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

Canon 50mm f/1.4

Canon · LTM · 1957 · Planar type, 6e/4g

Also known as: Canon 50mm f/1.4 · Canon 50mm f1.4 · Canon 50/1.4 · Canon 5cm f/1.4

Variants & identification

Variant Mount Years Serial ranges Production
Canon 50mm f/1.4 (I) LTM 1957–1959 — No figure published
Canon 50mm f/1.4 (II) LTM 1959–1967 — 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 dates the first version August 1959 and the second undated; the Canon Camera Museum has November 1957 and August 1959. The museum's dates are used.
How to tell them apart (expand)

Canon 50mm f/1.4 (I):

  • Marketed November 1957, ¥25,000 · 48 mm filter · stops to f/22
  • Chrome-on-brass with infinity lock; smaller distance scale marked in metres OR feet (Mechelhoff)
  • 48 mm filter

Canon 50mm f/1.4 (II):

  • Marketed August 1959, ¥18,500 · 246 g · 48 mm filter · stops to f/22 · 9 blades
  • Distance scale in metres AND feet; same optics; 246 g

Specifications

Formula
Planar type, 6e/4g
Designed by
Itō Hiroshi — optical design (camera-wiki)
Construction
6 elements / 4 groups
Aperture range
f/1.4–f/22
Min. focus
1 m
Weight
246 g
Filter
48 mm
Years manufactured
1957
Country
Japan
Original price
¥25,000 (November 1957, Canon Camera Museum) (today ¥156,000)

What reviewers say

History

Itō Hiroshi’s six-element Planar — a Biotar type in Mechelhoff’s description — marketed in November 1957 at ¥25,000, revised in August 1959 with a dual-unit distance scale, and made until about 1967. It sat below the f/1.2 in the range and above it in reputation: Mechelhoff calls it “a really great everyday lens,” very sharp and contrasty with excellent bokeh.

BastianK, who tested both, found this f/1.4 outperforms the f/1.2 — less soft wide open, sharper stopped down, better value — and calls it “a good and also sensible choice.” Andrew Morang’s copy on a IIIc showed “superb craftsmanship, typical 1960s Japanese optical excellence” for about $110. The one warning is the same for every fast Canon: the big front element can focus the sun onto a cloth shutter. Original US price around $210 in 1963 (Morang).

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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 wanted — shot with a Canon 50mm f/1.4? We'd love to feature it (with credit).

Live listings

Asking price, USD: a median of $200 across 5 fixed-price listings on 2026-10-19 (middle half $180–$230). Tracked since 2026-10-16, 4 days: up 100% from $100.

By day
DateMedianMiddle halfListings
2026-10-19$200$180–$2305
2026-10-18$200$180–$2305
2026-10-17$200$180–$2305
2026-10-16$100$90–$2004

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

Show 5 more listings

Buying from Yahoo! Auctions outside Japan. It is a domestic marketplace: sellers ship within Japan, and most will not register an overseas buyer. A proxy service bids on your behalf, receives the item and forwards it, for a fee and a wait. Buyee, Jauce and ZenMarket each accept a Yahoo auction number directly. Listed alphabetically for information — none is recommended over another, and none of these is an affiliate link.

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

Related: Canon 50mm f/0.95 · Canon 50mm f/1.2 · Canon 50mm f/1.5 · Canon 50mm f/1.8

Sources (7)

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.