Vanguard Endeavour ED II 8x32 Report (1 Viewer)

Physical Stats

Power: 8x
Objective Size: 32mm
AFOV: 7.2 deg

Width: 4.5" (@ Maximum IPD)
Height: 5.5" (Eye-cups fully extended)
Weight: 19.2oz / 544g

Focus wheel: Plastic knob with rubberized, stippled cover (Wheel has rear opening for servicing focus gear)
Eye-Cups: Metal body, plastic cups with thick and smooth rubber cover. Rubber covers are replaceable.
Diopter: Stippled rubber cover
Body: Dual-hinge design, rubber-coated with faux-leather styling. Thumb indents on bottom.


Functional Stats


Eye-Cups: Twist up with 3-positions
Focus wheel: Rotation is 465 deg (1.25 turns)
Diopter: Pull up to set, down to lock; lock distance is 1-2 mm at maximum
Tripod Mount: Yes, under Vanguard logo in front hinge


Commentary


Physical

I do like the dual-hinge design. I can put the fingers (3rd and 4th) on each barrel between the hinges for a nice, firm grip.

Body can probably take a pretty good beating. Armor is somewhat resistant to perspiration. Eye-cups less resistant but are removable and easy to clean.

The eye-cups are nicely designed. When fully extended they don't collapse even with moderate down-force. The locking diopter wheel moves very freely. Most are stiff but the ED2 has a nice free-moving diopter. The lock distance is extremely minimal.

The focus wheel is very good and quite smooth. Feels similar to the Vortex Viper HD focus wheel. A touch of over-travel on the infinity side of the focus. On the closeup side of the focus, a squish of grease can be heard if at the extreme maximum. Labeling of diopter measurements and lock label could be more visible.

The thumb indents are perfectly placed and feel comfortable.

Hinge adjustment is tight but not overly stiff.

Tripod mount is covered by metallic screw-on cap with Vanguard logo. Screw-on cap is probably not the best design. Would be easy to lose. Would rather see bolt-style cover.

The fit and finish is a touch lacking. The serial number and "Made in China" are stickers attached to the underside of the center hinge. Primary logo should just be "Vanguard" with "Sporting Optics" removed. Color scheme a bit odd. Gold print with silver print but high-intensity green colors and text.


Optics


With eye-cups fully extended, eye placement is a little sensitive. Optimum IPD adjustment is necessary for perfect placement without blackout issues. With eye-cups fully retracted, view is quite good and no obvious issues. Works well with curved sunglasses.

Focusing is really nice. Approximately 1 1/4 turns from stop to start. Very sharp and easy to fine-tune. Not as fast as the Zeiss Terra focus wheel.

Internal reflections seemed well suppressed. View from eye-cups is average, similar to Nikon M7. A slight hint of a false pupil but doesn't affect performance. No sign of glare or haze.

The internal coatings look above average. The internals are not as "refined" as higher-end brands. Some minor internal dust present. Objectives have green tint. No sign of tint on eye-pieces.

Field curvature appears quite flat. Per my chart testing, the field is more rectangular than circular. Focus is sharp left to right to the edges but top/bottom edge is slightly out of focus. Real-world testing is nearly impossible to distinguish. Looking across a lake is incredibly sharp and gives a large field of view.

From my chart testing, the CA is minimal but only present only outside the center. Lateral CA was present in real-world situations but again, only outside of image center.

Color appears normal to my eyes. Can't see any signs of additional tinting. Matches my reference color to the Leica Monovid.

Didn't see any obvious sign of distortion. Don't see any darkening of image.

Blurring only occurs at the 95% mark at the extreme top/bottom edge.

The Endeavor ED II has very bright optics. It's well-balanced and not overly bright. Best performance seen in sunny environments. Low-light is also quite good. Edge sharpness is maintained despite lack of available light. Probably best performance is with high-contrast imagery.


Summary


My reference 8x optic is a Leica Monovid (8x20) and the Leica appears a fraction sharper than the Endeaver ED II 8x32. Yes, the Endeaver ED II 8x32 is incredibly good. I can safely say it's on-par with the Vortex Viper HD series. Are they better than Viper HD? It's extremely close. The refinement (better styling, wider FOV) of the Viper HD might be worth the extra cost for some users.

The optics of the Endeavor ED II clearly make up for the lack of its styling. It's not a Leica or Zeiss binocular but then again, it's a fraction of the cost.

Highly recommended. :t:

Vanguard's USA warranty is a no-fault lifetime. (User pays for shipping to/from Vanugard USA.)


Competitive Comparisons:




Cheers!
-Nick

:cat:

I have several photos of the Endeavor ED II 8x32.

Nick,

Really appreciate the report. I only had a quick look at the 8x32 at the show and I didn't take in much more than the apparent sharpness. It does looks like there are points of difference with the 8x42 but it sounds like you are very happy with yours.

Cheers,

David

typo said:

It does looks like there are points of difference with the 8x42 but it sounds like you are very happy with yours.

Click to expand...

David, yes, it's hard to beat the price/performance aspect of the binocular. I'm actually thinking of picking up the 10x42 model as well but not in any rush. I'm definitely keeping the 8x32. It'll make a perfect in-the-truck binocular!

Thanks for the review and photos Nick, looks like a good buy for you.

If you have the chance to do any direct comparisons in purchasing the 10x that would be interesting. I still haven't found one with an optimum weight / balance relationship that would allow me comfortable single handed use.

An 8x32 is a great size for truck bin.

