How do I read a Canon lens date code like UT0511?

The first letter is the factory (U = Utsunomiya, F = Fukushima, O = Oita). The second letter is the year: A = 1986, B = 1987 … Z = 2011, repeating every 26 years (A also = 1960 or 2012). The next two digits are the month. So UT0511 = Utsunomiya, May 2005 (or May 1979 for a much older lens generation). Canon stopped engraving date codes around 2012.

Can I date a Canon lens from its 10-digit serial number?

Not reliably. The first two digits of Canon's 10-digit serial numbers (introduced around 2008) are an internal production-date code, but Canon has never published the mapping and community-made tables contradict each other. Use the letter date code if the lens has one, or the EXIF dates of the earliest photos taken with the lens.

How do I find the year of a Leica lens by serial number?

Leica allocated lens serial numbers in yearly blocks and published the allocations up to 1996 — for example serial 2,965,591 falls in the 1978 block, and serial 1,000,000 in the 1952 block. The year is when the batch was allocated, so it is accurate to about ±1 year. Serials above 3,770,929 are newer than 1996 and no public data exists for them.

Do Nikon, Sony or Fujifilm lens serial numbers contain a date?

No. None of them encode a production date in the serial. Nikon F-mount lenses can be dated approximately from per-model serial ranges collected by the community (Roland Vink's Nikkor database); Sony and Fujifilm publish nothing, though their support can check warranty and registration status for a serial. Sigma support will look up the production date of a specific serial on request.

What is the most reliable way to date a lens when the serial reveals nothing?

Use EXIF metadata. Every photo records the lens model and usually its serial number along with the capture date — so the DateTimeOriginal of the earliest photos taken with the lens brackets when it entered service. A free browser tool such as shuttercount.app reads this locally without uploading the file.

🔒 Free browser tools — nothing uploaded

How Old Is My Lens?

Whether a lens's age can be read from its serial number depends entirely on the brand. This page gives the direct answer for every major manufacturer — including the full Canon date-code year table and the Leica serial chart — and the one method that works when the serial reveals nothing: EXIF metadata.

Decode my lens SN →

Quick answer: can your lens be dated from its serial?

TL;DR: Only Canon (letter date codes, until ~2012) and Leica (published serial chart, 1933–1996) encode or document lens production dates. Nikon, Sony, Fujifilm, Sigma, Tamron, Olympus, Panasonic and Pentax do not. For every brand, the EXIF metadata of the earliest photos taken with the lens is the reliable fallback.

Brand	Date from serial?	How
Canon (until ~2012)	✓ Yes — month + year	Letter date code engraved near the rear mount, e.g. `UT0511`
Canon (10-digit, 2008+)	✗ Not reliably	Internal date prefix never published by Canon
Leica / Leitz	✓ Yes — year ±1	Published serial allocation chart, 1933–1996
Nikon	✗ No	Community per-model serial ranges give a rough era (F-mount only)
Sony	✗ No	Support can check warranty/registration status
Fujifilm	✗ No	Support can check warranty and recalls
Sigma	✗ No	Support looks up production date by serial on request
Tamron	✗ No	Leading digits identify production series, not a date
Olympus / Panasonic / Pentax	✗ No	No published schemes

Want it decoded for you? Use the free lens serial number lookup — type the SN, get the answer, nothing leaves your browser.

How old is my Canon lens? (date code table)

Direct answer: if your Canon lens was made before ~2012, it has a letter date code engraved near the rear mount, separate from the serial number. UT0511 reads as: U = Utsunomiya factory, T = 2005, 05 = May → made in May 2005.

Factory letters: U = Utsunomiya, F = Fukushima, O = Oita (all Japan).
Month: the two digits after the year letter (01–12).
Pre-1986 codes often omit or reposition the factory letter.

Canon year-letter table (all cycles)

Letter	Cycle 1	Cycle 2	Cycle 3	Letter	Cycle 1	Cycle 2	Cycle 3
A	1960	1986	2012	N	1973	1999	—
B	1961	1987	2013	O	1974	2000	—
C	1962	1988	2014	P	1975	2001	—
D	1963	1989	2015	Q	1976	2002	—
E	1964	1990	—	R	1977	2003	—
F	1965	1991	—	S	1978	2004	—
G	1966	1992	—	T	1979	2005	—
H	1967	1993	—	U	1980	2006	—
I	1968	1994	—	V	1981	2007	—
J	1969	1995	—	W	1982	2008	—
K	1970	1996	—	X	1983	2009	—
L	1971	1997	—	Y	1984	2010	—
M	1972	1998	—	Z	1985	2011	—

The letter repeats every 26 years, so the lens generation decides the cycle: an EF USM zoom with year letter T is 2005, not 1979. Date codes faded out around 2012–2014 as the 10-digit serial rolled out, which is why cycle 3 effectively ends after its first few letters (marked — above).

