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

Canon 35mm f/1.8

Canon · LTM · 1957 · Planar type, 7e/4g

Also known as: Canon 35mm f/1.8 · Canon 35mm f1.8 · Canon 35/1.8 · Canon 3.5cm f/1.8

Variants & identification

Variant Mount Years Serial ranges Production
Canon 35mm f/1.8 LTM 1957 — 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. camera-wiki gives April 1956 for this lens; the Canon Camera Museum gives May 1957. The museum's date is used above.
How to tell them apart (expand)

Canon 35mm f/1.8:

  • Marketed May 1957, ¥32,000 · 125 g · 40 mm filter · stops to f/22
  • Black and chrome; 40 mm filter; 125 g

Specifications

Formula
Planar type, 7e/4g
Designed by
Mukai Jirō — optical design (camera-wiki)
Construction
7 elements / 4 groups
Aperture range
f/1.8–f/22
Min. focus
1 m
Weight
125 g
Filter
40 mm
Years manufactured
1957
Country
Japan
Original price
¥32,000 (May 1957, Canon Camera Museum) (today ¥200,000)

What reviewers say

History

Mukai Jirō’s seven-element Planar-type 35mm, marketed in May 1957 at ¥32,000 — camera-wiki dates it April 1956 — and, at 125 grams, small for its speed. Dante Stella calls it “underappreciated”: good sharpness across the frame without harshness, smooth bokeh, and increasingly hard to find; Matt Osborne likes it for “vintage rendering in a really nice small form.”

The 35mm f/2 of 1962 is Mechelhoff’s “derivation of the 1.8/35,” and the two are the sensible pair: the f/1.8 is the earlier, slightly softer, and cheaper lens.

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 35mm f/1.8? We'd love to feature it (with credit).

Live listings

Asking price, USD: a median of $370 across 4 fixed-price listings on 2026-10-19 (middle half $320–$380). Tracked since 2026-09-09, 8 days: up 6% from $350.

By day
DateMedianMiddle halfListings
2026-10-19$370$320–$3804
2026-10-18$370$320–$3804
2026-10-17$370$320–$3804
2026-10-15$350$330–$3706
2026-09-21$330$280–$3303
2026-09-18$320$280–$3304
2026-09-11$350$280–$4507
2026-09-09$350$320–$4506

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

Listings updated 2026-10-19. Links go to the shop or marketplace that carries the item.

Related: Canon 35mm f/1.5 · Canon 35mm f/2 · Canon 35mm f/2.8

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.