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

Serenar 100mm f/4

Canon · LTM · 1948 · Triplet, 3e/3g

Also known as: Serenar 100mm f/4 · Canon Serenar 100mm f/4 · Serenar 100mm f4 · Serenar 10cm f/4 · Canon 100/4 Serenar

Variants & identification

Variant Mount Years Serial ranges Production
Serenar 100mm f/4 (I) LTM 1948–1950 — No figure published
Serenar 100mm f/4 (II) LTM 1950–1952 — 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)

Serenar 100mm f/4 (I):

  • Marketed January 1948, ¥17,720 · 459 g · 34 mm filter · stops to f/22
  • Chrome brass; 34 mm filter; 459 g

Serenar 100mm f/4 (II):

  • Marketed April 1950, ¥18,200 · 355 g · 34 mm filter · stops to f/22
  • Internal redesign; 355 g (museum) — Leica Copies Japan has 450 to 330 g

Specifications

Formula
Triplet, 3e/3g
Designed by
Kuroki Masana — optical design (camera-wiki)
Construction
3 elements / 3 groups
Aperture range
f/4–f/22
Min. focus
1.07 m
Weight
459 g
Filter
34 mm
Years manufactured
1948
Country
Japan
Original price
¥17,720 (January 1948, Canon Camera Museum) (today ¥180,000)

What reviewers say

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

History

A three-glass triplet by Kuroki Masana, marketed in January 1948 at ¥17,720 and lightened by an internal redesign in April 1950; the f/3.5 replaced it in July 1952 (Leica Copies Japan). Cheap and simple, it is the occupation-era Canon telephoto most often seen, usually engraved Made in Occupied Japan.

It is collected, not reviewed.

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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 Serenar 100mm f/4? We'd love to feature it (with credit).

Live listings

Asking price, USD: a median of $93 across 17 fixed-price listings on 2026-09-11 (middle half $90–$200). Tracked since 2026-09-09, 2 days: unchanged from $93.

By day
DateMedianMiddle halfListings
2026-09-11$93$90–$20017
2026-09-09$93$90–$20017

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

Show 5 more listings

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

Related: Canon 100mm f/3.5

Sources (4)

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.