I first should apologise for the lack of photos. For some reason the upload function is't working so please refer to the manufacture's web site: http://www.vanguardworld.co.uk/index.php/pv/products/detail-3-21-274-1150.html
The Vanguard Endeavour ED II was launched in Europe this August at the UK BirdFair and I happened to be there on the first day. I really liked what I saw, spoke to the team on the stand and after exchanging a few emails I've had an 8x42 for about 10 days now to review. If optical performance is your priority, then in my own opinion the ED II offers something rather special for the price.
The original Endeavour ED has been well regarded on the forum and regularly recommended by myself and others. I understand it will continue to be offered alongside the new ED II. The most notable feature of the pre-publicity for the new model was the change to Hoya glass. It's hard to imagine that, that alone would merit an additional product listing but it's very clear there has been a significant optical redesign and quite a transformation in the characteristics and the quality of the view. They now offer an 8x32 in addition to the 8 and 10x42.
Cosmetically there seems to be little difference between the two models. The give-away is that the two bridges have changed from silver/grey to black. Really the only clue that there has been a more radical change is the increase in weight from 730g to 770g which I'll come back to later. The relatively firm armour compound has a leather like texture. The finely studded rubber surface on the focus I thought nice and the objective covers worked well, but I'd definitely look to change the rain-guard which doesn't want to fit at my IPD. The case is lightly padded and a good fit, but curiously the single strap supplied needs to be either clipped to the case or the binocular. I've had a few plastic clips fail and would want to replace the binocular strap as well. The gold Vanguard badge and logo, lime green band round the eyepieces and general styling are not particularly to my taste but I've seen much worse.
The individual barrels are well profiled and comfortable but it might be a quirk of my IPD that I did find the grip a little awkward with the dual hinges. Not uncomfortable or a real problem, I just I found myself frequently moving my fingers about to try to find an arrangement that felt better. It's happened with other dual hinge designs so it might just be me as this style is very popular. I did like the 'shoulder' moulding for the strap lug which was a nice little detail.
The 19.5mm eye relief should satisfy most spectacle wearers. The eyecups twist up in three 4mm stages. The first notch worked well for my glasses but I found the maximum extension a little short for my facial features. It was easy to remedy by resting the rims against my brow. It's worth noting that I thought the design was much more forgiving on eye positioning than many I've tried recently.
The focus speed is unusually fast with about 0.6 turns from a close focus of 2m to infinity (in an anti-clockwise direction). I know some criticised the focus on the original Endeavour. It did take me a little while to adjust. I found the resistance firm but acceptable, the positioning very precise, and I liked how a single finger action covered most of the focal range. I've not had problems with over-shoot or the need to fine tune the focus position like others I've tried in this price range. I found it worked well, but I doubt it will get universal approval.
The dioptre setting control is found in the usual place on the right eyepiece but it's locking mechanism is a little unusual. The ring slides up about 1mm with a slight click to allow the adjustment and down again to lock. It worked very well.
For those in colder countries, I did put them in the freezer for an hour and though a little stiffer the hinge and focus were both quite usable.
Of course what really matters is the view. From the moment I picked those samples at BirdFair they really stood out as something rather special. Using the 8x42 daily for over a week has only reinforced that opinion.
When I pick up a binocular the first thing I look for is sharpness. At this price level it's normally getting quite good but in the Endeavour ED II's case, I feel it's quite exceptional. It shows a level of detail and contrast that I've not seen in this price category before and is not assured in binoculars at multiples of the price. I'd tried quite a few binoculars that day that probably offered more resolution than my eyes could see but with the Endeavour ED II the smallest features appeared better defined and etched more precisely than most. On the binocular section of the forum we sometimes argue over which models have the Wow-factor. This gets my vote. I might play around with test charts and the like when I'm reviewing a model but this kind of difference was most apparent when picking out the feather structure, patterning and iridescence at relatively close range. Lovely! The sample I have to review did exceptionally well in my resolution test but I'll go into this and other technical stuff in a bit more detail in the Binoculars section of the forum.
The field of view looks rather unremarkable on paper at 122m@1000m or 7.2 degrees but there really is 'edge-to-edge clarity' like the product description claims. Binocular optical designs are a set of compromises and the engineers make different choices for different applications and price points. In the majority of models the edge of the view will focus at a closer distance than the middle and might be subject to more optical distortions. A relatively small number of usually more expensive models have a flat field design. The image will be sharp at a given distance across the full width of the view. The consequence of a flat field is a magnification distortion which a few find disturbing. Which type of design suites the individual or particular application is very much down to personal preference. The ED II is a flat view design and one of the better implementations I've seen. You really have to look very closely to detect any softening at the edges. It may not be the widest flat-field on the market but it's a very good one which seems to be free of any magnification ripples I can spot which can afflict some models. When I pan across a view I do see just a little magnification distortion but I've not found it troublesome unlike some others on the market I've tried. Creating a flat view normally requires additional lenses which most likely accounts for the increase in weight over the previous model though I've not been able to confirm this.
Vanguard decided to use Hoya glass for the ED II and in particular, mention the use of Vd>94 ED glass. ED glass is used with others to reduce chromatic aberration or colour fringing. The 'ED' term actually covers quite a broad spectrum of performance and quality. Vd>94 means it's amongst the most highly specified glasses on the market and it could be the Endeavour ED II is the first binocular to use it. Complete elimination of CA is virtually impossible to achieve but the Endeavour ED II does deliver a high degree of control, though there is a little narrow fringing in the most challenging light conditions. I suspect there is a technical difference though which is less obvious and possibly contributes to the excellent level of contrast.
Roof prism designs need mirror coating on certain surfaces of their prisms to work. A number of materials are available which can impart subtly different colour characteristics to the view. The EDII has silver coated prisms which give a slightly warmer, richer colour palate to the view, and again may well contribute to the excellent contrast.
I hope in reviewing the different elements of the binocular's performance you will have got some sense of how impressed I am with this model. I really do think that it has set a standard for optical performance that is normally only found in models costing several times the price. Of course different users will have different priorities and might find the elements like the weight, focus speed or field of view are more to their tastes elsewhere but, based on the three I've tried, if the quality of the view is the top of your wish list you will need to look very, very hard to find better in my opinion.
It's priced at 399 for the x42 models and 329 for the 8x32 in the UK and has a Limited Lifetime
