GPO Passion ED vs Vanguard Endeavor EDIV (1 Viewer)

[HoodieOR]

Hoping for feedback from people who have experience with both. I'm looking to get a mid-range 8x42 to serve as a backup to my 10x50 (Maven B6). I wear glasses when using binoculars so eye relief restrictions have sort of narrowed it down to these two in my price range. I've had the Endeavor EDII 8x32 in the past and thought it was solid for the money. I don't mind the aggressive focus.

My primary concerns are brightness and off-axis sharpness. I generally prefer flat fields, but would sacrifice some edge sharpness if the GPO was noticeably brighter. In looking at Allbinos reviews it seems that many $500-ish binoculars with dielectric prism coatings only marginally outperform silver coatings (84-86% for dielectric vs 81-82% for silver.) I don't mind the warmish color cast of silver.

My three main questions:

1) Is the pincushion on the GPO so severe as to negate it's FOV advantage in practical terms? (426ft for the GPO vs 377 for the Vanguard)
2) Is the GPO noticeably brighter than the Vanguard?
3) I've heard both handle glare well, which is a big deal for me. Does either perform notably better in this regard?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[MFoortjes]

The Passion ED has transmissions of >90% at 550nm (independent lab measured by Dr. Gijs van Ginkel - please check houseofoutdoor). The 8x50 and 10x50 ED even should exceed 92% cause of their Abbe prisms. In this regard it's hard to beat GPO in this price range.

 

[Optics field test]

Hoping for feedback from people who have experience with both. I'm looking to get a mid-range 8x42 to serve as a backup to my 10x50 (Maven B6). I wear glasses when using binoculars so eye relief restrictions have sort of narrowed it down to these two in my price range. I've had the Endeavor EDII 8x32 in the past and thought it was solid for the money. I don't mind the aggressive focus.

My primary concerns are brightness and off-axis sharpness. I generally prefer flat fields, but would sacrifice some edge sharpness if the GPO was noticeably brighter. In looking at Allbinos reviews it seems that many $500-ish binoculars with dielectric prism coatings only marginally outperform silver coatings (84-86% for dielectric vs 81-82% for silver.) I don't mind the warmish color cast of silver.

My three main questions:

1) Is the pincushion on the GPO so severe as to negate it's FOV advantage in practical terms? (426ft for the GPO vs 377 for the Vanguard)
2) Is the GPO noticeably brighter than the Vanguard?
3) I've heard both handle glare well, which is a big deal for me. Does either perform notably better in this regard?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

The transmission on the GPO is higher. You will get a brighter image and sharpness reaching the last 5% of the fov. Here is the 10x42 ED review, it should give you an idea of the picture quality.

 

[Nivado]

Although I never tried out the Passion ED, I did had the Endaevor Ed IV 8x42 for half a year and it never really impressed me (Meopta Optika HD (wich I compared aside) is to my opinion obviously better for less money).
I'd always go for the GPO in a heartbeat. I really liked The Passion HD 8x42 wich I tried and although these are 1k optics, I bet the ED's are probably worth the cost as well.
The Vanguards werent' the sharpest I've seen, and the colortone was pretty 'flat' with not the best contrasts. Focus was too stiff to my tastes for the birding and nature-viewing I do

Grtz

 

[manucuri]

I bought the 8x42 GPO Ed recently and I think GPOs are sharper than vanguards. I like Vanguard binoculars, but in my opinion GPO are better, and the build quality is very good. I the other hand apparently the eye relief is short, but I don’t wear glasses.