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Canon Lens Serial Numbers - Lower = Newer??

Started 4 months ago | Questions thread
OP J Peters Contributing Member • Posts: 759
Re: Canon Lens Serial Numbers - Lower = Newer??

Sittatunga wrote:

J Peters wrote:

Has anyone else noticed that newer EF-M lenses have lower serial numbers than older ones?

I have some going back to 2013 which start 9, newer ones start with 1 (all are 12 digits long). This concerned me recently when I bought a new lens and it had a very low serial number. I thought maybe I'd been duped with used, refurbished or new-old-stock, but this numbering system appears consistent with others I've bought. Is there some logic in this?

The first two digits of the serial number are a code for the month and year of manufacture. This is an old article about it, http://www.myphotocentral.com/tutorials/determine-age-of-a-canon-lens/#:~:text=To%20determine%20the%20age%20of%20a%20Canon%20lens,It%20starts%20in%20January%202008%20with%20number%2038. There are some anomalies, you might be able to find a newer version, but it gives you some idea.

Thank you. This is probably exactly what is going on. However there must be a different system for EF-M. For a start the numbers are 12 digits, not 10 as in the article. Secondly my 18-150 number starts with 90 - corresponding to May 2012 - which is before that lens was even a glimmer in the eye of the designer.

So, there is probably some sort of date code being used, just not the exact one documented in the article. Thanks, this has put my mind at rest. My new lenses are new lenses!

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