Looking a good porro-prism.

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blaise84
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Looking a good porro-prism.

Post by blaise84 »

Hello,

I like the porro prism model more than the roof prism, and I search a good quality but small binocular, like 8x30 model.
I had one Carl zeiss jena 8x30, what fantastic small bino, maneageable 100%, now I like know opinions of modern Nikon 8x30 II or Swarovski Habicht 8x39, my two desired binoculars…
Anyone have used they ?

Best regards,

Blaise

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marktownley
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Re: Looking a good porro-prism.

Post by marktownley »

No experience myself, not sure how much useful info you will get as this is a solar forum, but, others may have words of wisdom?


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Re: Looking a good porro-prism.

Post by RKBerta »

Since this is a Solar forum I recommend looking at Cloudy Nights for more answers to your question. I can say that I have several binoculars used for astronomy...best are by Fujinon.....FMT SX series. I also have the same Zeiss Jena 8x30 that you referenced. It is a roof prism model though and for astronomy a Porro Prism is preferred for light throughput although a phase corrected Roof prism like the Zeiss will be nearly as good and difference is negligible. The big issue with any 8x30 binocular is the aperture which is too small for astronomy (light gathering) which isn't generally an issue for terrestrial day time uses. However as you noted the Zeiss is an extremely good binocular....very sharp and contrasty. Unfortunately Zeiss no longer makes that model as far as I know. For a durable, light weight, easy packed binocular for day time use it is hard to beat. To date I haven't found any other 8x30 range binocular that is better or even as good as the Zeiss. Generally I recommend trying binoculars rather than going on other owners recommendations. What works for some may be bad for others. Things like speed of focus, ease of use, comfort under use, eye relief (glasses wearers take note), nitrogen filled to fight internal dewing, etc. will impact choice. I have also seen enough variation between the exact same model from sample to sample....even on top brands to lead me to only buy from companies that will accept returns or exchanges if a problem.


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