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

W-Nikkor·C 2.8cm f/3.5

Nippon Kogaku · Nikon S + LTM · 1952 · Orthometar type, 6e/4g

Also known as: W-Nikkor.C 2.8cm f/3.5 · W-Nikkor·C 2.8cm f3.5 · W-Nikkor C 2.8cm f/3.5 · W-Nikkor 2.8cm f/3.5 · W-Nikkor·C 28mm f/3.5 · W-Nikkor 28mm f/3.5 · Nippon Kogaku 2.8cm f/3.5 · Nippon Kogaku 28mm f/3.5 · 2.8cm f3.5

Variants & identification

Variant Mount Years Serial ranges Production
Nikon S (1952) Nikon S 1952 346xxx–349xxx (early chrome batches; LTM examples interleaved in 346001–349220)
712xxx+ (later batches, S-mount only) 		~10,000 sold (family total across S and LTM; no per-mount split published)
Leica screw mount LTM — 3 pre-production examples
Interleaved within 346001–349220 (early chrome batches)
716316 (observed example in the later run, 2026-08-25) 		Unpublished — LTM examples were long recorded only within the early chrome batches (3 pre-production + interleaved in 346001–349220), with the later 712xxx batches held to be S-only; an observed LTM example at 716316 shows screw-mount units exist in the later run too. Per NHS / Rotoloni, only the 3.5cm f/1.8 ever received its own LTM serial sequence.
How to tell them apart (expand)

Nikon S (1952):

  • 43mm screw-in filter thread (vs 34.5mm on the LTM)
  • Chrome-over-brass early; construction lightened over the run (light-alloy from July 1956), with a black-barrel facelift late

Leica screw mount:

  • 34.5mm filter thread
  • Own helicoid with infinity lock

Serial-range notes

346xxx–349xxx
Early chrome-over-brass batches; all confirmed LTM examples sit interleaved in the 346001–349220 span, alongside 3 pre-production LTM lenses.
712xxx+
Later batches, long recorded as S-mount only — but an observed LTM example at 716316 shows screw-mount units exist here too; along the run the chrome-over-brass build gives way to lightened construction (light-alloy from July 1956) and finally a black-barrel facelift.

Specifications

Formula
Orthometar type, 6e/4g
Construction
6 elements / 4 groups
Aperture range
f/3.5–f/22
Diaphragm blades
8
Min. focus
0.9 m
Weight
150 g
Filter
43 mm
Years manufactured
1952
Country
Japan

What reviewers say

Optical Ratings

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

Chromatic aberration
low
Spherical aberration
mild
Vignetting
heavy
Flare & ghosting
severe
Distortion
very low
Optical formula — Orthometar type, 6e/4g
Schematic cross-section drawn for this site — topology from Nikon 1001 Nights story 0079 (existing link) shows Fig. 1 cross-section: 6e/4g Orthometar — front cemented doublet (strong convex + strong concave), convex meniscus, central aperture, convex meniscus facing the film, rea; curvatures and spacing stylized.
Schematic cross-section drawn for this site — topology from Nikon 1001 Nights story 0079 (existing link) shows Fig. 1 cross-section: 6e/4g Orthometar — front cemented doublet (strong convex + strong concave), convex meniscus, central aperture, convex meniscus facing the film, rea; curvatures and spacing stylized. — Drawn for this site, CC BY 4.0

History

The W-Nikkor·C 2.8cm f/3.5 began life as an f/4. Masaki Isshiki (一色真幸) submitted the design report for a symmetrical Orthometar-type wide-angle — six elements in four groups — in January 1952, with production drawings issued the same month; by March 1952 the lens had been reworked to f/3.5, and the f/4 prototypes are believed to have been scrapped. Nikon’s own retrospective suggests the last-minute speed bump was likely competitive pressure — a rival Serenar 2.8cm f/3.5 had appeared exactly a year earlier — and notes that Isshiki’s design carried enough margin in its aberration correction to absorb the extra speed without significant degradation. Released in September 1952, it became the widest lens in the S-mount catalog, a title it held until the 2.5cm f/4 arrived the following year.

Roughly 10,000 were sold, across serial blocks that run 346xxx–349xxx before jumping to 712xxx and beyond. The barrel followed the familiar arc of the early wide Nikkors: heavy chrome-over-brass at first, lightened construction as light-alloy parts came in from July 1956, and eventually a black-barrel facelift — Camera no Naniwa’s figures put the spread at roughly 97 to 142 grams depending on finish. The S-mount version takes 43mm screw-in filters and focuses via the body helicoid; the Leica-thread version, with its own helicoid and infinity lock, takes 34.5mm.

That Leica-screw-mount version is confirmed, but its production count was never published — and unusually, it seems never to have had a run of its own. The known LTM examples amount to three pre-production lenses plus copies interleaved within the early chrome batches (346001–349220); the later 712xxx batches are S-mount only. Per NHS and Rotoloni, only one lens in the system — the 3.5cm f/1.8 — ever received its own LTM serial sequence. And Nikon’s essay concedes the design’s one fault, the very thing nearly every modern reviewer notices first: peripheral illumination ran a little lower than its classmates’, so the pronounced corner darkening that defines the lens’s look today was there from the very start.

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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 taken with the W-Nikkor·C 2.8cm f/3.5
"起點" (Starting point) — a school running track, shot on a Leica MD-2 with the Nippon Kogaku W-NIKKOR.C f=2.8cm 1:3.5 on Fuji RVP 100. — Guess Tsai (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Sample photo taken with the W-Nikkor·C 2.8cm f/3.5
"NKJ W-NIKKOR 28F35-55060023" — sunlit tree-lined sidewalk, Leica MD-2 + Nippon Kogaku W-NIKKOR.C f=2.8cm 1:3.5, Fuji RVP 100. — Guess Tsai (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Sample photo taken with the W-Nikkor·C 2.8cm f/3.5
"NKJ W-NIKKOR 28F35-55060019" — Taiwanese street scene with row houses, Leica MD-2 + Nippon Kogaku W-NIKKOR.C f=2.8cm 1:3.5, Fuji RVP 100. — Guess Tsai (CC BY-SA 2.0)

More sample photos elsewhere

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

Sample photo wanted — shot with a W-Nikkor·C 2.8cm f/3.5? We'd love to feature it (with credit).

Live listings

Asking price, USD: a median of $680 across 13 fixed-price listings on 2026-09-11 (middle half $560–$800). Tracked since 2026-09-06, 2 days: unchanged from $680.

By day
DateMedianMiddle halfListings
2026-09-11$680$560–$80013
2026-09-06$680$560–$80013

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: W-Nikkor(·C) 3.5cm f/1.8 · W-Nikkor(·C) 2.5cm f/4 · SC-Skopar 28mm f/3.5

Sources (6)

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.