We’ve just received the brand new 82mm Endeavor HD spotting scope from Vanguard Sporting Optics for review here at IWHQ.
UPDATE: our Full Review of this spotting scope is now available here.
While we’re obviously going to spend a bit of time getting to know this new scope before posting our full review, I though some of you might want a sneak peek at what it has to offer, and some initial “first impression” thoughts.
Vanguard claims the Endeavor HD is the finest optical instrument the company has ever made… and as I was particularly impressed with the price-performance ratio of their Endeavor ED binoculars, I was intrigued to see how that claim stood up.
Good looks and impressive views at low magnification
The scope has a pretty impressive spec sheet — with an 82mm ED glass objective lens, Vanguard’s proprietary suite of fully multi-coated optics and a high quality 20-60x zoom eyepiece that boasts a decent field of view throughout the zoom range.
It’s a solid, well built unit that feels reassuringly solid and is naturally fully waterproof and fog proof. The body tapers significantly from the wide objective lens to the centre under the dual focus wheels — giving the Endeavor HD a very pronounced little “waist” before flaring out again at the eyepiece end. It certainly lends the scope a distinctive look, as does the black rubber armour and lime-green highlighting on the eyepiece (something those of you who’ve seen Vanguard’s range of ED binoculars will be familiar with.
Here’s a short Vanguard promotional video giving you a run-down of the scope features and specs — you’ll find more on the Vanguard website here:
But enough about what the scope looks like on the outside… what you’re interested in is the view when you look through it… right?
Well, while it’s not quite the “Wow!” you get with a really high-end scope, I have to say that at 20x the view through the Vanguard is impressively bright and sharp, with a comfortable field of view and a large sweet spot with minimal softening out towards the edges. As you zoom in it remains impressive up to about 40x… after which the view deteriorates quite markedly as you continue through the remainder of the zoom range.
This isn’t entirely unexpected. It’s a common factor with most zoom eyepieces, with few exceptions I’ve seen, typically on much more expensive scopes (Swarrovski’s excellent 25-50 wide angle eyepiece and Meopta’s outstanding 30-60x wide angle, for example). I showed the Endeavor HD to some experienced birders at a recent event, and the first question most of them asked was “do they do a fixed wide angle eyepiece”? Vanguard doesn’t — but I’d suggest that perhaps a wide, bright 30x fixed eyepiece could be a good move if the company wants this scope to attract serious attention from birders an wildlife enthusiasts.
Conclusion
The Endeavor HD is a very good scope… no doubt about it. It sports some impressive specifications, has high quality optics and components throughout and the view through it is very impressive at the lower magnifications you’d find yourself using 99% of the time. The 82A retails at around €700 including the 20-60x eyepiece and a very functional stay-on case. That’s not cheap… but it is a very reasonable price point for a high-spec spotting scope.
There’s a lot to like about the Endeavor HD… and I’m looking forward to getting to know it a bit better over the coming weeks. More to follow then in the full review….
If you’re interested you can pre-order / buy the Vanguard Endeavor HD from Amazon here:
UPDATE: our Full Review of this spotting scope is now available here.
