Canon Lens Date Codes

Just letting you know that the Determining the Age of a Canon Lens Using Serial Numbers and Date Codes page has been updated with serial numbers and date codes for 2017.

The Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS II USM Lens was the latest Canon lens I've checked. It bears a serial number starting with "47", indicating that this lens was likely manufactured in the November 2016 timeframe, which is very likely the case. Note: The image above does not show the serial number for the Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS II USM lens.

Also note that I continue to get the occassional report of a recently-produced lens having the older-style date code. This table remains available with the new year included in it.

A short update: I have heard from many of you that your new Canon lenses are arriving with a 10-digit serial number and no Canon Lens Date Code. My new Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS L USM Lenses are following the same trend. We can expect future lenses to follow the same pattern.

Many of you have used this site's Canon Lens Date Code Lookup page to determine when your Canon lens was manufactured. I regret to inform you that this ability may be disappearing from the Canon scene.

I have been getting reports (thanks for them) for a while now that the latest Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM Lenses are being produced without the date code and with a longer 10-digit serial number. Chuck Westfall (Canon USA) has confirmed that this is indeed the case, but he was not yet able to determine if the longer serial number may have the date code embedded in it.

I welcome any new information in this regard - and will share with you anything I learn. Stay tuned!