Canon FD Lens Date Codes

First published on 27 April 2017. Last updated on 19 September 2021.

Part of my enjoyment of using old Canon FD lenses on my modern digital camera is simply that they are old, in contrast to the ephemeral — almost disposable — nature of so much modern technology.

But exactly how old is old? FD and New FD lenses were produced between 1970 and 1995. Fortunately, Canon stamped the rear plate with a date code that specifies a year and month.

The code “V1015” on my Canon New FD50mm f/1.4 indicates that it was manufactured in October 1981.

These codes are explained in a number of places, but most explanations gloss over the existence of two slightly different formats:

The first format from 1960 to 1986 has one letter followed by three or four numbers.
- The letter encodes the year (“A” = 1960, “B” = 1961, …, “Z” = 1985, “A” = 1986). Note that “A” can mean both 1960 and 1986, but since FD lenses were only introduced in 1971 there is no real ambiguity.
- The first number of three-number codes or the first two numbers of four-numbers codes encode the month (“1” = January, “2” = February, …, “12” = December).
- The meaning of the last two numbers is a mystery, but Richard Armstrong posits that they might correspond to the quality-control inspector.
So, for example, a code of “N501” means the lens was manufactured in May 1973 (“N” = 1973 and “5” = May) and a code of “R1213” means the lens was manufactured in December 1977 (“R” = 1977 and “12” = December).

The earliest code I’ve seen is “K900” (September 1970) on a chrome-nosed FD 50 mm f/1.4.
The second format from 1986 to 2011 has two letters followed by four numbers.
- The first letter encodes the factory (U = Utsunomiya, F = Fukushima, and O = Ōita). All of the New FD lenses I’ve seen with second-format codes were manufactured at Utsunomiya.
- The second letter encodes the year (“A” = 1986, “B” = 1987, …, “Z” = 2011).
- The first two numbers encode the month (“01” = January, “02” = February, …, “12” = December).
- Again, the meaning of the last two numbers is a mystery.
So, for example, a code of “UI0401” means April 1994 (“I” = 1994 and “04” = April).

The switch from the first format to the second format seemed to occur in the middle of 1986. The latest first-format code I’ve seen is “A400” (April 1986) and the earliest second-format code I’ve seen is “UA0801” (August 1986).

Here is a table with a complete correspondence between the letters and years.

Letter	First Format	Second Format
A	1960/1986	1986
B	1961	1987
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

I originally thought that the date referred to the month of manufacture, but Richard Armstrong makes the case that it might well be the month that the lens passed inspection. He comments, “It’s not uncommon to find lenses that have a date code a month or two later than others in the same serial number sequence. It’s thought these lenses failed initial inspection and received their date code stamp after they had been reworked and passed. The same applies to cameras.”

Earlier Lens Codes

I originally though that earlier Canon FL and rangefinder lenses did not have lens codes.

Richard Armstrong corrects me that there is one exception: some later versions of the Canon TV 50 mm f/0.95 lens. The earliest he has seen is O1100, from 1974 and well after lens codes had been introduced for FD lenses.

EF Lens Codes

EF lenses initially continued to have second-format date codes. After 2008, the date of manufacture can be determined from the serial number.

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Richard Armstrong for sharing his knowledge of date codes and his earliest lens date code reported here — K900 on a chrome-nosed FD 50/1.4. Thanks also to Tim Clay for reporting the previous earliest lens code — L107 also on a chrome-nosed FD 50/1.4.