Lemaire 7x35 Extra Wide Angle
Mfr: Lemaire, Paris, France
Date: circa 1960's?
AFOV: ~80 degrees
TFOV: 600 feet at 1000 yards, ~11.4 degrees
Eye Relief: ~10mm
Prisms: low index
Lemaire is (or was) a French brand better known for their long history of opera glasses. I was surprised to find that they also produced binoculars, apparently made in France. I have also seen a Lemaire wide angle 10x50 similar to this 7x35. On the end of the hinge is the famous Lemaire logo, which I believe is a bee (please correct me if I'm wrong). I have been able to find very little information on the history of Lemaire.
This extra wide angle binocular has a nicely rounded body with very large eyepieces. It is also very light in weight. The eyepieces have hard eyecups and are not very comfortable. Despite the large eyepieces (26mm eyelens), the eye relief is on the short side. The exit pupils are squared off, indicating the probable use of low index prisms. I would rate the image quality as fair, with noticeable pincushion distortion, astigmatism, and lateral color towards the edge. There is also some slight prism leakage visible. It is nice to have such a wide field, though. The coatings have a violet color.