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

Serenar 50mm f/3.5

Canon · LTM · 1946 · Tessar type, 4e/3g

Also known as: Serenar 50mm f/3.5 · Canon 50mm f/3.5 · Serenar 5cm f/3.5 · Serenar 50mm f3.5 · Canon Serenar 50mm f/3.5 · Seiki Kogaku Serenar

Variants & identification

Variant Mount Years Serial ranges Production
Serenar 50mm f/3.5 (I), collapsible LTM 1946–1952 #8001–13722 (Types 1–4, presumed start; earliest found #8011)
#83022–83616 — a separate Type 4a batch
#13738–15034 — Type 5
#10001–15290 — Type 6, overlapping the earlier ranges 		No figure published
Serenar / Canon 50mm f/3.5 (II) LTM 1952–1955 — 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.
  3. camera-wiki lists a Serenar 50mm f/4 (March 1947, four elements in three groups, supplied with a finder, not rangefinder-coupled). The Canon Camera Museum has no page for it. It is mentioned rather than given a variant row.
How to tell them apart (expand)

Serenar 50mm f/3.5 (I), collapsible:

  • Marketed January 1946, sold overseas only · 170 g · stops to f/16
  • Collapsible; Seiki Kogaku engraving and no coating before October 1946, Canon Camera Co. from October 1947 (Leica Copies Japan)
  • Serials presumed from #8001, earliest found #8011, to #13722; a Type 4a batch at #83022–83616; Type 5 #13738–15034; Type 6 #10001–15290, overlapping (Leica Copies Japan)

Serenar / Canon 50mm f/3.5 (II):

  • Marketed August 1952, ¥13,000 · 144 g · 34 mm filter · stops to f/16
  • Rigid-looking collapsible with 34 mm filter thread, eight blades and click stops from December 1951; 144 g
  • Canon Lens engraving from December 1952; production ended February 1955

Specifications

Formula
Tessar type, 4e/3g
Designed by
Furukawa Ryōzō — optical design (camera-wiki)
Construction
4 elements / 3 groups
Aperture range
f/3.5–f/16
Min. focus
1 m
Weight
170 g
Years manufactured
1946
Country
Japan
Original price
Sold overseas only — no yen list price (January 1946, Canon Camera Museum)

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 first lens Canon made. The Canon Camera Museum dates the design to the Canon J of 1939 — a Tessar type by Furukawa Ryōzō in a 39 mm thread of 24 turns per inch, not Leica’s 26 — and marks the lens itself as marketed in January 1946 for export only, uncoated and engraved Seiki Kogaku until the coating of October 1946 and the Canon Camera Co. name of October 1947. Leica Copies Japan follows it through six types and a tangle of serial ranges to 1952, and a second version with a 34 mm filter thread and click stops ran from August 1952 to February 1955, engraved Canon Lens after December 1952.

An uncoupled Serenar 50mm f/4 of March 1947, sold with its own finder for the Canon S-II’s export trade, is camera-wiki’s and not the museum’s; it is noted here and not given a row.

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 Serenar 50mm f/3.5? We'd love to feature it (with credit).

Live listings

Asking price, USD: a median of $420 across 14 fixed-price listings on 2026-09-11 (middle half $150–$1,500). Tracked since 2026-09-09, 2 days: unchanged from $420.

By day
DateMedianMiddle halfListings
2026-09-11$420$150–$1,50014
2026-09-09$420$150–$1,50014

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

Show 10 more listings

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

Related: Serenar 50mm f/2 · Canon 50mm f/2.8

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.