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

Canon 85mm f/1.9

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

Also known as: Canon 85mm f/1.9 · Serenar 85mm f/1.9 · Canon 85mm f1.9 · Serenar 85mm f1.9 · Canon 85/1.9 · Serenar 8.5cm f/1.9

Variants & identification

Variant Mount Years Serial ranges Production
Serenar / Canon 85mm f/1.9 (I), chrome LTM 1951–1958 — No figure published
Canon 85mm f/1.9 (II), black LTM 1958–1961 — 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.
  3. camera-wiki dates the Serenar 85mm f/1.9 to April 1949; the Canon Camera Museum to August 1951. The museum's date is used.
How to tell them apart (expand)

Serenar / Canon 85mm f/1.9 (I), chrome:

  • Marketed August 1951, ¥29,500 · 605 g · 48 mm filter · stops to f/16
  • Chrome brass; 48 mm filter; 605 g; f/16

Canon 85mm f/1.9 (II), black:

  • Marketed August 1958, ¥29,500 · 410 g · 48 mm filter · stops to f/22
  • Black alloy; marked in metres and feet; f/22; 410 g

Specifications

Formula
Gauss type, 6e/4g
Designed by
Itō Hiroshi — optical design (camera-wiki)
Construction
6 elements / 4 groups
Aperture range
f/1.9–f/16
Min. focus
1 m
Weight
605 g
Filter
48 mm
Years manufactured
1951
Country
Japan
Original price
¥29,500 (August 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

Itō Hiroshi’s six-element 85mm, marketed as a Serenar in August 1951 at ¥29,500 (camera-wiki says April 1949) in a 605-gram chrome barrel, and again in black alloy at 410 grams from August 1958 until the f/1.8 replaced it in 1961. It is the common fast Canon 85 and the one to use: a Gauss design that draws softly wide open and sharply from f/2.8.

No blog review of substance was found; Dante Stella does not cover it and 35mmc reviewed the f/1.8 instead.

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 85mm f/1.9? We'd love to feature it (with credit).

Live listings

Asking price, USD: a median of $300 across 21 fixed-price listings on 2026-09-09 (middle half $260–$430). First day tracked.

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

Show 18 more listings

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

Related: Canon 85mm f/1.5 · Canon 85mm f/1.8 · Serenar 85mm f/2

Sources (5)

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.