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Vanguard Endeavour ED IV? (2 Viewers)

Sam_Jays

New member
Hi all,

Long time reader, first time poster here! Firstly, I just wanted to say what a great site this is, and what an incredibly useful resource it is to novice wildlife enthusiasts like myself. Thanks to all who contribute!

Secondly, my partner and I are both in the market for new bins. She uses the Opticron Trailfinder III 8x25 and I the Hawke Endurance CF 8x32. If I'm honest her need is more pressing than mine as the Hawkes are reasonable, but I do suffer with optical G.A.S (being interested in photography and astronomy too). Anyway, we were pretty much settled on the Vanguard ED II in 8x32 (or maybe 8x42 for me) after testing them at a local retailer (loved the flat field and the impressive abberation/distortion control). However, the sales guy mentioned that their Vanguard rep had informed them of an impending ED IV. He didn't know details so I was curious if anyone has heard or knows anything about these? I couldn't find anything on Vanguard's website, but Eagle Optics seem to have a placeholder:

http://www.eagleoptics.com/binoculars/vanguard/vanguard-endeavor-ed-iv-8x42-binocular

Like I say, there's no huge rush for us to upgrade so, if these are within striking distance of the EDII price range and somehow offer even better performance, it might be worth us holding out until they appear...

Thanks
 
Welcome to the forum Sam.

I spoke to the Vanguard team back in the summer and I know they had a higher transmission model in the pipeline, but in my opinion, the prototype I saw needed a lot more work. I emailed someone at Vanguard about a month ago asking for an update but have had no reply and tried emailing a second person at the start of the weekend.

My guess is that the SK15 glass might be a high transmission glass. For me, upgrading the prism mirror coating to dielectric would be higher priority. No mention of that in the blurb.

I'll report back if I hear anything.

David
 
Welcome to the forum Sam.

I spoke to the Vanguard team back in the summer and I know they had a higher transmission model in the pipeline, but in my opinion, the prototype I saw needed a lot more work. I emailed someone at Vanguard about a month ago asking for an update but have had no reply and tried emailing a second person at the start of the weekend.

My guess is that the SK15 glass might be a high transmission glass. For me, upgrading the prism mirror coating to dielectric would be higher priority. No mention of that in the blurb.

I'll report back if I hear anything.

David

Thanks David. Thank you also for your review of the EDIIs, it was this that led me to check them out.

I was wondering about the SK15 prisms as I don't think I've read of these before. I'd always welcome improved low light performance, so if they do improve transmission that would be of interest. I'd hope a dielectric coating would be used this time too, they seem increasingly standard on even moderately priced astro scope diagonals so hopefully they can be included without it effecting the pricing too much!
 
Interesting -
The EO specs list show an EDIV is slightly shorter, very slightly lighter, half a foot better on close focus, same FOV, about the same ER. So, there must be something about it not apparent yet that was worth the development investment.
And what happened to EDIII? Did they lose count?
 
Forgot to mention: slightly shorter, but slightly heavier. Another lens perhaps? Might indicate something on the transmission front.
 
SK15 prisms?

Forgot to mention: slightly shorter, but slightly heavier. Another lens perhaps? Might indicate something on the transmission front.

I wonder if the shorter length is due to the use of SK15 rather than BaK-4. From what I've read SK15 has the higher refractive index, yet lower dispersion (higher Abbe number) apparently. Could it be that these would have even better CA control than the EDII?!! In my brief testing of them, I couldn't detect any CA of note on the EDII - perhaps a very faint and narrow fringe around an overhead cable against a bright, overcast sky.

I too wonder what happened to the EDIII. I note that B&H also returns a hit when searching for the EDIV, but the page doesn't load unfortunately...
 
Sam,

I got an answer back from Vanguard saying they haven't started full production yet, so arrival in stores isn't imminent. No date given. No info on the technical side as yet either, but I've asked some further questions and will let you know if I hear anything.

Before we get carried away with the morsels of information we think we have, the sample I saw in the summer seemed optically distinct from both the ED and EDII and anything could have changed since then. I don't know what to expect.

David
 
Possibly they're bypassing EDIII as an over-used descriptor and to avoid confusion with other makes.... can't say i've seen anything called EDIV elsewhere..
 
Hi David,

Thanks for the update. It is useful to know that the new model won't be hitting the stores imminently - certainly a consideration when making our decision. Most likely we'll grab a pair of the 8x32 EDIIs, but hold off a while longer before acquiring any 8x42s. Regardless, I look forward to hearing any other details or information you may glean!

Regards,

Sam
 
Not a lot to report at present I'm afraid. I did hear the EDIV does not have dielectric prism coatings, but that in itself leads to more questions. They have been passed on to the technical guys, but no response so far.

David
 
I gave a call to Vanguard USA to get a general idea of the differences between the current ED II and the upcoming ED IV.

- It will have improved prism glass (as mentioned above).
- Styling changes (as seen in the Eagle Optics listing).
- Diopter adjustment incorporated in the focus knob (similar to Swaro and Nikon EDG).
- Improved light transmission and CA control.

He said they currently expect them to be available here in the US around late fall. The current Endeavor ED and ED II models will continue in the lineup but at lower price points than the ED IV.
 
Thanks for the update. It's a couple of months since I spoke to the UK guys and they had no idea when it might be ready. I thought the UK BirdFair in August might be a target date, but perhaps that will be missed. I'll se if I can find out.

David
 
David ... BirdFair may be a valid date. In the back of my mind, I am thinking some of the ED II models were available in Europe before showing up state side. Hopefully you have a better memory on that than I do. Sounds like a good idea to check with your Vanguard contact.
 
David ... BirdFair may be a valid date. In the back of my mind, I am thinking some of the ED II models were available in Europe before showing up state side. Hopefully you have a better memory on that than I do. Sounds like a good idea to check with your Vanguard contact.

It will be launched at the Photokina Germany in September.
 
No whacking8-P
Price increase round 300,00 euro and diëlectric coatings.
It will be the upper level and not a replacement for the II series.
:t:

Price INCREASE of 300 Euro! :eek!: :eek!:

I think we all just got whacked mightily!! |8.||8.||8.||8.| :gn:


Chosun :gh:
 
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