Canon lens serial numbers

tomah

tomah

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So after having a search online, I discovered that the serial number on a Canon lens can tell you when and where it was made.

According to Bob Atkins:

Normally it will read somethings like "UT0308". The "U" is the factory, the "T" is the year of manufacture (2005), the "03" is the month (March) and the final two numbers seem to be some sort of internal Canon code.
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So I asked a guy about the serial number on a lens I'm thinking of buying, but there's no letters. It's an eight digit number.

:thinking:

Is it dodgy, or are there different ways Canon stamp their lenses?
 
You're talking about the date code ie the UT1234. This isn't the serial number.

Not all lenses have date codes. I don't think the newer ones do. The serial number tends to just be a number ie isn't alpha numeric.

Neil
 
As far as I know, it's only the "L" series lenses that have the year stamped on the outer plastic bit that slots into the camera. The rest just have serial numbers which dont relate to any specific date. If it's not an L lens then I wouldnt rule it out just for that;)
 
Ah, right.

So there's no way to tell when a EF-S lens was manufactured?
 
OK, let's clear this up.

As da_nige says, these things like UT0308 aren't serial numbers, they're date codes. All lenses have serial numbers (which on Canon lenses are 5- to 10-digit numeric), and in addition some have date codes.

Up until about 1½-2 years ago all "L" series lenses and some other lenses (TS-E and MP-E lenses, and Extenders) had date codes. However, new designs introduced since then have longer (10-digit) serial numbers and no date codes. So for example the EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 L IS USM and the 1.4x and 2x Mk III Extenders have 10-digit serial numbers but no date code.

The EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS II USM is an interesting and possibly unique case. Older examples have short (6-digit) serial numbers and date codes. Newer examples have long (10-digit) serial numbers and no date codes. The cut-over date was round May 2010.

The structure of the newer 10-digit serial number suggests that there might be some sort of date encoding within them. I have several examples of the 70-200 f/2.8 IS II, and the serial numbers are:
69200xxxxx for 3 lenses bought in Oct 2010
72300xxxxx for a lens bought in Feb 2011
75600xxxxx for 3 lenses bought in May 2011
76600xxxxx for a lens bought in Jun 2011
77600xxxxx for 3 lenses bought in July 2011
78600xxxxx for 2 lenses bought in Oct 2011
It's suggestive but I've never seen anything documented to explain what's going on in there.

Finally, no EF-S lenses have date codes, and (as far as I'm aware) no EF non-L lenses have date codes.

If you want to determine the age of an EF-S lens, the best way is to compare the serial number with other serial numbers. For example I have 17 EF-S 10-22mm lenses with serial numbers ranging from 27xxxxxx to 68xxxxxx, and I have 11 EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 lenses with serial numbers ranging from 39xxxxxx to 76xxxxxx. If you have one of these lenses, I'd probably be able to date your lens to within a couple of months.
 
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StewartR said:
OK, let's clear this up.

As da_nige says, these things like UT0308 aren't serial numbers, they're date codes. All lenses have serial numbers (which on Canon lenses are 5- to 10-digit numeric), and in addition some have date codes.

Up until about 1½-2 years ago all "L" series lenses and some other lenses (TS-E and MP-E lenses, and Extenders) had date codes. However, new designs introduced since then have longer (10-digit) serial numbers and no date codes. So for example the EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 L IS USM and the 1.4x and 2x Mk III Extenders have 10-digit serial numbers but no date code.

The EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS II USM is an interesting and possibly unique case. Older examples have short (6-digit) serial numbers and date codes. Newer examples have long (10-digit) serial numbers and no date codes. The cut-over date was round May 2010.

The structure of the newer 10-digit serial number suggests that there might be some sort of date encoding within them. I have several examples of the 70-200 f/2.8 IS II, and the serial numbers are:
69200xxxxx for 3 lenses bought in Oct 2010
72300xxxxx for a lens bought in Feb 2011
75600xxxxx for 3 lenses bought in May 2011
76600xxxxx for a lens bought in Jun 2011
77600xxxxx for 3 lenses bought in July 2011
78600xxxxx for 2 lenses bought in Oct 2011
It's suggestive but I've never seen anything documented to explain what's going on in there.

Finally, no EF-S lenses have date codes, and (as far as I'm aware) no EF non-L lenses have date codes.

If you want to determine the age of an EF-S lens, the best way is to compare the serial number with other serial numbers. For example I have 17 EF-S 10-22mm lenses with serial numbers ranging from 27xxxxxx to 68xxxxxx, and I have 11 EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 lenses with serial numbers ranging from 39xxxxxx to 76xxxxxx. If you have one of these lenses, I'd probably be able to date your lens to within a couple of months.
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That's interesting Stewart.

It's a 17-55 f2.8 I might buy, but I'm wondering how old it is.

The number is: 2360xxxx.
 
