Nikon has long used the first digit of the serial number to indicate region for many of their products (all the way back into the film SLR era). Traditionally, that first digit was used by Nikon like this:
Don’t get locked into those values (read on for recent exceptions).
Initial production of a product was almost always a two-digit variant of that with the second digit being zero (e.g. 30xxxxx in the US). In a few cases, Nikon has used digits outside a region when production exceeds 999,999 units (see Note in next paragraph, though). That's why the second digit isn't just part of the serial number itself: it’s also reserved as a special region indicator, when needed. Download video song full hd 1080p. In other words, while US products normally would be 30, 31, 32…39 in initial numbers, Nikon has set things up so that they could make, say, a 25 region code that's US for a product (normally that would be Japan).
Note: it appears that Nikon hasn’t changed the number of digits in most serial numbers, which as product quantities increased in the digital age, caused Nikon to have to abandon the clear logic they formerly used and which the above table suggests.
It appears that Nikon has adjusted many of their previous serial numbers to give them plenty of room for US, Asian/Pacific, and European bodies. For example, with the D7100, Nikon started using the 25xxxxx code for the first US bodies. Since the US D7100 number comes after the initial number for the much smaller Japanese market, it makes some sense to 'steal' some of the Japan numbers. But also oddly, we’re now seeing that a lot of other country serial numbers don't tend to have a 0 as a second digit, which is another departure for Nikon. As I keep updating this article, Nikon keeps shifting to a very problematic (for customers) method of uniquely identifying region, especially in Europe, where they’re using previously Canadian and Australian numbers (e.g. 51xxxxx and 61xxxxx), and in Asia/Pacific, where they now use 6xxxxxx, 7xxxxxx, and 8xxxxxx numbers.
Assuming that the seller is an honest person, the battery chamber will have a Nikon USA sticker inside. I don't know if there's a way to check the intended market of a camera body using the serial number. Some USA lenses have serial numbers that start with 'US' but this isn't the case with camera bodies. Since registering a US serial number Nikon lens with Nikon USA adds 4 years of warranty, US serial number lenses cost more than imported serial number lenses. Nikon USA Service will not work on non-US serial numbered Nikon gear, not even for non-warranty paid repair. & Grey Market Products B&H Photo Video.
A few products, most notably the low volume top end pro cameras, use only the Japan-based serial numbers. Thus, you can have a D3 with a 20xxxxx serial number no matter where in the world you bought it (curiously, the D5 reverts back to the regional numbering system).
The same scheme often applies to lenses, though most US lenses are prefaced with the letters US these days and some recent lenses have longer serial numbers.
When you launch the application you get a big banner 'Scrivener is unregistered!' Clearly, this is just a popup that you cannot get rid off. And with buttons to Buy, Enter License and Try. Scrivener serial number and name.
So where we stand is this: older gear clearly follows the original numbering practice in the table shown at the top of this page. The latest gear is much more complicated in how serial numbers are used. That said, a serial number with 0 as the second digit is almost always allocated according to the table, above.
As I noted two decades ago, Nikon really just needs to abandon this serialization practice. The primary reason it’s done is to enable Nikon to identify gray market cameras and deny warranty and repairs on them. In essence, Nikon’s trying to act like as series of local companies in a global environment.
Just like any product with a serial number, the one found on your Nikon lens is a way to identify the model. Unlike cars and other larger items, the serial number on a Nikon DSLR lens can repeat on the same models. A lens serial number gives you and potential repairers a chance to look up more information about the lens you own. Sometimes the serial numbers are even used repeatedly and on different models and the length of the numbers differs depending on when the lenses were produced. This can be very confusing for most people and understandably so. Typically, a serial number will have 6 digits, but when production of the lens goes beyond 999,999 the length of the number will vary. The most important part of the Nikon lens serial number is the first digit. This gives an indication of where it was made. Here is a rundown of what the first digit means: 1 – Unused by Nikon unless for prototypes 2 – Made in Japan 3 – Made in the USA 4 – Made in Europe but not the UK 5 – Made in Canada 6 – Made in New Zealand or Australia 7 – Made in Asia but not Japan 8 – Make in the United Kingdom 9 – Unused by Nikon The first number on the Nikon lens serial number typically indicates where it was made and the following number is the product number. This is why lenses that have reached production over 999,999 have a different serial number length. Today this format isn’t very strictly followed anymore because more and more lenses are produced by Nikon. This is just a guide of what you can expect from looking at the serial number on your Nikon lens.