• Nikon Serial Number Manufacture Date
• Nikon F3 Serial Number Manufacture Date
• Nikon Serial Number Build Date
• Nikon Lens Serial Number Manufacture Date

Some people have asked me about a NIKON F5 Serial number & Manufacturers date guide. For all those interested, here are the details for the NIKON F5: Serial/Number Manufacture/DATE 3033XXX LATE 1996 30329XX JUN 1997 30372XX MAY 1997 303XXXX SEP 1997 306XXXX LATE 1997 3102XXX LATE 1998 315XXXX DEC 1999 3134XXX AUG 2000 3167XXX AUG 2001 32111XX. Since the US D7100 number comes after the initial number for the much smaller Japanese market, it makes some sense to 'steal' some of the Japan numbers. But also oddly, we’re now seeing that a lot of other country serial numbers don't tend to have a 0 as a second digit, which is another departure for Nikon. Here is a link that will help you out.The serial number will help narrow down the years produced if there are several iterations. I own a large number of old.

Just like any product with a serial number, the one found on your Nikon lens is a way to identify the model. Unlike cars and other larger items, the serial number on a Nikon DSLR lens can repeat on the same models. A lens serial number gives you and potential repairers a chance to look up more information about the lens you own. Sometimes the serial numbers are even used repeatedly and on different models and the length of the numbers differs depending on when the lenses were produced. This can be very confusing for most people and understandably so. Typically, a serial number will have 6 digits, but when production of the lens goes beyond 999,999 the length of the number will vary. The most important part of the Nikon lens serial number is the first digit. This gives an indication of where it was made. Here is a rundown of what the first digit means: 1 – Unused by Nikon unless for prototypes 2 – Made in Japan 3 – Made in the USA 4 – Made in Europe but not the UK 5 – Made in Canada 6 – Made in New Zealand or Australia 7 – Made in Asia but not Japan 8 – Make in the United Kingdom 9 – Unused by Nikon The first number on the Nikon lens serial number typically indicates where it was made and the following number is the product number. This is why lenses that have reached production over 999,999 have a different serial number length. Today this format isn’t very strictly followed anymore because more and more lenses are produced by Nikon. This is just a guide of what you can expect from looking at the serial number on your Nikon lens.

Where To Find an How to Check Nikon Lens Serial Numbers

Now that you have some understanding about serial numbers you might be curious about how to check Nikon lens serial numbers on your own Nikon lens. Serial numbers can be found in different places on your lens. They do not have a standard location, but they are fairly easy to find. Just have a look at your Nikon lens and scan the surface. The serial number can be easily found because it is usually printed in white to help it stand out from the black lens. Some might be found on the body of the lens while others are on the glass. Have a look around and you will eventually find the serial number. If you are having trouble with finding the serial number on your lens due to the numbers being scratched out from wear and tear, check the original box it came in. The box will usually include the lens’s serial number.

What To Do With A Nikon Lens Serial Number

Most people only pay attention to the lens’s serial number when they bring it in for repairs or when the lens is stolen. Although those are the important times to really have a look at your Nikon lens serial number, there are ways to check Nikon lens serial numbers online. You can find websites that can give you helpful information about your Nikon lens. Information like production date, status of production, whether or not the model has been discontinued and other interesting facts about the Nikon lens you own are available if you know where to look. Another major benefit of finding the serial number on your Nikon lens is to check to see if you have bought an original product or a fake. With so many fake products on the market, you cannot be too sure if you have purchased an original Nikon lens or a fake one. With a serial number, you can double-check with Nikon to see if the lens you have is an original.

Conclusion

Check your Nikon lens for the serial number and try searching for it online. There isn’t a large database available, but you can find a lot of information. If you are suspicious about the new Nikon lens you bought because the serial number doesn’t look right, contact the seller or check with Nikon to confirm. A serial number might just look like a bunch of numbers, but those numbers mean something, so it’s worth knowing how to check Nikon lens serial numbers.

Nikon Serial Number Manufacture Date

Nikon M image by Cheol Jang(Image rights)

The Nikon was the first camera introduced by the optical manufacturer Nippon Kogaku K.K.. It is a 35mm rangefinder camera, now known as the Nikon I. The original design was approved by September 1946. After over a year of development and testing, manufacture began in March 1948. Sales began in September 1948 with a shipment of 100 cameras to Hong Kong. Production grew slowly over the next year, with all but a few of the cameras being sold to overseas markets including the United States. Because it uses the Zeiss' Contax camera mount, the Nikon camera bears a strong external resemblance to that camera. However, both the shutter and rangefinder mechanism followed the Leica's, resulting in a simpler, easier to manufacture design.

