When the 50mm f/0.95 Canon was released in 1961 its initial price in Japan was 57,000 Yen, almost exactly equal to $500 in 1961 U.S. A fair number of the TV lenses were subsequently converted to Leica-M bayonet, complete with rangefinder coupling cam, some expertly, others not so much.Ĭhrome and black Canon 50mm f/0.95 lenses mounted on modern Leica MP cameras, image courtesy Japan Camera Hunter. All are clearly marked and easily identifiable. The uncoupled version of the lens for TV cameras (which mounted via a C-mount-to-Canon Bayonet adapter) came later, and 7,071 of them were produced (in 3 versions with slight cosmetic differences) between October 1970 and December 1984. This is attributable to changing tastes, such as the current fashion for “bokeh monster” lenses that capture that “vintage look,” and to the fact that it may well be the only one of its kind ever produced-an exotic, high-production lens! According to the official stats, Canon turned out a total of 19,482 of the rangefinder-coupled f/0.95s in Canon 7-series bayonet mount between May 1961 and September 1970 (the total includes a handful of rare early prototypes). The zig-zagging price timeline of the Canon 50mm f/0.95 is almost as fascinating as the lens itself and it’s one of the few lenses that has gone through such wild price gyrations over its long 60-year history. What’s a 50mm f/0.95 Canon worth? It depends on when you asked! At the time of its introduction, it had the largest aperture of any series manufactured lens on the market and Canon’s marketing geniuses claimed it was 4 times faster than the human eye.Ĭanon 50mm f/0.95 employed a classic Double Gauss 7-element 5-group formula using rare earth glass, but no aspheric of partial dispersion elements. For the record, the Canon 50mm f/0.95 employs a 7-element, 5-group Double Gauss design, has a 10-bladed diaphragm that stops down to f/16, and focuses down to 1 meter. and used with a bayonet-to-C-mount adapter on high-end TV cameras of the day. The lens weighs in at a hefty 21.34 ounces, the same whether it’s the one of the 2 nearly identical models made for the Canon 7-series or the 3 slightly different versions marked T.V. For one thing the rear lens element of the big, chunky 1.9-inch long, 3.1-inch diameter lens had to be cut off by about 10mm near the top to clear the interlocking roller of the rangefinder coupling mechanism, and a metal collar with 4 protruding feet was added to the back section to protect the rear element if the lens was placed on a flat surface with the front element facing up. of 2008, an advanced optical design incorporating 5 partial dispersion and 2 aspheric glass element that’s currently priced at $12.795.00! While Canon didn’t use such exotic glass in the 50mm f/0.95 Canon lens, getting it to work on their latest rangefinder 35s still took some doing. Whatever else you may say about Canon’s fastest lens, it was a stunning technical achievement at the time, and it took 47 years for it to be clearly surpassed by the 50mm f/0.95 Leica Noctilux-M ASPH. The lens obscured 25% off the viewfinder but combo still sold like hotcakes. It was a stroke of marketing genius that Canon was able to sell a Canon 7 body (and later, a Canon 7s or 7sZ) with practically every 50mm f/0.95 they sold, but they claimed otherwise, stating that they added the bayonet to the last screw-mount Canons to provide a more secure and precise mounting for their big, hefty “Dream Lens,” a term coined by British photojournalists that was soon picked up by Canon’s astute marketing department.Ĭanon 50mm f/0.95 on Canon 7: The first rangefinder Canon with 4 projected, parallax-compensating field frame lines, it outsold all other screw-mount Canons, but it's now shunned because of its big klutzy selenium cell meter. It also created considerable buzz, and photojournalists and photo enthusiasts worldwide clamored to acquire a copy-almost always complete with a Canon 7 body so they could mount it securely onto the camera’s secondary 3-lug external bayonet mount. The optical gambit largely paid off, and in the early ‘60s Canon was a clear number one in the high-stakes, high-end rangefinder class. Clearly, Canon hoped it would lend luster to its excellent line of interchangeable lens 35mm rangefinder cameras that were then going up against such formidable rivals as Leica and Nikon. Penned by Mukai Jirou, then Canon’s top lens designer, it was the fastest series production lens ever offered for a 35mm camera. When Canon first brought forth the 50mm f/0.95 Canon lens in 1961, coinciding with the debut of the brilliant but clunky looking multi-frame, selenium-metered Canon 7 rangefinder 35, it created an instant sensation. The Canon 50mm f/0.95: “Dream Lens,” “Nightmare,” or Both?Ĭanon’s fastest-ever 50 has now been an enigma for over 60 years!
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