Canon 39mm screw lenses

From Camera-wiki.org
Revision as of 09:55, 15 January 2007 by Hoary (talk | contribs) (→‎50mm: on the 50/1.5)
Jump to: navigation, search
This is a work in progress.

Canon (and its predecessor Seiki Kōgaku) made various 39mm screw lenses. These were primarily marketed for the company's own rangefinder cameras, but most[1] fit any camera — Leica, Bessa, etc. — that has either such a lens mount or an adapter that provides it.

Canon made other lenses for its rangefinder cameras that are not dealt with here: a 50/0.95 lens that requires an alternative mount, and a 135/2.5 and 200mm and longer lenses that are used with a mirror box that turns the camera into an SLR.

19mm

  • Canon f3.5. Nine elements in seven groups. Minimum aperture f16, with six aperture blades. Rigid, black and silver, 55mm filter thread. Marked in metres and feet. August 1964. Supplied with a case and finder.[2]

(Canon may also have sold the earlier 19/3.5 FL-mount lens (for SLR) [3]as a set with a finder and FL-to-LTM adapter. Certainly this lens has often been used in this way.[4])

25mm

  • f3.5 Canon. Five elements in five groups. Rigid, brass, with infinity lock. January 1956. marked in metres. Supplied with a case and finder.[5]

28mm

  • f3.5 Serenar. Six elements in four groups. October 1951.
  • f2.8 Canon. Six elements in four groups. Rigid, brass, with infinity lock. 1956.[6]

35mm

  • f3.5 Serenar. Four elements in three groups. Rigid, brass, with infinity lock. March 1950. Supplied with a case and finder.
  • f3.5 Canon. Six elements in four groups. March 1957. Supplied with a case.
  • f3.2 Serenar. Six elements in four groups. June 1951. Rigid, brass, with infinity lock. marked in feet. Minimum aperture f22, six leaves. Supplied with a case and finder.[7]
  • f2.8 Serenar. Rigid, brass, with infinity lock. October 1951.
  • f2.8 Canon. Six elements in four groups. Rigid, black and silver, marked in feet. March 1957.[8]
  • f2 Canon. Seven elements in four groups. Minimum aperture f22, nine aperture blades. Rigid, black, scalloped focusing ring, no infinity lock. Diameter 49mm, length 28mm, weight 107g, filter size 40mm. April 1962. The front of a typical example reads: CANON LENS 35mm 1:2 No [number] Canon Camera Co. Inc LENS MADE IN JAPAN[9] Davidde Stella praises it very highly.[10]
  • f2 Canon. According to Canon, the specifications are identical to those of the earlier lens (aside from the diameter and length, which go unmentioned). The optical design is different. July 1963. The front of a typical example reads: CANON LENS 35mm 1:2 [number] CANON LENS MADE IN JAPAN[11]
  • f1.8 Canon. Seven elements in four groups. Rigid. April 1956.
  • f1.5 Canon. Eight elements in four groups. Rigid, black and silver, marked in metres. August 1959.

50mm

  • f4 Serenar. Four elements in three groups. March 1947. Comes with a finder; not rangefinder coupled.
  • f3.5 Serenar. Four elements in three groups. Collapsible. October 1946. Has a filter thread. In both the earlier, Canon-only mount and the regular LTM.
  • f3.5 Serenar. Four elements in three groups. Collapsible. August 1952. Has a filter thread.
  • f2.8 Canon. Four elements in three groups. January 1955.
  • f2.8 Canon. Four elements in three groups. Rigid, black and silver, marked in metres. November 1957.
  • f2.8 Canon. Four elements in three groups. Rigid, black and silver (focussing ring gives an effect of broad silver/black stripes), marked in feet. February 1959.[12]
  • f2.2 Canon. Five elements in four groups. January 1961.
  • f2 Serenar. Six elements in four groups. February 1947. In both the earlier, Canon-only mount and the regular LTM.
  • f1.9 Serenar. Six elements in four groups. Collapsible, with infinity lock. marked in feet. April 1949.[13]
  • f1.8 Serenar (later Canon). Six elements in four groups. Rigid, brass, with infinity lock. marked in feet. November 1951.[14]
  • f1.8 Canon. Six elements in four groups. Rigid. marked in metres or feet. August 1956.[15]
  • f1.8 Canon. Six elements in four groups. Rigid. December 1958.
  • f1.5 Serenar (later Canon). Seven elements in three groups. Rigid, brass. November 1952.[16] Mild praise as a Sonnar copy from Davidde Stella.[17]
  • f1.4 Canon. Six elements in four groups. Rigid, black and silver, with infinity lock. marked in metres. August 1959.
  • f1.4 Canon. Six elements in four groups. Rigid, black and silver, with infinity lock. marked in metres and feet.[18]
  • f1.2 Canon. Seven elements in five groups. April 1956.[19]

