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

Serenar 35mm f/3.2

Canon · LTM · 1951 · Six-element, 6e/4g

Also known as: Serenar 35mm f/3.2 · Canon 35mm f/3.2 · Serenar 35mm f3.2 · Serenar 3.5cm f/3.2 · Canon 35/3.2

Variants & identification

Variant Mount Years Serial ranges Production
Serenar 35mm f/3.2 LTM 1951–1954 — 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 35mm f/3.2:

  • Marketed June 1951, ¥20,720 · 165 g · 34 mm filter · stops to f/22 · 6 blades
  • Chrome brass with infinity lock; 34 mm filter; 165 g

Specifications

Formula
Six-element, 6e/4g
Designed by
Itō Hiroshi — optical design (camera-wiki)
Construction
6 elements / 4 groups
Aperture range
f/3.2–f/22
Diaphragm blades
6
Min. focus
1 m
Weight
165 g
Filter
34 mm
Years manufactured
1951
Country
Japan
Original price
¥20,720 (June 1951, Canon Camera Museum; no price index for that year, so not restated in today's money)

What reviewers say

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

History

An odd stop: f/3.2, a fraction faster than Leitz’s f/3.5 Summaron, marketed in June 1951 at ¥20,720 and designed by Itō Hiroshi. Six elements in four groups. It lasted about three years before the f/2.8 of October 1951 — a faster lens on the same idea, announced four months later — made it redundant, and Mechelhoff notes the brief run.

It is the scarce one of the Canon 35s for that reason, not for any optical distinction; sellers often misread the 3.2 as 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 Serenar 35mm f/3.2? We'd love to feature it (with credit).

Live listings

Asking price, USD: a median of $300 across 8 fixed-price listings on 2026-09-09 (middle half $250–$350). First day tracked.

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

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

Related: Canon 35mm f/2.8 · Serenar 35mm 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.