Best wishes,

Thanks for the review and the photos, Nick. :t:

I have to say it's not exactly an attractive looking thing, but it's the optics that count most.

Mark

ED II 8x32 Digiscope Shots

My feathery binocular quality engineer paid a visit today on his usual perch. Unfortunately, my hawkish QA engineer wandered off before I could snap more photos with different binoculars.

These are unaltered shots. The only modification was to reduce their size by 50% for upload requirements.

Using iPhone 5S with Carson adapter. In fairness, in the first two shots the adapter wasn't properly seated. I fixed it by the 3rd shot.

What about ER?

Tom,

I think Nick's away for a few days so you might have to be patient. In the mean time the 8x32 ER is listed at 17.5mm and I know I didn't have problems with my glasses. The 8x42 is 19.5mm and I have to twist the eye-cups out one notch (4mm).

David

Thanks David. I wear glasses. What's your opinion about ed2 vanguard 8x32 against monarch7 8x30 and sightron bsii 8x32 optically and about ER.I have the sightrons. Sory for my poor english.

I think I might have mixed up who was having a vacation.

I feel the M7 8x30 is a great choice as a travel and hiking binocular. It's wide view and small format are very appealing, but the 15.1mm ER isn't going to work for many with glasses and it does have technical flaws. I think the Endeavour ED II view is sharper and flatter, the extra ER is useful and overall I feel technically better. Tough to choose between them. The nearest I've seen to the Sightron is the Pentax CS 9x32 which is very likeable but personally I'd pay a little more for the Vanguard or the Nikon.

David

tom666 said:

Thanks David. I wear glasses. What's your opinion about ed2 vanguard 8x32 against monarch7 8x30 and sightron bsii 8x32 optically and about ER.I have the sightrons. Sory for my poor english.

Click to expand...

Hello Tom,

I can't tell you about the new Vanguard ED2, but I can tell you about the B.S.II and the 30mm M7. The M7 provides a slightly sharper, wider, and brighter view than the Blue Sky. Personally, I prefer the smaller form factor, grippier (not sure if that is a real word) armor, better focus wheel, better lens covers, and better case of the M7.

I would also say that these differences are small, and when normal retails are considered, the B.S. is the better buy. The only reason why I have both is that when they first appeared, I was able to buy a brand-new M7 for $229. I really should just get rid of the B.S. as I hardly ever use it, but it is such a nice little bino, and I hate to part with it.....

PhilR. said:

I can't tell you about the new Vanguard ED2, but I can tell you about the B.S.II and the 30mm M7. The M7 provides a slightly sharper, wider, and brighter view than the Blue Sky. Personally, I prefer the smaller form factor, grippier (not sure if that is a real word) armor, better focus wheel, better lens covers, and better case of the M7.

Click to expand...

Phil, having owned the 10x30 M7 for a short time, I can tell you definitively that the ED II can do circles around the M7. Also, the ER on the M7 is less than the ED II.

The only thing the M7 has going for it is an improved styling/look compared to the ED II. If you're goal is the best bang for your buck, then you should really check out the ED II models.

10x42 Comparison

I decided to try the 10x42 Endeavor ED II model. Here are a few pictures to show the size differential. Weight difference is 19.2oz and 26.9oz between the 8x32 and 10x42 models.

Probably the biggest difference is the focus wheel. The focus throw is only about 270 degrees so 3/4 of a full turn. Very short. I'm still debating whether this fact is either a positive or negative, but my 10x42 focus wheel is very stiff. This makes it a little tough to get a focused image as quickly as a free-moving wheel.

With the recent 10x42 experience, I'm inclined to say that the 8x32 focus feels quite a bit better. It's a slightly longer turn (at 1.25 turns) but it moves much easier.

As you can see from the photo, the focus wheel on the 10x42 looked used quite heavily -- after only 30 minutes of use! The focus wheel on the 8x32 looks barely touch and I've owned it for a couple of weeks now.

Give me a few days before commenting about the 10x42's optical qualities.

Optyczne.pl released test
http://translate.google.com/transla...st_lornetki-Vanguard_Endeavor_ED_II_8x32.html

kestrel1 said:

Optyczne.pl released test
http://translate.google.com/transla...st_lornetki-Vanguard_Endeavor_ED_II_8x32.html

Click to expand...

Thanks Kestrel. Interesting results. He seemed to think the CA wasn't very good. I'm curious how he's testing that.

I agree with most other points at least with areas that I can test myself.

cnick6 said:

Thanks Kestrel. Interesting results. He seemed to think the CA wasn't very good. I'm curious how he's testing that.

I agree with most other points at least with areas that I can test myself.

Click to expand...

Do you get the modest CA at close range and virtually nothing at long range that I get with the 8x42?

David

Allbinos 9/12/2014 review of the 8x32 EDII below:

http://www.allbinos.com/277-binoculars_review-Vanguard_Endeavor_ED_II_8x32.html

As Bob pointed out in his "Others" post they conclude on their scoring system it's comparable to the models like the Meopta Meopro 8x32. There scoring may be idiosyncratic but it is reasonably consistent. The Meopro I've tried many times, and ergonomically it's about my favourite, but it is crying out for ED glass like some of their bigger models. I only spent a short time with the Endeavour EDII 8x32, but I'd suggest the image was sharper, had better contrast, less CA and, while the view was narrower, the flatter view of the EDII produced a bigger sweet spot. The differences in the 8x42 versions may be more striking.

David