Famously, Canon also made an f0.95 lens for its rangefinder cameras; this is not screwmount but instead requires an additional bayonet mount provided on the Canon 7 and Canon 7s.

85mm

  • f2 Serenar.
  • f2 Serenar. Six elements in four groups. Brass. September 1951.[20]
  • f1.9 Serenar (later Canon). Six elements in four groups. Brass. marked in feet. April 1949.[21]
  • f1.9 Canon. Six elements in four groups. Black. marked in metres and feet. August 1958. Supplied with a case.
  • f1.8 Canon. Five elements in four groups. Black. marked in metres and feet. March 1961. Supplied with a case and hood.
  • f1.5 Serenar. Seven elements in four groups. Brass. marked in feet. July 1952.
  • f1.5 Serenar. Seven elements in four groups. January 1953.
  • f1.5 Canon. Seven elements in four groups. Silver and black. March 1960.[22]

100mm

  • f4 Serenar. Three elements in three groups. Brass. January 1948. Supplied with case and finder.[23]
  • f4 Serenar. Three elements in three groups. Brass. Weighs 265g (lighter than its predecessor). April 1950. Supplied with case and finder.[24]
  • f3.5 Serenar (later Canon). Five elements in four groups. February 1953. Supplied with case, finder, and hood.[25]
  • f3.5 Canon. Five elements in four groups. Black and silver. marked in metres. April 1958. Supplied with case and hood.
  • f2 Canon. Six elements in four groups. Black. marked in metres and feet. January 1959. Supplied with case and hood.[26]

135mm

  • f4 Serenar. Four elements in three groups. Brass. March 1947.
  • f4 Serenar. Four elements in three groups. Brass. February 1948. Supplied with case and finder.
  • f4 Serenar. Four elements in three groups. June 1948. Supplied with case and finder.
  • f3.5 Serenar. Four elements in three groups. Brass. marked in feet. January 1953. Supplied with a case, finder, and hood.
  • f3.5 Canon. Four elements in three groups. marked in metres and feet. April 1958. Supplied with a case and hood.
  • f3.5 Canon. Four elements in three groups. January 1961. Supplied with a case and hood.[27]

Canon also made a 135/2.5 lens for rangefinder cameras; this needs a mirror box to be usable.

Notes for prospective buyers

Canon also made several of the lenses described above (particularly the faster ones) in other mounts, notably mounts for cinephotography. Most, perhaps all of these are completely unusable with still cameras (with the possible exception of SLRs used for extreme close-ups). Worse, some have mounts with the Leica thread: you may be able to screw these lenses into a still camera body but they will then be unusable. Ignorant or unscrupulous dealers may describe the latter as being for Leica. Make sure that the lens is rangefinder-coupled: those for rangefinder use are coupled (with occasional exceptions as noted above); those for other uses are not.


