Dating Mamiya Cameras and Lenses by Two Letter Code
Originally posted on Instagram. Notes from the repair bench, kept here as a searchable archive. View the original on Instagram
I commonly get asked about dating the year of production on a Mamiya camera. The date of manufacture was important for determining the status of updated parts. I have compiled a list as shown in the second and third photo from examining many hundreds of Mamiya cameras. I have this info on my website but will break it down here a little clearer.
Mamiya used a two letter code to denote year and month of manufacture starting in 1961 (the first letter was the year, second letter the month). Each decade started with A and ended in J. So, for example, 1961 was A and 1970 was J. This scheme would start over with 1971 being A and 1980 being J.
Things changed in 1981 when that year became A but now the code ran until the year 2000 being T. The year 2001 became A and this ran until the end of Mamiya’s life with the year 2014 being N.
The issue with this system is that since the Alphabet code started out with A at the beginning of the decade, you need to have a rough idea of when your camera/lens was produced so that you go to the correct decade.
Month code, the second letter is straightforward with A-L being January through December.
The location of the code is different on the various cameras and early on was on a gold oval sticker, later the code was a prefix to the serial number.
Here are some locations of the code:
Mamiya 7/7II bodies and lenses: two letter prefix to serial number
Mamiya 6: gold oval sticker inside camera film compartment
Mamiya RZ67: gold oval sticker on body back or inside battery box
Mamiya RZ67II: two letter prefix to serial number
Mamiya RB67 Pro/ProS: oval sticker on back of body
Mamiya RB67 ProSD: two letter prefix to serial number
Mamiya RB/RZ lenses: oval sticker on back of lens
Mamiya 645 and C series: oval sticker in film compartment
Mamiya 645 Pro: two letter prefix to serial number
