Porros V Roofs (1 Viewer)

Which are better at the lower end of the market? I'm not talking Leica, Zeiss top of the range etc...
I'm looking at the £200- £300 mark. The likes of Opticron with their Imagic and Veranos, RSPB optics(great reviews),Ace Avians, In focus Deltas, there are loads available. These are all roofs at the cheap end of the market with all the great features like, waterproof, light weight, close focus and super sharp images. Everyone seems to be plugging these but no one is plugging Porros.
I keep finding information, through research on line, that good Porros are better, optically, than cheap Roofs. I appreciate that markets are driven by what is fashionable and what sells but if Porros are better why are all the leading manufacturers promoting Roofs?

Be interested to here some opinions.

My binoculars are Nikon 8x32SE, my wifes are Minox 8x32 BL and my son has Hawke Frontier 8x42.
Mine are the only porros but are also the best optically IMHO. Of the other two the Hawke has the edge and runs the Nikon's very close.
The Hawke cost less than £80 and although not of the best build quality, if I use the well regarded Nikon SE as a yard stick, must say that there are no binoculars of 8x magnification that would give a significant advantage in bird identification than the Hawkes.
I am not trying to say that they are perfect but that the view is of an order that it could never be determined to be a hinderance. The Nikon's feel like they will last a lifetime while the Hawkes are obviously built to a price.
The Hawkes are superior in sharpness across the field than my wifes Minox but do not have comparable build quality.
I am sure that in build quality and image terms porros have a far better price/perfomance factor than roofs but my experience has shown me that moderately priced roofs are very good nowadays and would not be an optical obstruction to your enjoyment.
This is of course my view and not necessarilly fact.

Porros give you a better view, better optics in mid price to cheap. But there are a lot fewer models to choose from. I would choose a bigger brand, in case of repairs. Some porros with internal focus mechanisms are water proof, but seem to break down easily. Leica, Zeiss and Swarovski have quit porros, they make more money on limited models. At that price end they are rugged and waterproof.

I have almost given up on porros. The typical hunting stores just carry the same Nikon Actions and other big brands, so I never got to see many really good ones. The use is for hunting, where brightness in poor light is needed so they can count points ona deers antlers. We as birders need much more detail.

See what you can find. Really cheap roofs are really awful, where the same price porros are just slightly too dim for me. Otherwise OK.

Tero is right. "Really cheap roofs are really awful." You have to get into the $250.00 (US) range to get good ones like the Nikon Monarchs. But even there a Porro Prism like the Swift 8.5 x 44 model 820 Audubon is still optically better. It's clear that most binocular users like the ergonomics of Roof Prisms better than that of Porros.
Bob

The best binoculars I've seen for under £200 are the Opticron HR WP 8x42 (Leupold and Minox sell similar models). They're waterprof and have the wide click-stop eyepieces that are so good for using with glasses. They'll outperform anything costing less than 4 times as much. The penalty is a reduced FOV. I've heard people speak just as highly of the Nikon EII, which can still be got for £200, but I have no experience of that.

Michael.

I have the Minox and the Nikon EII, for my eyes the EII is the better in daylight and easier to carry around (but is reserved for 'best' - hard to replace), the Minox beat the other porros I tried when looking for a waterproof and more rugged beast for general use. N.B. I have roofs but prefer the image of porros and can hold them more steadily, particularly at higher magnifications.

J