Roof Prism Binocular Design

Have a sleek and compact design.

Roof prism binocular design.

The path of the light is straight thus giving it a more slim design. Dollar for dollar a porro prism design will give better performance for the money especially in medium or low priced binoculars. These two 90 faces resemble the roof of a building giving this prism type its name. Dachkante lit roof edge is a reflective optical prism containing a section where two faces meet at a 90 angle.

Essentially they all maintain the same basic function to keep light waves entering and exiting the binocular in a straight line. Built to last in a harsh environment a roof prism binoculars central portion that connects the 2 tubes is either an open bridge or closed bridge design. The hinge between the two oculars is small presenting a structure like a letter h. A roof prism also called a dach prism or dachkanten prism from the german.

Porro prism binoculars are not obsolete however. This is why roof prism binoculars have an aligned eyepiece to objective lens construction. Monocular scopes are unique small scale telescopes that have a variety of uses. 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.

According to wikipedia a monocular scope is a modified. Today roof prisms dominate the top end birding binocular market. Better porro prisms binoculars are made from a high density glass bak 4. Now there are a few variations of the roof prism design.

Due to the path of light passage porro prism binoculars have bulkier wider design than roof prism binocular. Binoculars using roof prisms may have appeared as early as the 1870s in a design by achille victor emile daubresse. The open bridge design has a focus mechanism close to the eyepiece with the stabilizing section towards the objectives while the closed bridge design has an enclosed focus mechanism.