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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Vanguard Endeavour EDII ( Cheapest ones on the market (UK) (1 Viewer)

B

Boro Birder

Well-known member
Anyone got a idea on who and were are the cheapest place you can buy these uk price and if they do part ex plus cash would be a bonus, cheapest I can find is £349.00. ???

Damian

Ps, There was a lady on here selling a brand new pair because they were too heavy (10x42) wouldn't be bother in the higher mag, I have VEI 8x42, but would be very interested if still available.
 
Boro Birder said:
Anyone got a idea on who and were are the cheapest place you can buy these uk price and if they do part ex plus cash would be a bonus, cheapest I can find is £349.00. ???

Damian

Ps, There was a lady on here selling a brand new pair because they were too heavy (10x42) wouldn't be bother in the higher mag, I have VEI 8x42, but would be very interested if still available.
Click to expand...

Damian
The lady sold them to Mulligatawny owl who put them up for sale again as he didn't like 10x, and eventually sold them for £230.

Les
 
I did indeed sell them, took a while too, I was surprised by the lack of interest.
I didn't find them heavy at all but I had real problems getting comfortable with them and obtaining a sharp and steady image. If you do decide on the 10s make sure you really want them rather than the 8s. Using a Zen ED 2 7x36 was a complete breath of fresh air after struggling with these.
 
mulligatawny owl said:
I did indeed sell them, took a while too, I was surprised by the lack of interest.
I didn't find them heavy at all but I had real problems getting comfortable with them and obtaining a sharp and steady image. If you do decide on the 10s make sure you really want them rather than the 8s. Using a Zen ED 2 7x36 was a complete breath of fresh air after struggling with these.
Click to expand...

Mulligatawny owl, I must admit I was very surprised by the lack of interest, especially after all the very good reviews by people on here who seemed to love them.
I ordered a pair of 8x32 and returned them, as I felt they were not very bright compared to others I tried.
 
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LesR said:
Mulligatawny owl, I must admit I was very surprised by the lack of interest, especially after all the very good reviews by people on here who seemed to love them.
I ordered a pair of 8x32 and returned them, as I felt they were not very bright compared to others I tried.
Click to expand...

Yep, I didn't think the 10's were that bright either, would love to try the 8x42 as in theory the larger exit pupil should make up a little for the lack of dielectric coating.
 
I still have the EDII 8x42 I reviewed a while back and the field flatness sharpness and contrast I still think are amazing for the price, but they aren't a perfect binocular. The weight and ergonomics mentioned are not going to suite every one for sure, but when it boils down to it, I can't think of a model that would.

The brightness thing I suspect isn't so obvious. According to the Allbinos data the peak transmission is a few percent less than similarly priced dielectric prism coated models. In practical terms this would be almost inconsequential if it was the only difference. In bright conditions I've blocked 25% of the light in one binocular and a test subject never noticed when comparing it to another and needed to check several times before they could identify which one when informed of the difference. I believe the issue is in the colour balance. The reported transmission is about 10% lower in the blue compared to the red. Under nice blue skies I feel it can actually improve colour rendition and contrast a little. However when the illumination is pushed more to longer wavelengths, which is more common this time of year, then it gives the impression that an already gloomy sky is a little gloomier. This morning is one of those occasions, and yes, the sky looks a bit duller than through my Zen Ray Prime which appears to have a more neutral balance, but I'd really struggle to tell them apart when looking at the Robin on my bird table. Just maybe the surrounding foliage was a slightly paler shade of green with the ZR but the Robin looked just as bright and colourful. I've done the comparison several times with other garden birds in different light conditions and you really need quite a red sunset before the difference is obvious.

The Vanguard isn't my favourite ergonomically but it is arguably the best I have optically.

David
 
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The Endeavor I 10X42 (which I suspect is about the same weight wise as the Endeavor II) appears to have a somewhat more weight forward balance compared to some other 10X42 models I have. That may explain why some have more of a problem holding the 10X steady.
 
In the rush towards creating lighter and lighter bins, i'd like to cast a vote for the 'satisfying heft' of the Vanguard. While it won't suit everyone, i find that the environments i am in during the winter require a certain amount of substance to the binocular (particularly on the coast in east or north winds!)
I've taken the Endeavor and a Monarch 7 8x30 out a couple of times; a nice little WA bin will be great in the pocket from Spring onwards, but for now, i need something that won't blow sideways!
 
