Vanguard Endeavor ED 1045 (1 Viewer)

[CliveP]

Just received my delivery of a pair these 10.5x45 today while I was in the middle of painting my horrible garden fence so it wasn't the best time and I have only been playing with them around outside of the house for a while.

1st impression: Send them back. Tons of CA, tons. Somehow all the reviewers online either forgot to mention this or else I have some kind of defective pair so I would like to hear from other owners although I may be one of the first to buy these.

Anyhow that was my initial impression and I actually packed them away again to send back thinking this CA would drive me nuts. However I decided to try again and now I am more curious about them because there is something likeable and I think I need to take them out tomorrow to some of my usual spots to give them more of a chance.

My only other binocular at present is my Swaro el 8x32 and it does seem that these Vanguard are not to disimilar in terms of brightness, contrast and colour so I do like those aspects. The CA even seems to be the same type as the el's only it can be more extreme.

So at present since these Vanguard are a 1/4 the cost of my el I'm thinking that I may have been a bit hard on them or expected to much. I really thought ED was supposed to suppress CA but then my Bushnell Legend Ultra had it also although not to bad.

I will try them further and see how I go.

Haven't bothered looking much at the accesories but they seem quite good. My primary interest is the optics, always.

The binoculars themselves seem very well built, durable and comfortable with a little heft. The 3 position eyecup system is very good and I have noticed that they also have 2 tripod connections which I will not be using but it shows some thought has gone into these I think.

Summing up I have a feeling these could become quite popular.Its possible that the CA could be ignored and accepted in difficult lighting situations like the strong sun I first tested them in when they arrived. Now when its evening the CA has definitely calmed down. They are very good for close up also I noticed.

So Vanguard have "Endeavoured" to make a good bin in their top line model.
I'm not yet sure but its possible they could lure cutomers away from more expensive models.

If these did not have so much CA (even the el's have some though) I would really rate these highly already. I think most online reviews are from hunters who will not be looking for a skyward view of birds so the CA won't be important to them. Viewing at ground level without a bright background against a dark edge these are very very good with basically little or no CA.

Oh and the focus I would say is fast given that its about half a revolution from near to far! but I think it is usable once aclimatised. Focus wheel is very smooth with no slack or anything untoward so thats well done. Focus direction is opposite to my Swaro so thats a pain but I think Vanguard have the correct style i.e right hand forefinger pull towards the palm for nearer focusing. Clockwise far to near.

Going from a Swaro to these is tricky but the price can't dissapoint in comparison and they are not a million miles away from similar quality. Going from these to a Swaro might not be necessary or might result in dissapointment with the Swaro given the huge extra cost but if money is no object then who cares go for the Swaro.

More later if anyone is interested?

 

[typo]

Clive,

Thanks for the report. Sounds like a pretty mixed bag. Of the sub alpha EDs I've tried I felt that the Bushnell Legend Ultra HD possibly had the most CA, though for me, not quite enough to reject on those grounds. Worse than that might give me serious doubts. However I think the Bushnells have redeeming features like the focus speed and contrast compared to the Hawke Frontier ED for example. You say the contrast is close to the Swaro. That sounds fairly encouraging. I know I'm a rather sensitive to both too much and too little pin cushion. How would you rate it's panning performance etc.?

Thanks,

David

 

[FrankD]

I would also thank you for the review. I did try a previous Vanguard ED model a few years ago but the name escapes me at the moment. It suffered from some pretty severe quality control issues....really bad focus and possibly a collimation issue. I cannot remember preciously. I am glad to see that those issues seem to be resolved. I am sad to hear about the CA issue. It does surprise me that it is so prevalent in an ED glass bin.

 

[CliveP]

CA is the killer

Just been trying the Vanguard again this morning and will try and go out shortly to the local lake to see how they fair over water.

Its raining today but that does not seem to detremental to the Vanguard.

What I will be looking for is some kind of wow moment view and if I can't get that then they have to go because the CA is just to annoying. You become to aware of it and then you are constantly distracted so I am very dissapointed in this so called ED glass.

Its actually the thing that annoys me most with my Swarovski and it is half as much or less than the CA occuring with the Vanguard.

The Bushnell Legend Ultra had CA but somehow it was of some type that did not annoy me and there were definitely times when the Swaro had CA when the Bushnell did not. The Bushnell were great but the saturation was overboard I felt although this made for some amazingly colouful images at times. Conversly I think that the Swaro could do with a little bit more saturation.

These Vanguard are unboubtedly a higher build quality package than the Bushnell for sure but then the Bushnell were a very nice light weight I remember.

I have also been trying to test the resolution increase with the 10.5x mag compared with the my 8x and I'm finding that it does not seem that much. Things are definitely larger with the 10.5x but I'm not sure there is actually a lot more resolution so is it really then worth it to carry the larger bin?

I will be trying to decide today but at present I have doubts and so I think I will be having to err on the side of caution and return them which is a real pity because they really are quite a nice package otherwise.

With CA like these have they can't really be recommended for birding at all. I have seen Rooks flying which are just purple and yellow blobs. I saw a Goldfinch in the distance with my 8x and colours and edges were really discernable so I grabbed the Vanguard and got a closer view but consisting of a lot of mush.

Maybe if it was something the size of a deer then things would be different.
I will update later after I have been out and about.

I'm wondering still though if it is a bad pair CA wise I have received. Maybe Amazon can help me with this? Without this CA problem I would definitely keep these just to have a spare pair and something with higher magnification. If I don't have a faulty pair then I think Vanguard can kiss goodbye to the birding market as there are bound to be many better birding bins than this for the same price or less.

