Dating camera equipment is always tricky. Camera manufacturers were not as good at date codes as Zippo was, so finding a reliable way of determining when the product was produced. Starting around 1960 Canon date codes were rubber stamped on camera bodies in the film cartridge area. Unfortunately sometimes they rub off. Canon continued this practice until about 2013 when they stopped placing them reliably. They restarted the date-letter code in 1986 and 2013. Lenses had a similar date code format. The letter is the year of manufacture but it is unclear what the final 2 digits represent.
Below is a listing of the date codes.
Letter Date | 1st Series Year | 2nd Series Year | 3rd Series Year |
A | 1960 | 1986 | 2012 |
B | 1961 | 1987 | 2013 |
C | 1962 | 1988 | |
D | 1963 | 1989 | |
E | 1964 | 1990 | |
F | 1965 | 1991 | |
G | 1966 | 1992 | |
H | 1967 | 1993 | |
I | 1968 | 1994 | |
J | 1969 | 1995 | |
K | 1970 | 1996 | |
L | 1971 | 1997 | |
M | 1972 | 1998 | |
N | 1973 | 1999 | |
O | 1974 | 2000 | |
P | 1975 | 2001 | |
Q | 1976 | 2002 | |
R | 1977 | 2003 | |
S | 1978 | 2004 | |
T | 1979 | 2005 | |
U | 1980 | 2006 | |
V | 1981 | 2007 | |
W | 1982 | 2008 | |
X | 1983 | 2009 | |
Y | 1984 | 2010 | |
Z | 1985 | 2011 |
After 2008 Canon started using 10 digit codes. This new format just reveals the year of production, but none of these things are set in stone. Canon has not reliably included these on 100% of the products they produced so it’s really just a guideline.
Here is a list of the digits and their corresponding year.
Date | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 |
January | 38 | 50 | 62 | 74 | 86 | 01 | 13 | 25 | 37 | 49 | 61 | 73 |
February | 39 | 51 | 63 | 75 | 87 | 02 | 14 | 26 | 38 | 50 | 62 | 74 |
March | 40 | 52 | 64 | 76 | 88 | 03 | 15 | 27 | 39 | 51 | 63 | 75 |
April | 41 | 53 | 65 | 77 | 89 | 04 | 16 | 28 | 40 | 52 | 64 | 76 |
May | 42 | 54 | 66 | 78 | 90 | 05 | 17 | 29 | 41 | 53 | 65 | 77 |
June | 43 | 55 | 67 | 79 | 91 | 06 | 18 | 30 | 42 | 54 | 66 | 78 |
July | 44 | 56 | 68 | 80 | 92 | 07 | 19 | 31 | 43 | 55 | 67 | 79 |
August | 45 | 57 | 69 | 81 | 93 | 08 | 20 | 32 | 44 | 56 | 68 | 80 |
September | 46 | 58 | 70 | 82 | 94 | 09 | 21 | 33 | 45 | 57 | 69 | 81 |
October | 47 | 59 | 71 | 83 | 95 | 10 | 22 | 34 | 46 | 58 | 70 | 82 |
November | 48 | 60 | 72 | 84 | 96 | 11 | 23 | 35 | 47 | 59 | 71 | 83 |
December | 49 | 61 | 73 | 85 | 97 | 12 | 24 | 36 | 48 | 60 | 72 | 84 |
Along a similar line, here is a list of codes for Nikkor lenses made for Bronica medium format cameras.
I plan on adding more info like this, so if you’re looking for something drop a comment & stay tuned…