Can you tell M645 age with serial number?

[kc_dougherty]

Is there a way to tell how old a Mamiya 645 is? We have an older 645

(vintage of the J-series and the 1000s). The serial number begins

with "J" but it is not a "J" camera. Any ideas? Thanks.

 

KC

[colmmccarthy]

According to Mamiya:

 

The M645 (discontinued) was manufactured from 1975 to 1987.

 

The M645 1000S (discontinued) was manufactured from 1976 to 1990.

 

The M645J (discontinued) was manufactured from 1979 to 1982.

 

The Mamiya 645 Super (discontinued) was manufactured from 1985 to 1993.

 

The Mamiya 645 Pro (discontinued) was manufactured from 1993 to 1998.

 

The Mamiya 645 Pro-TL (current model) was first released in 1997.

 

The Mamiya 645e (current model) was first released in 2000.

 

Hope this helps

 

Colm

[tom_brent]

Go to:

http://www.mamiya.co.uk/about/40-50.htm

http://www.mamiya.co.uk/about/60-70.htm

http://www.mamiya.co.uk/about/80-90.htm

http://www.mamiya.co.uk/about/2000+.htm

 

This shows the complete history for every model.

I hope this answers the question.

 

-Tom

[mark_jacobs1]

The following site is also helpful with older mamiya cameras... no explaination on serial numbers though that I saw. http://www.ozdoba.net/mamiya/

[huw_finney]

If you pop off the left hand side of the camera (well remove the leatherette and undo the screws) the electrolytic capacitors on the electronics PCB are dated, usually WWYY week/year. I would think that the caps' are about 6 to 12 weeks older than the camera.

 

 

Huw

[EEwert]

Mamiya used a two-letter date code on components using a gold foil sticker.  They changed these every few years so there is some overlap which will require a bit of guesswork to determine the components' likely era.  I found the information below at https://mamiyarepair.com/mamiya-production-date-codes/

YEARS / LETTERS

• 1961-1970 / A-J (First Letter A = 1961, First Letter B = 1962, Etc. - Second Letter A = 1 (January) Second Letter B = 2 (February), Etc.)
• 1971-1980 / A-J
• 1981-2000 / A-T
• 2001-2014 / A-N

Finding the production Year and Month for my Universal Press was easy since the second letter was past 'J' in the alphabet indicating the 1981-2000 or 2001-2014 ranges.  Since the production of this camera ended in 1991 the 1981-2000 range is confirmed.  The code sticker applied to the body is 'BK'.  The letter 'B' equates to 1982 and the second letter 'K' equates to 11 or November.

-Eric