I’m looking for my first pair of birding binoculars – and, without years of experience at looking through good quality bins, I am struggling to come to a decision as to the type. In fact, until a few days ago I had never even looked through a pair of roof prism bins! I know I want 8x40’s since these seem like the best compromise. Yesterday, I went to one of the ‘In Focus shops’ and looked through a variety of roof’s and porro’s. I would be very interested in tips and comment from those of you who are experienced in these matters. My current observations (pardon the pun), are:
1. Why are Roof Prism Binoculars so popular? They feel awkward (to me) compared to Porro’s. In reality, they are not that much more compact than the equivalent magnification Porro’s. Am I missing a key point? I can’t understand why they are more popular? I know that the have closer focussing but that is about it – isn’t it?
2. Apart from the feel, the Porro’s seemed so much better to look though, regardless of relative price. The increased stereoscopic perception is very noticeable and results in a much more pleasant/natural view.
3. The two Porro’s that I tried were the Opticron Imagic 8x40’s and the new Opticron HR WP 8x40’s (both waterproof). Both seemed excellent to me – but the new HR WP’s were the best out of all the Roofs and Porros, regardless of price. They were best in terms of sharpness/clarity of the image and overall ergonomics. Of course – they are over Ł100 more than the Imagic’s. I would very much like to try some other high end Porro’s, but there are not many about. Can anyone recommend some others to try? Any other comments on the new HR WP’s? Someone on this site mentioned that they had a small field of view – can’t say that I noticed this but, as I say, I’m not very experienced observing through bins. I would appreciate some other opinions about this.
4. If I were to try a really high end pair of Roofs, i.e. Leica, Zeiss, Swar.. etc., would it make a difference to my impression of Roofs? Is the optical quality significantly better than mid-range bins?
As you can probably tell, my current thoughts are towards Porro’s, but I’m not in a hurry and want to try various other makes and styles. Any recommendations?
Thanks in advance for your help.
Roof prisms are kind of a status symbol. A lot of people do prefer the feel of the roofs. If the porros seemed better to you then they were better. Roof prisms are more commonly waterproof and more durable. It is a more complicated process to make a sharp clear image for a roof prism than it is for a porro. Therefore good roof prisms tend to be more expensive. You are best off to go with your own instincts and not to be swayed by others' opinions. If money is not an issue you should try the high end Leica , Zeiss, Nikon and Swarovski roofs before you make a decision.
[QUOTE=Hawk Eye]I’m looking for my first pair of birding binoculars – and, without years of experience at looking through good quality bins, I am struggling to come to a decision as to the type. In fact, until a few days ago I had never even looked through a pair of roof prism bins! I know I want 8x40’s since these seem like the best compromise. Yesterday, I went to one of the ‘In Focus shops’ and looked through a variety of roof’s and porro’s. I would be very interested in tips and comment from those of you who are experienced in these matters. My current observations (pardon the pun), are:
1. Why are Roof Prism Binoculars so popular? They feel awkward (to me) compared to Porro’s. In reality, they are not that much more compact than the equivalent magnification Porro’s. Am I missing a key point? I can’t understand why they are more popular? I know that the have closer focussing but that is about it – isn’t it?
2. Apart from the feel, the Porro’s seemed so much better to look though, regardless of relative price. The increased stereoscopic perception is very noticeable and results in a much more pleasant/natural view.
3. The two Porro’s that I tried were the Opticron Imagic 8x40’s and the new Opticron HR WP 8x40’s (both waterproof). Both seemed excellent to me – but the new HR WP’s were the best out of all the Roofs and Porros, regardless of price. They were best in terms of sharpness/clarity of the image and overall ergonomics. Of course – they are over Ł100 more than the Imagic’s. I would very much like to try some other high end Porro’s, but there are not many about. Can anyone recommend some others to try? Any other comments on the new HR WP’s? Someone on this site mentioned that they had a small field of view – can’t say that I noticed this but, as I say, I’m not very experienced observing through bins. I would appreciate some other opinions about this.
4. If I were to try a really high end pair of Roofs, i.e. Leica, Zeiss, Swar.. etc., would it make a difference to my impression of Roofs? Is the optical quality significantly better than mid-range bins?
As you can probably tell, my current thoughts are towards Porro’s, but I’m not in a hurry and want to try various other makes and styles. Any recommendations?
Thanks in advance for your help.[/QUOTE]
Try a Zeiss FL 8x42 first and then judge all others from this. This will give you a benchmark to rate the others by. If you can't afford high end roofs don't try them because once your used to the best you can never go back to mid-priced and especially low-end binoculars. Roofprisms are waterproof, fogproof,dustproof and more durable. Unless cost is a big consideration there is no reason to mess around with porro-prism binoculars. The best roofs are as good or better optically than the best porro-prism binoculars with all the inherent advantages of the roof-prism design. Most people prefer the ergonomics of the roof better(Try the Swarovski 8x32 EL for good ergonomics) also.
Dennis