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

Canon 85mm f/1.5

Canon · LTM · 1952 · Gauss-derived, 7e/4g

Also known as: Canon 85mm f/1.5 · Serenar 85mm f/1.5 · Canon 85mm f1.5 · Serenar 85mm f1.5 · Canon 85/1.5 · Serenar 8.5cm f/1.5

Variants & identification

Variant Mount Years Serial ranges Production
Serenar / Canon 85mm f/1.5 (I), chrome LTM 1952–1959 — No figure published
Canon 85mm f/1.5 (II), silver and black LTM 1960 — 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.
How to tell them apart (expand)

Serenar / Canon 85mm f/1.5 (I), chrome:

  • Marketed June 1952 · 730 g · 58 mm filter · stops to f/16 · 20 blades
  • Chrome brass; 58 mm filter; 730 g
  • Serenar engraving to December 1952; camera-wiki dates a second Serenar batch January 1953

Canon 85mm f/1.5 (II), silver and black:

  • Marketed March 1960, ¥52,000 · 730 g · 58 mm filter · stops to f/16
  • Silver and black; same construction and weight; ¥52,000

Specifications

Formula
Gauss-derived, 7e/4g
Designed by
Itō Hiroshi — optical design (camera-wiki)
Construction
7 elements / 4 groups
Aperture range
f/1.5–f/16
Diaphragm blades
20
Min. focus
1 m
Weight
730 g
Filter
58 mm
Years manufactured
1952
Country
Japan

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 fast portrait lens: seven elements in four groups, marketed in June 1952 as a Serenar, 730 grams with a 58 mm filter — the heaviest lens in the range short of the mirror-box teles. A silver-and-black Canon version followed in March 1960 at ¥52,000. It answered the Nikkor 8.5cm f/1.5 and the Summarex, and like them it is soft and glowing wide open and a collector’s lens now.

No review of substance was found; the market values it for its speed and its rarity.

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/1.5? We'd love to feature it (with credit).

Live listings

Asking price, USD: a median of $3,500 across 15 fixed-price listings on 2026-10-19 (middle half $2,300–$5,000). Tracked since 2026-09-09, 9 days: up 6% from $3,300.

By day
DateMedianMiddle halfListings
2026-10-19$3,500$2,300–$5,00015
2026-10-18$3,500$2,300–$5,00015
2026-10-17$3,500$2,300–$5,00015
2026-10-16$3,500$2,300–$5,00015
2026-10-15$3,500$2,300–$5,00015
2026-09-21$3,900$2,400–$5,00015
2026-09-18$2,600$1,100–$5,00016
2026-09-11$3,300$1,300–$4,90019
2026-09-09$3,300$1,300–$4,90019

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 85mm f/1.8 · Canon 85mm f/1.9 · 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.