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

Nikkor-Q(·C) 5cm f/3.5

Nippon Kogaku · LTM + Nikon S · 1945 · Tessar derivative

Also known as: Nikkor 5cm f/3.5 · Nikkor 50mm f/3.5 · Nikkor-Q·C 5cm f/3.5 · Nikkor-Q.C 5cm f/3.5 · Nikkor-QC 5cm f3.5 · Nikkor-Q 5cm f/3.5 · Nikkor 5cm f/3.5 collapsible · Nikkor 50mm f/3.5 · Nippon Kogaku 5cm f/3.5

Variants & identification

Variant Mount Years Serial ranges Production
Leica screw mount, collapsible (1945) · Tessar derivative, 4e/3g — Elmar type, the iris behind the first element LTM 1945 7050001–7052782 (the postwar 705xxxx block; Nikon S examples interleaved in the same sequence) ~2,782 in the shared 705xxxx block (both mounts combined, from Dec 1945) — no factory total published
Nikon S (705xxxx block) · Tessar derivative, 4e/3g — Elmar type, identical to the Leica-screw collapsible Nikon S — 7050001–7052782 (shared block; the handful of known S examples sit among the Leica-screw units) —
Leica screw mount, rigid (1955) · Tessar derivative, 4e/3g — iris moved behind the second element, closer to a true Tessar than the Elmar-type collapsible LTM 1955–1956 213301–218881 ~5,581
How to tell them apart (expand)

Leica screw mount, collapsible (1945):

  • Marked NIKKOR-Q·C with 'Tokyo' engraving, serials in 'Nippon Kogaku No.' style
  • 10 aperture blades
  • Collapsible Elmar-style barrel, but the aperture ring sits behind the front ring rather than on the Elmar's front-mounted tab

Nikon S (705xxxx block):

  • Marked NIKKOR-Q·C with 'Tokyo' engraving; 10 aperture blades — identical to the Leica-screw collapsible apart from the mount

Leica screw mount, rigid (1955):

  • Rigid barrel; marked Q·C with Nippon Kogaku Japan engraving

Serial-range notes

50349–502131
Prewar Hansa Canon blocks, 'Nippon-Kogaku Nr.' engraving; 501410–502131 carry a modified aperture.
502213–502386
Canon-fit block, ~1940; ~2,038 across the entire prewar 50xxx–502xxx sequence.
460001–460374
Canon-fit block, 'Nippon-Kogaku No.' engraving; ~374.
570395–571115
Wartime Canon-fit block, marked Q·C Tokyo — coated; ~721.
610001–610433
Canon-fit Q·C Tokyo block; ~433.
7050001–7052782
The postwar collapsible block, December 1945 on — Nikon S and Leica-screw examples interleaved in one sequence; every known S-mount example falls here.
213301–218881
Rigid Leica-screw version, 1955–56; ~5,581.

Specifications

Formula
Tessar derivative
Construction
4 elements / 3 groups
Aperture range
f/3.5
Min. focus
0.91 m
Years manufactured
1945–1956
Country
Japan

What reviewers say

Optical Ratings

Aggregated from the reviews above — follow the links for the full picture.

Chromatic aberration
noticeable
Spherical aberration
pronounced glow
Vignetting
mild
Flare & ghosting
severe
Distortion
mild barrel
Optical formula — Tessar derivative
Deliberately a schematic, drawn from the published formula rather than any original diagram (none has surfaced for this lens): four elements in three groups, Elmar type — the iris sits behind the first element, not ahead of the rear group as on a classic Tessar. Topology faithful; curvatures and spacing stylized.
Deliberately a schematic, drawn from the published formula rather than any original diagram (none has surfaced for this lens): four elements in three groups, Elmar type — the iris sits behind the first element, not ahead of the rear group as on a classic Tessar. Topology faithful; curvatures and spacing stylized. — Drawn for this site, CC BY 4.0

History

In December 1945, four months after the surrender, Nippon Kogaku restarted civilian lens production with this lens: the collapsible Nikkor-Q·C 5cm f/3.5, the company’s first postwar photographic lens by its own official chronicle, opening the 705xxxx serial block. It could hardly be a more modest vessel for that distinction — a four-element, three-group Tessar derivative (the Q stands for quatuor, four) copied so closely from the Leitz Elmar 50mm f/3.5 that even the iris sits in the Elmar’s position behind the front element, itself a clone of the Zeiss Tessar. A clone of a clone, built in a country whose industry lay in ruins — and the seed of everything Nikkor became.

The design was already a decade old by then. It dates to the mid-1930s, when Canon — then incapable of making its own optics — turned to Nippon Kogaku to supply lenses for the Kwanon prototypes and the Hansa Canon, Japan’s first 35mm cameras. The serial record traces that whole life: prewar Hansa Canon blocks with “Nippon-Kogaku Nr.” engravings (a later sub-block with a modified aperture), Canon-fit runs around 1940, and wartime blocks already marked Q·C Tokyo — coated. The postwar collapsible carried the Q·C Tokyo markings and ten aperture blades into the 705xxxx block, about 2,782 lenses from December 1945 onward.

Its place in an S-mount catalog is, honestly, marginal. The 705xxxx block interleaves Leica-screw and Nikon S examples in a single sequence, but only a handful have ever surfaced in Nikon mount, and no S-mount catalog listing is documented anywhere — this was a Leica-screw and Canon-fit lens first, an S-mount lens almost incidentally. It earns its page not as a system staple but as the origin point: the lens Nippon Kogaku chose, or defaulted to, when it started over.

The design got one last act as a rigid Leica-screw lens in 1955–56 — about 5,581 made, serials 213301–218881, with the iris moved behind the second element, closer to a true Tessar — before roughly two decades of production ended. Shooters today report exactly what a 1930s Tessar formula behind early coating should deliver: decent central sharpness, weak corners, a pronounced spherical-aberration glow in the highlights, and severe flare when the sun enters the frame — with contrast ranging from the collapsible’s muted classic look to the rigid version’s stunning micro-contrast, a rendering one Japanese reviewer credits with carrying Nikkor’s origin point into the present.

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

More sample photos elsewhere

These photographers keep all rights to their work — enjoy it at the source.

Sample photo wanted — shot with a Nikkor-Q(·C) 5cm f/3.5? We'd love to feature it (with credit).

Live listings

Asking price, USD: a median of $250 across 11 fixed-price listings on 2026-09-11 (middle half $190–$300). Tracked since 2026-09-06, 2 days: unchanged from $250.

By day
DateMedianMiddle halfListings
2026-09-11$250$190–$30011
2026-09-06$250$190–$48012

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

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

Related: Nikkor-H(·C) 5cm f/2 · Nikkor 5cm f/3.5 (Hansa Canon)

Sources (3)

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.