The factory, encouraged by the Japanese government, chose the 24 × 32mm frame size pioneered by Chiyoda Kogaku—known as the Nippon format—which yielded more frames per length of film, and matched more closely the common paper sizes. However, the United States importers, Overseas Finance and Trading Company, objected to this non-standard format. It did not correspond to the automatic slide cutting machines being used in the US, and the images might be sliced in the middle. In addition, the Central Purchasing Office (CPO) that controlled the sales of cameras to the military exchange stores in Japan decided that they would not approve cameras for sale with that format either. Effectively cut off from the two most important markets for their new camera, Nippon Kogaku redesigned the camera's film gate, pressure plate and gearing in August 1949. This became the Nikon M. Introduced in the autumn of 1949, this model can be recognized by the M preceding the body number. The Nikon's body casting and shutter did not permit increasing the format to a full 24 x 36mm. Therefore Nippon Kogaku settled for an intermediate frame format of 24 × 34mm, but did change the gearing to increase the number of perforations per image to the standard 8 (instead of 7 for the 24 x 32), This was acceptable to the export market as slides, although still slightly narrower, were now always cut between frames.

The Nikon M was sold in the PXs, and United States sales resumed, but the camera received little attention in the western media until the fall of 1950, when photographers from the Life magazine began reporting on the Nikkor lenses' sharpness. The Nikkor-P.C 1:2 f=8.5cm received the first attention, but the 5cm f1.5 (later f1.4) and 135mm Nikkors also received praise. A demand to fit Nikkors to reporters' Leicas were immediately met at the factory in Tokyo, and soon the word spread that these Japanese lenses were just as good as, or possibly better than their German counterparts.

In November 1950, Nippon Kogaku made built-in flash synchronization a factory standard.

Nikon M, S, and SP image by Rick Soloway(Image rights)

The Nikon S, was a Nikon M with these flash sync contacts, two double sockets set in the upper left-hand edge of the body. (The M was dropped from the serial numbers in April 1951.) All cameras sold with this feature are considered a Nikon S by the factory, even if marked M.

Nikon F3 Serial Number Manufacture Date

The Nikon I, M and S all appear similar in appearance. They are heavy, have shutter speeds only up to 1/500th of second and the viewfinder for the 50mm lens is small. Despite these shortcomings, the Nikon S sold well with over 34,000 manufacture4d from 1951 through 1954. By chance, a number of Nikon S cameras have one more serial number digit, known as the 8-digit Nikon S. When reaching 6099999 the engraver continued at 60910000, but it was soon realized that the long serial number was impractical, and after some 1200 cameras, the numbering reverted to 6100000. The 609 prefix refers to the date the design was approved in September 1946. The 8-digit camera is about twice as valuable as the ordinary 7-digit version, while Nikons MIOJ (Made in Occupied Japan) are even more valuable.

Several highly sought-after models were made available throughout the 1950s, and the first SLR camera from this maker, the Nikon F, shares the basic body configuration of the latest rangefinder models. All Nikon rangefinders are considered highly collectible and fetch very high sale prices, commanding just as high prices as those for Leica cameras of the same period.

• See also the page about lenses in Nikon rangefinder mount.

image by Geoff Harrisson(Image rights)

Nikon Serial Number Build Date

Links

In English:

• Official Nikon's History & Technology ste:
• Short history of Nikon until 1949 (pdf) at the Nikon Historical Society website, with details about the Nikon I
• Nikon S2 at Photoethnography by Karen Nakamura
• Nikon S3 at Scott's Photographica Collection
• Nikon S2 at the Vintage Nikon DSLR website
• Nikon MS rangefinder instruction manual at www.orphancamers.com

Japanese 35mm focal plane VF and RF (edit)
Leica screw mount	Alta | Bessa L/T/R | Canon II/III/IV | Canon VT | Canon VI-T | Canon L-3 | Canon P | Canon 7 | Canon 7s | Chiyoca | Chiyotax | Honor S1 | Honor SL | Ichicon-35 | Jeicy | Konica FR | Leotax | Leotax G | Melcon | Melcon II | Minolta 35 | Muley | Nicca | Nicca III-L | Nippon | Tanack 35/IIIS/IV-S | Tanack SD | Tanack VP | Teica | Yasuhara T981
Leica M mount	Bessa R2/R3/R4 | Konica Hexar RF | Minolta CLE | Rollei 35 RF | Zeiss Ikon
Nikon mount	Bessa R2S | Nikon rangefinder models
Contax G mount	Contax G1 | Contax G2
Other	Bessa R2C | Kwanon | Tanack V3
Japanese TLR and pseudo TLR ->
Japanese 6×6, 4.5×6, 3×4 and 4×4 ->

• Nikon SP Rangefinder instruction manual at www.orphancameras.com
• Articles at Cameraquest:
• Nikon S, Nikon S2 on www.collection-appareils.fr by Sylvain Halgand (in French)

In Japanese:

• Nikon kamera no koneta, with many documents on the Nikon rangefinder models

Nikon Lens Serial Number Manufacture Date