Id like to pick the brains of all the roof prism historians out there.
If not when did the 4 element objective hit the scene....and when did they become widespread?
Thanks!
Porrofan
Also what types of prisms do most roofs use?
Abbe Koenig
Schmidt-Pechan
Aparently the Abbe Koenig is pretty rare.....is this true? What do the old Leicas use. The binocular that I can say without a doubt uses the Abbe Koenig is the old Zeiss 7x42 and 10x40 B/GAs.
Thanks again!
I'm probably forgeting something, but I can't think of any 4 element objectives (three fixed and one moving focusing element) before the Leica Trinovid BA about 1990. As I recall Zeiss followed shortly after with the Night Owls and Nikon sometime in the late 90's with the LX/HG. Swarovki SLC (except the 2 element 8x30) and EL use only 3 elements (2 fixed and 1 focusing). Zeiss 8x56 and 10x56 FLs use 5 elements (3 fixed and a doublet focusing lens). I have an old Kern 7x50 Focalpin Porro from the 80's which used a three element objective very similar to current roofs (a fixed air spaced doublet and a moving focusing element).
Only the 7x42, 8x56 and 6x42 Dialyts used AK prisms. The 10x40 and all the others used Schmidt-Pechan. The Current 42mm and 56mm FLs and the 40 and 50mm Conquests use AK. The original Leitz Trinovids used Uppendahl prisms, made by cementing three prisms into a monoblock. That was apparently an expensive prism to make, with no big advantage over Schmidt-Pechan.