10-digit serials cannot be dated: the first two digits are an internal production-date code, but Canon has never published the mapping and the community tables that circulate online contradict each other. Any tool that claims an exact date from a Canon 10-digit serial is guessing. Use the EXIF method instead.

How old is my Leica lens? (serial number chart)

Direct answer: look up the serial in Leica's published allocation chart — it dates the lens to about ±1 year. Example: serial 2,965,591 falls in the 1978 block; serial 1,000,000 was allocated in 1952.

Leitz began systematic lens numbering in the early 1930s (the chart starts at serial 156,001 = 1933) and Leica published the yearly allocations up to 1996, ending at serial 3,770,929. Newer serials are not publicly documented. Selected milestones:

Serial reached	Year	Serial reached	Year
156,001	1933	2,236,501	1967
595,001	1945	2,556,501	1973
950,001	1952	2,880,601	1978
1,236,001	1955	3,013,601	1980
1,717,001	1960	3,346,201	1985
1,967,101	1963	3,503,151	1990
2,015,701	1964	3,730,291	1996

The lens serial number lookup contains the complete year-by-year chart (1933–1996) and decodes any Leica serial instantly. Because batches were allocated — not necessarily assembled — in the listed year, treat results as ±1 year. Leica batch-allocation lists additionally map many serial ranges to the exact lens model, which no other manufacturer offers.

Nikon, Sony, Fujifilm, Sigma, Tamron: what the serial really tells you

Direct answer: nothing about the date. None of these brands encode a production date in lens serial numbers, and none publish lookup charts.

Nikon

Nikkor serials carry no date. For F-mount lenses, the community-maintained per-model serial ranges (Roland Vink's Nikkor database) narrow production to a span of years. Z-mount serials are undocumented.

Sony & Fujifilm

No public scheme at all. Support can confirm warranty or registration status for a serial, which indirectly brackets the purchase date.

Sigma & Tamron

Sigma serials are batch-based; Sigma customer support will look up the production date of a specific serial on request — worth doing before buying an expensive used Art lens. Tamron's leading digits identify the production series, not a date.

Olympus / OM System, Panasonic, Pentax

No published schemes. Note that Leica DG lenses for Micro Four Thirds are numbered by Panasonic — the Leica chart above does not apply to them.

The method that always works: EXIF metadata

Direct answer: every digital photo records the lens model, usually the lens serial number (EXIF tag 0xA435), and the capture date. The DateTimeOriginal of the earliest photos taken with a lens brackets when it entered service — regardless of brand.

This also solves the harder question — “which lens is this serial from?” — that serial numbers alone cannot answer, because manufacturers don't encode the model into the SN.

Get an unedited photo taken with the lens — from your own archive, or from the seller if you're buying used (ask for a fresh shot so it can't be a recycled file).
Drop it into the verification tool — it reads the lens model, lens serial and body serial locally in your browser; nothing is uploaded.
Compare the EXIF serial with the barrel engraving. A match proves the photo was taken with that exact lens; a mismatch is a strong warning. (A missing EXIF serial proves nothing — older DSLRs, third-party and manual-focus lenses often don't report one.)
Check the body too: the same file carries the camera's shutter count on supported models — see the free shutter count checker and the used camera buying guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

How can I tell how old my lens is?

Canon lenses made until ~2012: decode the letter date code (month + year). Leica: look the serial up in the 1933–1996 chart (±1 year). All other brands: the serial contains no date — use the EXIF dates of the earliest photos taken with the lens, or ask the manufacturer's support.

How do I read a Canon date code like UT0511?

U = Utsunomiya factory, T = 2005 (year letters run A = 1986 … Z = 2011, repeating every 26 years), 05 = May. So UT0511 = May 2005.

Can a Canon 10-digit serial be dated?

Not reliably — Canon never published the date-prefix mapping, and circulating community tables contradict each other.

What year is Leica serial 2,000,000?

1963 — it falls in the 1,967,101–2,015,700 allocation block. Use the lookup tool for any other serial.

Does the lens serial number tell me which lens model it is?

No — manufacturers don't encode the model (Leica batch lists are the partial exception). A photo's EXIF names the exact model, which is why the EXIF method is the reliable identification route.

Is any of this uploaded anywhere?

No. Both the serial decoder and the EXIF verification run entirely in your browser.