I hope I can get to the bottom of this but at present I am begining to think avoid anything chinese claiming ED. I mean basically of all the binoculars I have ever owned which must be around 10 or so pairs these are the worst for CA, hands down. Why don't these reviewers notice? I mean how can you miss that everything is part purple?

 

[CliveP]

reply

Clive,

Thanks for the report. Sounds like a pretty mixed bag. Of the sub alpha EDs I've tried I felt that the Bushnell Legend Ultra HD possibly had the most CA, though for me, not quite enough to reject on those grounds. Worse than that might give me serious doubts. However I think the Bushnells have redeeming features like the focus speed and contrast compared to the Hawke Frontier ED for example. You say the contrast is close to the Swaro. That sounds fairly encouraging. I know I'm a rather sensitive to both too much and too little pin cushion. How would you rate it's panning performance etc.?

Thanks,

David

Hi David

You reminded me I ordered some Hawke Frontier 10x36 a while back. Sent back straight away. Only bin I ever returned so far. Far to soft off center and cheap build etc. Gave me eye ache pretty much immediately.

Don't think pincushion, soft edges or anything like that is a problem with these Vanguard. The view is quite comfortable. Panning is ok considering its 10.5x. I normally like to use binoculars with the eyecups in the lower positions for the widest FOV (My Swaro is really good for this) even though I do not wear glasses but with the Vanguard the CA then becomes worse and I find that I really need to keep them at the second highest stop. With the highest stop I cannot see the whole filed as easily and try to jam my eyes into the bins but this could be useful on really bright side lighting days I suppose.

 

[CliveP]

Some stray light

Its not getting any better really.

Think they have some stray light or something occasionally noticable around the ocular edges.

Ok I'm off to the lake. I want to get this sorted as I have to much else to be getting on with but I will give them this last chance.

 

[typo]

Of the first 4 Frontier EDs I tried 3 were faulty. I think they might have tightened up their QC as I've only seen occasional problems recently. It's a useful reference pair as most stores have them. Not tried the 32s but I wouldn't say softness off centre was the biggest shortcoming on the 42s. I mentioned the panning as I had a problem with the Legend Ultra HD 10x. I think both are good value for the money but I'm not planning to buy either.

The CA issue does sound rather bizarre.

Good luck.

David

 

[dipped]

I wonder if you got a really poor pair.

This chap seems to like them see here

 

[CliveP]

Well

I wonder if you got a really poor pair.

This chap seems to like them see here

I have sold better used pairs of mine for less money so I would be crazy to keep these and I don't even think I will bother asking for a replacement because from my trip out just now I have noticed moreso how the focus is wallowy and the view can be a bit misty or watery. They even had me looking for CA in my Swaro's when I tried them (and yes its there but its not catastrophic). These Vanguard just don't cut it at all. My first impression was entirely correct and nothing from my trip changed that.

If you were some-one as the reviewer admits that has not owned/used good binoculars before then you would be satified probably? until you realise, but if like many here you have used many good binoculars over the years you will not like these. You will have expected more from a top line model which makes big claims about their ED sharpness and colour control and which have reviewers raving about them. I wouldn't describe their sharpness as a stand out feature. Its really nothing special.

These binocular optics are not refined or well controlled. Someone actually compared them to Canon L glass? I definitely have a defective pair if thats the case although in certain situations as I have previously said such as close range and were there is nothing to contrasting around such as a green bush, then yes, they are good but I need more capability than that.

I wouldn't want these as glove box pair and thats the truth and its very dissapointing to me that this is the case plus now I have the hassle of returning them.

At the lake I visited several different spots on my walk around and I eventually just stopped using the Vanguard. Campared to my 8x they did make gulls seem huge and a Herron was like a flying barn door and I liked this. I also managed to catch a Turn diving and comming up with a fish but at no time did I get any wow effect in fact the Herron was half purple and I just can't find that acceptable.

I wish I had waited to get some proper user reviews before I ordered these. I am still interested to see if anyone has the same problem or whether I have in fact a problem pair but I don't think this is the case.

I guess time will tell? but for me definitely no more Chinese ED's. I should have kept the Bushnell Ultra 10x42 that I sold. They are difinitely good glove box bins once I got them repaired after the first 2 weeks of use.

You win some you lose some. This one I lost in fact every Chinese ED time I have lost. I really should learn.

All is not lost though, I still have my Swaro and I guess they will have to do all. Its actually quite a surprise how well they stack up against a binocular with a 45mm objective as opposed to the Swaro 32mm which is not claimed to be ED or HD or whatever!

 

[CliveP]

Return

Ok its done.

Repackaged and will be collected on Monday for return to Amazon.

I stated the reason that it may have been a bad batch example optically.

In any case there was not the possibility of an exchange probably because they only had one when I ordered.

I imagine it will be sold again as it will probably seem perfectly good to whoever at Amazon inspects it.

I hope whoever the next buyer is feels better about it than I did or if it is returned again then maybe Amazon will need to return it to the manufacturer for appraisal. Very dissapointing given that I was really looking forward to these based on the rave reviews.

So no more Vanguard bins for me but as I said I look forward to hearing from some-one knowledgable with a different experience from this one.

Personally I like to show good bins to other users to let them try and to get their opinion. These I would not have wanted to show to anyone well maybe show them the nice exterior but not let them look through them. I'd have been to embarassed that I paid £300 (£50 of that vat) when these are really only £100 optics in a body which should have much better.