Notes

  1. ↑ The 19mm lens extends some way into the body and thus may be incompatible with certain bodies. The collapsible lenses may be used in extended state with any body; however, like the collapsible lenses of Leitz or any other manufacturer they should be collapsed with great care within any body with which they are not known to be completely compatible. The Bessa and small Leitz/Minolta bodies are rather less accommodating than most.
  2. ↑ Screwmount 19/3.5 at the Canon Camera Museum.
  3. ↑ FL 19/3.5 at the Canon Camera Museum. This lens of course lacks rangefinder coupling. It can only be used with an SLR whose mirror has been locked up, and it was therefore replaced in late 1965 by a much larger 19/3.5 FL-mount lens that lacked this restriction.
  4. ↑ There's a review on pp. 34–5 of Sekai no Raika-renzu Part 2.
  5. ↑ Review by Davidde Stella (via Wayback machine, therefore slow). Article on pp. 120–21 of Sekai no Raika-renzu Part 1.
  6. ↑ Article on pp. 122–3 of Sekai no Raika-renzu Part 1.
  7. ↑ Article on pp. 114–15 of Sekai no Raika-renzu Part 1.
  8. ↑ Article on pp. 40–41 of Sekai no Raika-renzu Part 2.
  9. ↑ Earlier 35/2 in the Canon Camera Museum. Article on pp. 36–7 of Sekai no Raika-renzu Part 2. See this Photonet thread for the block diagram.
  10. ↑ Review by Davidde Stella, which, typically for something written in English, doesn't mention a later refinement to the design. (Slow, because via Wayback.)
  11. ↑ Later 35/2 in the Canon Camera Museum. Article on pp. 38–9 of Sekai no Raika-renzu Part 2. See this Photonet thread for the block diagram.
  12. ↑ Article on pp. 108–9 of Sekai no Raika-renzu Part 3.
  13. ↑ Article on pp. 56–7 of Sekai no Raika-renzu Part 2.
  14. ↑ Article on pp. 46–7 of Sekai no Raika-renzu Part 2.
  15. ↑ Article on pp. 126–7 of Sekai no Raika-renzu Part 1.
  16. ↑ Article on pp. 44–5 of Sekai no Raika-renzu Part 2.
  17. ↑ Sonnar copies (via Wayback, therefore slow).
  18. ↑ Article on pp. 42–3 of Sekai no Raika-renzu Part 2.
  19. ↑ Article on pp. 124–5 of Sekai no Raika-renzu Part 1.
  20. ↑ Article on pp. 116–17 of Sekai no Raika-renzu Part 1.
  21. ↑ Date from Miyazaki. "Canon" version written up on pp. 48–9 of Sekai no Raika-renzu Part 2; the writer says that the "Serenar" version came out in 1951.
  22. ↑ Article on pp. 110–11 of Sekai no Raika-renzu Part 3.
  23. ↑ Article on pp. 118–19 of Sekai no Raika-renzu Part 1.
  24. ↑ Article on pp. 106–107 of Sekai no Raika-renzu Part 3.
  25. ↑ Article on pp. 52–3 of Sekai no Raika-renzu Part 2.
  26. ↑ Article on pp. 50–51 of Sekai no Raika-renzu Part 2.
  27. ↑ Article on pp. 54–5 of Sekai no Raika-renzu Part 2.

Printed material

  • Dechert, Peter. Canon Rangefinder Cameras 1933–68. Hove, East Sussex: Hove Foto Books, 1985. ISBN 0-906447-30-5
  • Miyazaki, Yoji (宮崎洋司, Miyazaki Yōji). Canon Rangefinder Camera (キヤノンレンジフィンダーカメラ). Tokyo: Asahi Sonorama, 1996. ISBN 4-257-04011-4 (Much of the book is in both Japanese and English; however, the material about lenses is only in Japanese.)
  • Sekai no Raika-renzu (世界のライカレンズ, Leica lenses of the world). Tokyo: Shashinkogyo Syuppan-sha.
    • Part 1. 2000. ISBN 4-87956-061-8
    • Part 2. 2002. ISBN 4-87956-065-0
    • Part 3. 2005. ISBN 4-87956-073-5

Links

In English

In German

Retrieved from "http://camera-wiki.org/index.php?title=Canon_39mm_screw_lenses&oldid=9633"