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

Canon 50mm f/1.8

Canon · LTM · 1951 · Gauss type, 6e/4g

Also known as: Canon 50mm f/1.8 · Serenar 50mm f/1.8 · Canon 50mm f1.8 · Serenar 50mm f1.8 · Canon 50/1.8 · Serenar 5cm f/1.8 · Canon 5cm f/1.8

Variants & identification

Variant Mount Years Serial ranges Production
Serenar / Canon 50mm f/1.8 (I), chrome LTM 1951–1956 — No figure published
Canon 50mm f/1.8 (II), black and chrome LTM 1956–1958 — No figure published
Canon 50mm f/1.8 (III) LTM 1958–1975 — 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 50mm f/1.8 (I), chrome:

  • Marketed November 1951, ¥26,000 · 270 g · 40 mm filter · stops to f/16 · 10 blades
  • Chrome-on-brass, rigid; 40 mm filter; 270 g; 10 blades with click stops — the first Canon lens with them; f/16 minimum; blue coating
  • Engraved Serenar to December 1952, Canon Lens after; the first Canon lens cut to the Leica thread pitch (Leica Copies Japan)

Canon 50mm f/1.8 (II), black and chrome:

  • Marketed February 1956, ¥27,000 · 40 mm filter · stops to f/22 · 9 blades
  • Black light-alloy barrel, satin-chrome aperture ring; f/22; 13 then 11 blades (Leica Copies Japan)

Canon 50mm f/1.8 (III):

  • Marketed December 1958, ¥20,000 · 188 g · 40 mm filter · stops to f/22 · 9 blades
  • Redesigned rear focusing ring; 8 blades; 188 g; also all-black for black bodies

Specifications

Formula
Gauss type, 6e/4g
Designed by
Itō Hiroshi — optical design (camera-wiki)
Construction
6 elements / 4 groups
Aperture range
f/1.8–f/16
Diaphragm blades
10
Min. focus
1 m
Weight
270 g
Filter
40 mm
Years manufactured
1951
Country
Japan
Original price
¥26,000 (November 1951, Canon Camera Museum; no price index for that year, so not restated in today's money)

What reviewers say

History

The lens Canon built its reputation on. Itō Hiroshi patented the six-element Gauss design in June 1951 — in Germany as well as Japan — and it was marketed that November at ¥26,000 with the Canon IIIA and IVF as the first Canon lens with click-stopped apertures and the first cut to Leica’s thread pitch. The optics did not change until production ended in 1975; the barrel did, from chrome brass to black alloy in 1956 and to a lighter rear-ring design in 1958. Mechelhoff says Canon made more than 100,000.

Dante Stella tested it against the Summicron 50 and found it a match — “a great all-around performer” with an annoying infinity lock. Matt Osborne: “strong performer in a small package and at a good price.” Mechelhoff: “a fine, quite fast lens fully comparable with the best quality of the world, LEICA and ZEISS.” It is the Canon lens to start with.

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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 50mm f/1.8? We'd love to feature it (with credit).

Live listings

Asking price, USD: a median of $200 across 3 fixed-price listings on 2026-09-11 (middle half $29–$200). 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 2026-09-11. Links go to the shop or marketplace that carries the item.

Related: Canon 50mm f/1.4 · Canon 50mm f/1.5 · Serenar 50mm f/1.9 · Canon 50mm f/2.2 · Canon 50mm f/2.8

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.