012 at 11:25
I prefer Porro prism binoculars especially those made in Japan.
Stan
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Bitterroot Bulls Quote  Post ReplyReply     Back to Top Direct Link To This Post Posted: March/06/2012 at 14:20
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Stan,
 
Welcome to the club!  I knew you would see the light.
-Matt
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Matt,

The light at the end of the tunnel was not what I hoped for. Sad

I received the Theron Wapiti 10x42 this morning and shipped it back within the hour.

Small aperture roof prism binoculars, of this type, do not fit my hands any where near as well as my Porro prism binoculars.

Also, the lighter weight of the 10x42 roof is counter-productive for me when it comes to steady hand held views at 10x.

They are just too small for me to get a good grip on, perhaps that is why the open-bridge type of roof prism binoculars are popular with certain individuals. 

Oh well, live & learn.  Sad

Stan




Edited by Bird Watcher - March/08/2012 at 16:08
 
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Say it isn't so, Stan!

Oh well, somebody has to keep carrying that big, cumbersome, porro torch.
-Matt
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote ringmaster Quote  Post ReplyReply     Back to Top Direct Link To This Post Posted: March/09/2012 at 04:56
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i love russian night vision binoculars,they are truely the best
 
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