bearclawthedonut
Well-known member
Amazon recently offered the Vanguard Spirit ED 8x36 for $224.54 with a $50.00 Vanguard rebate (expired 6-30-12). So I ordered one as it piqued my interest with its 18.7 oz weight. Vanguard has recently gotten some good reviews on its Endeavor ED series of binoculars. So I was hoping...
Received it yesterday and it went back today. It is light, noticeably lighter weight than my Vortex Viper 8x32 (19.4 oz). It was also stiff, both the focus knob and the center hinge. Perhaps, they might loosen up in time? The focus knob is smooth metal with a ribbed rubber insert ring. The knob was so stiff that it felt like the rubber ring was about to be pushed out and off the knob as I tried to turn it. It was a far, far stiffer focus than either my Viper or my Monarch 8x42 (21.5 oz). Obviously, I like lightweight binoculars with smooth easy focusing.
Eye relief is listed at 17 mm and it may be, but the eyecups float above the ocular lens wasting 2 or 3 mm. Thus, it was barely adequate when looking straight ahead, but when looking up or down the eyerelief was not acceptable for my eyes behind my eyeglasses. It was the same with a Minox HG 8x33 that I tried (a couple of years ago) with specified 15 mm of eyerelief, however the Minox had better designed eyecups.
Brightness was good, but no better than my Viper 32. Resolution was not bad, but not great. While sitting on my porch I saw a small bird resting on bare branches with a bright, sunlight background atop a tree about 120 feet away. With the Vanguard 8x36 I could not identify the bird and the branches had an unusual yellowish glow. Trying my Viper 8x32, I clearly saw a red head, a finch beak and an unmarked breast/abdomen - a purple finch. The branches were covered in yellow-green moss. I then carefully repacked the Vanguard in its box for return to Amazon. I admit that I spent less than an hour trying to utilize the Vanguard, so maybe my determination was a bit unfair? Maybe I was hoping for too much? However, I found the Vanguard Spirit Ed 8x36 to be disappointing.
bearclawthedonut
Received it yesterday and it went back today. It is light, noticeably lighter weight than my Vortex Viper 8x32 (19.4 oz). It was also stiff, both the focus knob and the center hinge. Perhaps, they might loosen up in time? The focus knob is smooth metal with a ribbed rubber insert ring. The knob was so stiff that it felt like the rubber ring was about to be pushed out and off the knob as I tried to turn it. It was a far, far stiffer focus than either my Viper or my Monarch 8x42 (21.5 oz). Obviously, I like lightweight binoculars with smooth easy focusing.
Eye relief is listed at 17 mm and it may be, but the eyecups float above the ocular lens wasting 2 or 3 mm. Thus, it was barely adequate when looking straight ahead, but when looking up or down the eyerelief was not acceptable for my eyes behind my eyeglasses. It was the same with a Minox HG 8x33 that I tried (a couple of years ago) with specified 15 mm of eyerelief, however the Minox had better designed eyecups.
Brightness was good, but no better than my Viper 32. Resolution was not bad, but not great. While sitting on my porch I saw a small bird resting on bare branches with a bright, sunlight background atop a tree about 120 feet away. With the Vanguard 8x36 I could not identify the bird and the branches had an unusual yellowish glow. Trying my Viper 8x32, I clearly saw a red head, a finch beak and an unmarked breast/abdomen - a purple finch. The branches were covered in yellow-green moss. I then carefully repacked the Vanguard in its box for return to Amazon. I admit that I spent less than an hour trying to utilize the Vanguard, so maybe my determination was a bit unfair? Maybe I was hoping for too much? However, I found the Vanguard Spirit Ed 8x36 to be disappointing.
bearclawthedonut
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