Which is better Porro Prism or Roof Prism?

[superlite17]

Please help me understand binoculars... I will admit, I have always bought cheap wally-world binos and great scopes... at dusk and dawn I looked through the scope albeit a verry poor practice.



Anyway, I thought finding the right rifle scope was difficult. Finding the right binoculars is quite confusing:



Which is better Porro Prism or Roof Prism?



If they have variable power, then why doesnt anyone use them? We choose scopes with it.



Is 10x50 good for hunting? I have some areas i want to scope up to 800 yards, and dusk and dawn are super important to me.

 

[4ked Horn]

Porro prisim and roof prisim are not really subject to being called better or worse. They serve some different purposes. Roof prisms allow a more compact design while porro prisms provide beter depth perception.

10X should be sufficient for 800 yard viewing and scanning but might fall short on spotting actual impacts. The famous sniper Carlos Hathcock used a 10x scope for many many long range shots so it should get you by just fine.

50mm Obj lens will help with the low light viewing. Good choice here.

If you want to supplement your optics with something very compact for quick mid day scanning then also buy a $20 pair of bushnell or tasco compacts. You know, the ones that look like two toiletpaper tubes connected with some duct tape. Get a 7x21 or 7x25 and don't spend alot of time looking through them or your brain will explode.

No one owns variable power because they are built like crap. If you try to zoom two lenses at exactly the same rate for less than about $600 the quality will make you wish you followed the crowd on this decision. A spotting scope and a rifle scope can zoom nicely because it dosen't have to be EXACTLY in sync with another parallel optic. It is hard enough to have a simultaneous focus in both optical halves. That is why we have a diopter adjustment.

If you think cheap binoculars are bad for your eyes. Spend the day looking at the same object at 10x with one eye and 10.2x with the other eye.

Your eyes will fall out of your head and turn to ash when they hit the ground.

 

[Ridge Runner]

think they can both be made of eqal quality as far as clarity and detail but it is more expensive to get roof prisms there, the prism inside are more expensive to make. and 4ked is right they will turn to ash when they hit the ground, then your overheated brain slowly oozes out the holes.
RR

 

[Ahab]

Thru the years I've owned a bunch of bino's. Both roof and porro. Today I use Nikon porro 10x50's for stationary work. If I'm walking up and down hills and mountains, I prefer my Pentax 8X36 DCF HS roof's. They are light, bright, and don't weigh a lot. If I can't see it at 8X, I won't shoot it. My favorite rifle scope is a Nikon Monarch 6x42.

 

[Mysticplayer]

Easy decision. If you want to LR view more then walk around, then the Nikon EX 12X50. Dirt cheap and superb optics...really.

If you want something smaller and more compact, Nikon ATB 8X42. A bit more money but still very affordable.

With either of these you are going to get very close to the mega buck binos. Low light performance with either is great.

go try them, they will impress. Pentax is also very good but a bit bulkier for my tastes.

Jerry