Vanguard 8×42 Endeavor Ed II Binoculars

About two years ago I jumped into birding. Not sure my new hobby would last and with a limited budget I purchased a decent pair of under $100 binoculars. Now I am deep in as a birder and I needed an upgrade in the sub $500 range. These are perfect. I researched the comparisons across the price point and took the plunge with this relatively new manufacturer. These Vanguard Endeavor II 10×42 are right on the money. Great clarity and sharpness across the field of view, very good in low light, mechanics are butter smooth and accurate. Weight and hand feel are wonderful, and the generously proportioned padded neck strap is a nice bonus. Right eye focus lock is pretty nifty. Having looked through the high performance $1500+ glasses of my fellow birders, there are shortcoming when compared. But my peers agree that these definitely out-perform any expectations for this price. And the lifetime warranty is an incredible, and altogether unexpected, bonus. All in all- wonderful.

For the money, I should probably rate these as 4 stars. They have very clear glass, a wide sweet spot, and very nice construction. They are a HUGE improvement over Vanguard’s lesser Endeavor’s, the ED’s (no “2”). But I can only rate them on how well they work with my eyes, and there is still too much chromatic aberration for my tastes.I previously tried, and reviewed, the Vanguard Endeavor ED’s, and found them significantly lacking in the CA department (read the review here… http://www.amazon.com/review/R2TVBX1PVQ9KEM/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B005DQG5SC ). If you are interested in a more detailed description of chromatic aberration, read that review.The new and improved ED II’s control CA much better, with the yellow’s and purple’s confined to the outer portions of the glass. It is still, however, fairly bright. It doesn’t interfere with the center view, but it’s unmistakably there, and noticeable. All assuming, of course, that you are CA sensitive.If you’re not CA sensitive, these are probably a good bet.

These binos are an inspiration. Every time I look through these I am amazed by the sparkling clarity and brightness. I haven’t owned high end binoculars, but have used older medium and low grade ones. I’ve also had a lifetime with camera optics, so know what I’m seeing. These are a revelation. Reality looks better through these! Ha ha. I was showing them to a friend and mentioned the price range and what some fancier pieces cost, and his comment was “what could they have that these don’t?” In researching I learned a great deal from some reviewing websites, especially a site based in England, and finally honed in on these. It was still an investment, and every time I use them I’m glad I made the purchase. They are incredibly solid feeling, and if there is a weakness it would be their weight. They are in the middle of the field in terms of weight and I do use them in hiking, but for long range journeys I use a smaller pair. These are nicely suited for auto trips and landscape observation near my home. The company seems to have some other good products that I’ll check out in the future, especially the line of day packs. These binos are made in China, and the company is in America. There seems to be few quality optics that aren’t made in China, Germany, Japan or maybe a couple other countries. I had to consider the price in my decision. I handle these and see that I got the A grade quality for a reasonable price.

Overall, the Vanguard Endeavor ED II Binocular with Premium Hoya ED Glass is excellent and all we had hoped for and expected. In addition, delivery to Australia from the US was even quicker than Amazon had said it would be.There is just one concern: it’s far too easy to completely “unwind” (and possibly lose) the screw-on covers to the eye pieces. We bought two sets of binoculars, and in trying to re-connect one of these covers after it became accidentally detached, it seems (despite many attempts) to have become impossible to re-engage the thread of the cover and that of the place where it is supposed to screw on. At present, it is being held on because the thread is slightly “off”, which is holding it in place. I am reluctant to try to get it right for fear of stripping one or both of the relevant threads. Is there somewhere in Australia I can take this binocular (preferably in Sydney, which is closer to where I live in Canberra) and have it expertly fixed?Thank you

Excellent binoculars at a good price. Exactly what I was looking for for bird watching.