1969 was a great year, I went on my first date, we landed on the moon, the NY Mets won their first World Series and this wonderful camera from Mamiya was made.

As it turns out, the little gold two-letter round stickers on most Mamiya cameras and lenses are date codes. Apparently not much can be gained by looking at Mamiya’s serial numbers but the date code stickers will tell the year and month according to Bill Rogers who is a Mamiya repair technician. His post about the stickers can be found at https://mamiyarepair.com/mamiya-production-date-codes/ – awesome info!

If you own Mamiya equipment (beyond their 35mm cameras and lenses) the stickers should be on almost all lenses and camera bodies (unless they’ve fallen off or were removed). You can just barely see the sticker on the side of the top lens in the picture above. In my case, the sticker is ‘IE’ which decodes to 1969 May. The body date sticker will be in the film chamber. Mine is ‘IF’ which decodes to 1969 May. If you read Bill Rogers’ site you’ll discover the secret to dating your photo gear. Thanks for stopping by today and be sure to follow me on Instagram at @ccphotographyai – Chris

Comments are always welcomed as I’ve learned quite a bit from reader feedback. As always, thanks for stopping by, and while you’re at it, feel free to visit my camera shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com (CC Design Studios hosted by Etsy). – Chris Whelan

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