Got Them. 😊

typo said:
I still have the EDII 8x42 I reviewed a while back and the field flatness sharpness and contrast I still think are amazing for the price, but they aren't a perfect binocular. The weight and ergonomics mentioned are not going to suite every one for sure, but when it boils down to it, I can't think of a model that would.

The brightness thing I suspect isn't so obvious. According to the Allbinos data the peak transmission is a few percent less than similarly priced dielectric prism coated models. In practical terms this would be almost inconsequential if it was the only difference. In bright conditions I've blocked 25% of the light in one binocular and a test subject never noticed when comparing it to another and needed to check several times before they could identify which one when informed of the difference. I believe the issue is in the colour balance. The reported transmission is about 10% lower in the blue compared to the red. Under nice blue skies I feel it can actually improve colour rendition and contrast a little. However when the illumination is pushed more to longer wavelengths, which is more common this time of year, then it gives the impression that an already gloomy sky is a little gloomier. This morning is one of those occasions, and yes, the sky looks a bit duller than through my Zen Ray Prime which appears to have a more neutral balance, but I'd really struggle to tell them apart when looking at the Robin on my bird table. Just maybe the surrounding foliage was a slightly paler shade of green with the ZR but the Robin looked just as bright and colourful. I've done the comparison several times with other garden birds in different light conditions and you really need quite a red sunset before the difference is obvious.

The Vanguard isn't my favourite ergonomically but it is arguably the best I have optically.

David
Click to expand...


Thanks David,
Got a pair a couple of weeks ago and I'm absolutely over the moon with them and in the end following the sale of my Vanguard Endeavour EDI for a £120, still in excellent condition, id only bought them brand new of another BF member in May last year and only ended up losing £40 on the price I paid for them.
Paid £400 for the VEII but with money off the sale of my others £280 and all I can say there is no were I could get a better binocular for that price, even full price.
I am certainly no expert but I've tested alphas many times, my close pal owns a Swarovski SLC 8x42 and a 65mm swaro scope and there is, if any difference, excellent set of bins, even my pal compared the two and said these exact words (Well all I've done is pay for the name because there's hardly if any difference at all, you've done well there mate" and to get a compliment from him is like getting blood out of a stone.

Thanks again David for all your help and others for there comments.

Damian
 
Good deal, Damian!
Just out of interest while collecting a tripod repair, i thought i'd repeat the testing i carried out when i first bought the ED11 8x42 up at CleySpy in Norfolk. Being a quiet day, i extended this to include not just Zeiss SF and HT and Swaro, but included Vortex, Bresser, Kowa (the new one) and the Ultravid Plus HD versus my bins.
There was a range of stuff i didn't like (ergonomics, eye relief, criticality of eye position, stiff focus, stiff diopter, bad hinges, CA, slow focus, 'difficult' eye cups etc.) and i was very aware of the distortion/AFoV compromises, moving from model to model.
Purely on which ones i 'liked' overall: i quite enjoyed the view through the Kowa, but the mechanics were difficult and stiff; probably the best 'view' for me in terms of balance of issues was the new Ultravid, but i still thought the Vanguard was the best in terms of value. The Leica is £1200 more expensive, but didn't beat the Endeavor by much. OK, the EDII's field could be wider, but if that meant compromising the sharpness, i'd leave it alone.
It may be that you just get used to how a particular make operates, but it was a great relief to put some of these over-priced optics down, re-hang mine and get out to the reserve for a couple of hours. Everything just seemed simpler, having made my mind up! (also good to confirm my original opinion, which could have been a dangerous move!):t:
 
I bought my EDII 7x36 from the authorised European seller, Lanius Books. I paid around £260 for mine.
They are warranted of course, posting to Poland is a more comfortable proposition than trying to send to the USA!

Dave
 
Cluster said:
I bought my EDII 7x36 from the authorised European seller, Lanius Books. I paid around £260 for mine.
They are warranted of course, posting to Poland is a more comfortable proposition than trying to send to the USA!

Dave
Click to expand...

Dave, Do you mean the ZenRay? I think Paddy and Damian are referring to the Vanguard Endeavour. ;)

David
 
Cluster said:
Oops, I do indeed mean the ZR, gone off topic, apologies. Perhaps it is the Northern sunshine.......
Click to expand...

Dave it might be off topic but have you compared the ZR to the Opticron Classic 7x36? I love the latter but there is room for improvement. It isn't as sharp as the Vanguard for instance.... to put the thread back on track.:-O

David
 
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