Adding to Stewart's list (TS-E and MP-E) of non-L lenses with date codes....
EF100/2.8 Macro (non-L version), EF50/2.5 Compact Macro, and the EF135 soft focus.

Bob
 
tomah said:
It's a 17-55 f2.8 I might buy, but I'm wondering how old it is.

The number is: 2360xxxx.
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Here are the purchase dates and serial numbers of my 17-55s:

27.03.08 39900702
16.05.08 40901780
21.07.08 40900142
14.10.08 40905483
16.02.09 46003684
24.07.09 54001387
24.07.09 54001389
04.09.09 55900568
25.06.10 64003955
25.06.10 65001242
11.05.11 76000325

My regression analysis says that the serial numbers are going up by about 11700000 per year, so I'd date your lens to late 2006 / early 2007.
 
StewartR said:
OK, let's clear this up.

As da_nige says, these things like UT0308 aren't serial numbers, they're date codes. All lenses have serial numbers (which on Canon lenses are 5- to 10-digit numeric), and in addition some have date codes.

Up until about 1½-2 years ago all "L" series lenses and some other lenses (TS-E and MP-E lenses, and Extenders) had date codes. However, new designs introduced since then have longer (10-digit) serial numbers and no date codes. So for example the EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 L IS USM and the 1.4x and 2x Mk III Extenders have 10-digit serial numbers but no date code.

The EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS II USM is an interesting and possibly unique case. Older examples have short (6-digit) serial numbers and date codes. Newer examples have long (10-digit) serial numbers and no date codes. The cut-over date was round May 2010.

The structure of the newer 10-digit serial number suggests that there might be some sort of date encoding within them. I have several examples of the 70-200 f/2.8 IS II, and the serial numbers are:
69200xxxxx for 3 lenses bought in Oct 2010
72300xxxxx for a lens bought in Feb 2011
75600xxxxx for 3 lenses bought in May 2011
76600xxxxx for a lens bought in Jun 2011
77600xxxxx for 3 lenses bought in July 2011
78600xxxxx for 2 lenses bought in Oct 2011
It's suggestive but I've never seen anything documented to explain what's going on in there.

Finally, no EF-S lenses have date codes, and (as far as I'm aware) no EF non-L lenses have date codes.

If you want to determine the age of an EF-S lens, the best way is to compare the serial number with other serial numbers. For example I have 17 EF-S 10-22mm lenses with serial numbers ranging from 27xxxxxx to 68xxxxxx, and I have 11 EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 lenses with serial numbers ranging from 39xxxxxx to 76xxxxxx. If you have one of these lenses, I'd probably be able to date your lens to within a couple of months.
Click to expand...

A few of the older non-L primes do have date codes still- such as the 50mm 1.8 mk1, 28mm 2.8 - I'm guessing that other lenses such as the 24mm 2.8 will also have date codes. Both the 28 2.8 and 24 2.8 are still in production.
 
StewartR said:
Here are the purchase dates and serial numbers of my 17-55s:

27.03.08 39900702
16.05.08 40901780
21.07.08 40900142
14.10.08 40905483
16.02.09 46003684
24.07.09 54001387
24.07.09 54001389
04.09.09 55900568
25.06.10 64003955
25.06.10 65001242
11.05.11 76000325

My regression analysis says that the serial numbers are going up by about 11700000 per year, so I'd date your lens to late 2006 / early 2007.
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That's what I thought. Not sure it's worth £530 now.

Hmmmm...

Thank you for this, Stewart.
 
tomah said:
That's what I thought. Not sure it's worth £530 now.

Hmmmm...

Thank you for this, Stewart.
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If I were you I wouldn't worry so much about age, just look at the condition as it is. A pro using a lens on a day to day basis is going to put a lot more wear in over a year than an amateur using a lens sparsely over years.

Old lenses work just fine- look at people like myself using lenses 20 and more years old- if they have been looked after there shouldnt be any problem.
 
StewartR said:
Up until about 1½-2 years ago all "L" series lenses and some other lenses (TS-E and MP-E lenses, and Extenders) had date codes. However, new designs introduced since then have longer (10-digit) serial numbers and no date codes. So for example the EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 L IS USM and the 1.4x and 2x Mk III Extenders have 10-digit serial numbers but no date code.
Click to expand...

So, new designs have no date codes, but do old designs have them that are produced in the last 18 months?
 
MJ Stebbings said:
So, new designs have no date codes, but do old designs have them that are produced in the last 18 months?
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Yes I think so, I think someone had a 24 or 28 2.8 in classified yesterday with a 2011 date code on it.
 
Thanks for clearing that up :)
 
MJ Stebbings said:
So, new designs have no date codes, but do old designs have them that are produced in the last 18 months?
Click to expand...

Yes, definitely. I've bought loads of "L" lenses this year, and - with the exception of the 70-200 II which I mentioned previously - new examples of older designs still have date codes.
 
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