Use of prisms vs use of mirrors in periscope

[wlng81]

Hi experts,

I am aware using prisms enable total internal reflection while using mirrors there is only reflection of light. The difference is that in the former there is 100% light intensity after reflection while the latter does not.
I have also read that using prisms is better than using mirrors as the reflective surfaces of the mirrors may degrade with time.
My question is: What about the image quality (e.g. sharpness, brightness, colour accuracy)?

Thank you in advance.

 

[Andy Resnick]

Hi experts,

I am aware using prisms enable total internal reflection while using mirrors there is only reflection of light. The difference is that in the former there is 100% light intensity after reflection while the latter does not.
I have also read that using prisms is better than using mirrors as the reflective surfaces of the mirrors may degrade with time.
My question is: What about the image quality (e.g. sharpness, brightness, colour accuracy)?.

A good primer:
http://www.edmundoptics.com/globala...es/beam-manipulation-prisms-vs-mirrors-en.pdf

Modern periscopes use fiber optics...

 

[houlahound]

Any reason why