Roof Prism Types

Zeiss has famously made a number of a k binos over the years though most roof binos use s p.

Roof prism types.

They re more compact and streamlined lighter weight and much easier to carry around than the bulky porro style binos. Now there are a few variations of the roof prism design. There are three main types of roof prism binoculars namely amici schmidt pechan and abbe koenig. The only current bino use of the amici roof prism i can think of is the apm apo 90 bt.

Both types of prism have advantages and disadvantages. The prisms are usually coated to increase reflectivity and to keep the light waves in the right direction. Roof prism binoculars vs porro prism binoculars a comparison roof prism binoculars. If you see a pair of straight tube binoculars there s a good chance you re looking at a set equipped with roof prisms.

The common roof prism binos use either the s p or a k configurations. This is why roof prism binoculars have an aligned eyepiece to objective lens construction. It uses an amici roof followed by a rhomb. Essentially they all maintain the same basic function to keep light waves entering and exiting the binocular in a straight line.

These are the more modern of the two types of binoculars. As these prisms are easier to make they are cheaper to buy.