Glass Bodies a variant-level encyclopedia of vintage lenses and cameras by iwillpat

Canon 100mm f/2

Canon · LTM · 1959 · Gauss type, 6e/4g

Also known as: Canon 100mm f/2 · Canon 100mm f2 · Canon 100/2 · Canon 10cm f/2

Variants & identification

Variant Mount Years Serial ranges Production
Canon 100mm f/2 LTM 1959 — No figure published
  1. Canon's own thread before 1951 was 39 mm at 24 threads per inch (1.058 mm pitch), against Leica's 26 tpi — close enough that the lenses interchange in practice, and the difference is why an early Serenar can feel tight on a Leica. The Serenar 50mm f/1.8 of late 1951 was the first Canon lens cut to the Leica pitch (Leica Copies Japan).
How to tell them apart (expand)

Canon 100mm f/2:

  • Marketed January 1959, ¥33,000 · 515 g · 58 mm filter · stops to f/22 · 13 blades
  • Black; 58 mm filter; 515 g

Specifications

Formula
Gauss type, 6e/4g
Designed by
Mukai Jirō — optical design (camera-wiki)
Construction
6 elements / 4 groups
Aperture range
f/2–f/22
Diaphragm blades
13
Min. focus
1 m
Weight
515 g
Filter
58 mm
Years manufactured
1959
Country
Japan
Original price
¥33,000 (January 1959, Canon Camera Museum) (today ¥205,000)

What reviewers say

No reviews aggregated yet — this family is still in the research queue. Written one? We'd love to index it.

History

The fastest 100mm for a rangefinder: Mukai Jirō’s six-element Gauss, marketed in January 1959 at ¥33,000, black, 515 grams, 58 mm filter. Leitz never made a 90mm faster than f/2 for the M, and Nikon’s fastest 10.5cm was f/2.5, so this stood alone. It is the lens the fast-portrait collectors want after the 85/1.5.

No blog review of substance was found; it is discussed mostly in comparison with the far lighter f/3.5.

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This history is AI-written, from the sources listed at the foot of the page. Where the record is silent it says so rather than filling the gap — but no human wrote these sentences.

Example photos

Sample photo wanted — shot with a Canon 100mm f/2? We'd love to feature it (with credit).

Live listings

Asking price, USD: a median of $330 across 8 fixed-price listings on 2026-09-11 (middle half $300–$370). Tracked since 2026-09-09, 2 days: unchanged from $330.

By day
DateMedianMiddle halfListings
2026-09-11$330$300–$3708
2026-09-09$330$300–$3708

Asking prices from the listings scanned, not sales; junk-flagged rows and auction lots excluded; other currencies are not converted.

Listings updated 2026-09-11. Links go to the shop or marketplace that carries the item.

Related: Canon 100mm f/3.5 · Canon 85mm f/1.8

Sources (3)

Every page here is assembled from public sources, and the gaps are real ones. If you own this lens, know a serial number I'm missing, or can see where I have it wrong, tell me — corrections, serials and sample photos are all worth having.