NikonGear'23
Gear Talk => Lens Talk => Topic started by: Justin R on August 14, 2015, 19:25:42
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http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&id=301709937935&alt=web
http://www.photosynthesis.co.nz/nikon/serialno.html
What's going on here? According to the second link, this serial number should have a "made in Japan" engraving. Has anyone seen this before?
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There is a Made in Japan engraving on the side of the lens.
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Hi Justin, I think what you are referring to is that the lens on ebay, an AI 35/1.4 no.402346 is engraved "LENS MADE IN JAPAN" in white, and my site suggests this serial number should be engraved "MADE IN JAPAN" in black instead.
The lenses on my site are only those I have seen so far, this lens just happens to extend the known range a bit further. It is an otherwise normal lens. You will also notice the LMIJ lenses overlap the MIJ lenses by a few hundred. This is quite common as different parts such as the serial no ring were not always used up in strict sequence, so there was some mixing of newer and older parts. In some cases I see lenses with features that are well outside the normal serial number range. I usually regard them as "outliers" and ignore them as they would make overlaps unnaturally large. For example I have seen AI 35/1.4 marked MIJ as early as no.401277, and an LMIJ lens as late as 403192, but the main transition appears to be around 402346 - 401751. As more information comes to light I may adjust the boundaries to fit the data better.
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It seems Bjørn and Erik created the reference for these questions on the web.
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Thanks everybody. Roland, your answer was exactly what I was looking for. I didn't know how cut and dry the transitions were and wondered if this might point to a copy that had undergone some repairs or something.