

And to top it off, it looks like they’ve reset the date count in the beginning of 2013. I will refer to these date codes as “the old system.” But starting in 2008, Canon created a new numbering system which incorporates production date, internal repairing code and an actual serial number into one consolidated block. Click here to see the list of non-L lenses that have date codes post 1990 (if your non-L lens is not on this list, then you are out of luck).

In 1990, Canon started placing date codes on select lenses only. As I have mentioned above, Canon has been placing date codes on their lenses for a long time and previously many lenses had the date code placed separate from the actual serial number.
