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

Canon 135mm f/3.5

Canon · LTM · 1952 · Tessar type, 4e/3g

Also known as: Canon 135mm f/3.5 · Serenar 135mm f/3.5 · Canon 135mm f3.5 · Serenar 135mm f3.5 · Canon 135/3.5 · Serenar 13.5cm f/3.5

Variants & identification

Variant Mount Years Serial ranges Production
Serenar / Canon 135mm f/3.5 (I), chrome LTM 1952–1958 — No figure published
Canon 135mm f/3.5 (II), black LTM 1958–1961 — No figure published
Canon 135mm f/3.5 (III) LTM 1961 — 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).
  2. Serenar became Canon Lens in December 1952, accessory lenses following in January 1953 (Leica Copies Japan). A lens engraved Serenar is therefore earlier than 1953; the same glass in a Canon-engraved barrel is not a different lens, and this catalog keeps both on one page as variants.
How to tell them apart (expand)

Serenar / Canon 135mm f/3.5 (I), chrome:

  • Marketed December 1952, ¥27,000 · 565 g · 48 mm filter · stops to f/22
  • Chrome brass; 48 mm filter; 565 g; focuses to 1.5 m

Canon 135mm f/3.5 (II), black:

  • Marketed April 1958, ¥27,000 · 438 g · 48 mm filter · stops to f/22
  • Black alloy; marked in metres and feet; 438 g

Canon 135mm f/3.5 (III):

  • Marketed January 1961, ¥23,000 · 424 g · 48 mm filter · stops to f/22
  • 424 g; ¥23,000

Specifications

Formula
Tessar type, 4e/3g
Designed by
Mukai Jirō — optical design (camera-wiki)
Construction
4 elements / 3 groups
Aperture range
f/3.5–f/22
Min. focus
1.5 m
Weight
565 g
Filter
48 mm
Years manufactured
1952
Country
Japan
Original price
¥27,000 (December 1952, Canon Camera Museum; no price index for that year, so not restated in today's money)

What reviewers say

History

Mukai Jirō’s four-element 135mm, marketed in December 1952 at ¥27,000 as the replacement for the f/4 (Leica Copies Japan has the changeover in October 1952), in black alloy from April 1958 and lighter again from January 1961. It is the common, inexpensive long Canon, and the Canon 7’s 135mm frame was drawn for it.

Dante Stella calls it a solid, inexpensive lens with excellent field performance, warning that some do not reach infinity on M bodies; 50mmF2 found it “capable but unexciting” on a Canon 7, sharp from f/5.6, neutral in contrast, with a near-360° focus throw — “long telephoto lenses are not easy to use on rangefinders. But it can be done.”

Expand Collapse

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 135mm f/3.5? We'd love to feature it (with credit).

Live listings

Asking price, USD: a median of $99 across 4 fixed-price listings on 2026-09-11 (middle half $50–$120). Tracked since 2026-09-09, 2 days: unchanged from $99.

By day
DateMedianMiddle halfListings
2026-09-11$99$50–$1204
2026-09-09$99$50–$1204

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 · Serenar 135mm f/4 · Canon M135mm f/2.5

Sources (7)

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.