In the world of binoculars, the
porro prism binocular has lost ground to the roof prism binocular in all but a few specialty binoculars. One place the porro prism binocular has held undisputed reign has been with military binoculars, especially military binoculars that use a rangefinding reticle. That leadership is now being questioned by a couple of
roof prism binocular upstarts. Leupold, for instance, makes a version of their
Leupold Green Ring Olympic binocular in a military version with reticle called the
Leupold Tactical 10x50 and at a very reasonable price for a serious military binocular.
Steiner, long the biggest name in
military binoculars has also come out with a new roof prism binocular in their
Steiner Tactical Military R 10x42 and it may be the finest nilitary binocular on the market of any kind. Why bother with a roof prism in a military binocular when the porro prism design has served so well? It's most likely a matter of better size and handling. There is a huge difference in bulk and size between a porro 10x50, sich as the
Steiner Military Marine 10x50 and their new Tactical R 10x42. I know which one I would rather carry. With all the gear our soldiers have to carry, anything that can be done to reduce the load helps. Roof prisms are also a much more practical choice for close focusing than the older IF focus used in the traditional porro. Close focusing? Sure, a lot of our people are scanning the ground in front of them for evidence of land mines and nothing beats a roof prism for close focus capability.