Trying to get an idea re: the total number of D700's sold. My serial number is: 2040006, purchased 1/09.

mVs
D2H, D2x, D300s, D700 & D800

Visit my Nikonians gallery.

If this is a serious question then it should be how many manufactured? There could be hundreds lying in warehouses or shops and what about the ones returned as defective? I don't think there is an answer to your question, at least not a reasonable one?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/43019448@N04/

My serial number is 24070xx, purchased in February 2011. So that makes about 367,000. Does that sound reasonable?

Keith, a UK Railway Photographer

Visit my Nikonians gallery.

There is no source of body sales figures I know of.
Monthly sales figures for Japan are not difficult to find - if you can read Japanese.
In the UK there are GFK quarterly reports - but they cost several hundred pounds
On page 17 of this pdf Nikon forecast 4,200,000 body sales for the 12 months to the end of March 2011 http://www.nikon.com/about/ir/ir_library/result/pdf/2010/10_all_e.pdf
If 450,000 D700 body sales is "about right" (I do not know) as the camera has been on sale since 2008 the implication is it accounts for around 4-5% of current DSLR body numbers.
Again if 450,000 is correct the D700 is likely to outsell the D3s and D3x combined.
The estimate implies but does not confirm FX remains less than 10% of body sales by number of units, though more as a percentage of turnover.
I would be reluctant to reach a firm conclusion based on one educated estimate - though it may be a good guess.
Going back in time before Nikon had FX I tracked Canon Japanese sales - and Japanese 24x36 sales did not reach 7% of Canon body numbers at the time.
Good Nikon FX is around now, but so is good DX. Thom Hogan's site recently mentioned Nikon had 3 DX bodies in the top 10 best Japanese DSLR sellers.
My guess (it is no more than a guess) is FX still accounts for less than 10% of Nikon body sales by number of units.
Roland Vink's site is a good indicator of lens numbers sold http://www.photosynthesis.co.nz/nikon/serialno.html

Photography is a bit like archery. A technically better camera, lens or arrow may not hit the target as often as it could if the photographer or archer does not practice enough.

Len Shepherd

I was once told this by a very knowlegable Nikon expert who everyone here will know of: He said - Nikon lenses are assigned random serial numbers from a batch starting at e.g. 0000001 ending 3000000. This then prevents the rival manufactures knowing sales totals while the lens was current as the lens numbers are random.

True or false, then if this is the same for cameras perhaps we won't know until the camera is discontinued. Also, are the serial numbers sequencial allowing for the world wide exports? Mine is S/No 2174830 and was purchased in the UK in May 2009, that would mean that dependant on date of manufacture/or sale perhaps 134,824 were produced between 2040006 and my copy.

This of course may be total claptrap, but that's what I was informed.

Visit my Nikonians gallery

>This then prevents the rival manufactures knowing sales totals while the lens was current
>as the lens numbers are random.
Roland Vink's site indicates which lens sequence started when, and often indicates small construction changes that accompany a number sequence change.
It is all we have we have for lens numbers http://www.photosynthesis.co.nz/nikon/serialno.html
> Mine is S/No 2174xxx and was purchased in the UK in May 2009, that would mean that dependent on date of manufacture/or sale
>perhaps 134,824 were produced between 2040006 and my copy.
134,000 in 4 months (assuming no different numbering sequences for different parts of the world) would have been around 10% of body units made at the time.
In the absence of any other information perhaps recent D700 could indicate their approximate serial number, and in which country it was bought.
Digressing UK retailers indicate a sizeable fall in FX sales since the D7000 launch - probably because many expect upgraded models soon.

Photography is a bit like archery. A technically better camera, lens or arrow may not hit the target as often as it could if the photographer or archer does not practice enough.

Len Shepherd

My Serial Number is 2390xxx - bought in UK in December 2010.

So, given the approximate trend in other serial numbers versus times-of-purchase reported here, it looks like D700 serial numbers are not "heavily" randomised (if you get my meaning?!) - at least in UK sales.

Colin P
--
A doorway to my other photo sites

>There could be hundreds lying in warehouses or
>shops and what about the ones returned as defective?

Unlikely that there are any significant numbers out there. When Nikon was approaching the end of the fiscal quarter and their numbers were coming up short they tried to pull all the stops and refurbish everything worth refurbishing. For a few weeks there was a burst of refrub D700's available on the Nikon store. However that ended pretty quickly and now there is not a single one to be found from reputable dealers, either new or refurb. Given the fact that you can pretty much charge MSRP for something like this I doubt that anyone is sitting on inventory that is guaranteed to depreciate in a few months when the supply situation normalizes and used D700's start selling for $1700-$1800 once again.

>My serial number is 24070xx, purchased in February 2011. So
>that makes about 367,000. Does that sound reasonable?
>

No

In relation to the question that was asked. As others have pointed out it is very difficult or impossible to answer. Unless Nikon release - which I don't think is available - accurate figures then nobody knows or are going to find out. BTW how many have been sold since your purchase?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/43019448@N04/

>>There could be hundreds lying in warehouses or
>>shops and what about the ones returned as defective?
>
>Unlikely that there are any significant numbers out there.
>When Nikon was approaching the end of the fiscal quarter and
>their numbers were coming up short they tried to pull all the
>stops and refurbish everything worth refurbishing. For a few
>weeks there was a burst of refrub D700's available on the
>Nikon store. However that ended pretty quickly and now there
>is not a single one to be found from reputable dealers, either
>new or refurb. Given the fact that you can pretty much charge
>MSRP for something like this I doubt that anyone is sitting on
>inventory that is guaranteed to depreciate in a few months
>when the supply situation normalizes and used D700's start
>selling for $1700-$1800 once again.


That doesn't in any way answer the original question. Pure speculation on your part.

A cursory search

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=nikon+d700&x=13&y=22

or

http://www.calumetphoto.co.uk/eng/search/D700?cm_mmc_o=2zkAFwfCJsCjCWbLBE%20KIiiCjCmkBf%20vCjC-Cm5Bf?ctc=GoogleUK-_-NikonD700-_-NikonD700-_-d700%20nikon%20discount&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&gclid=CKKm6sXJnqoCFcsb4QodfHeh5g

Quote

However that ended pretty quickly and now there
>is not a single one to be found from reputable dealers,

Unquote




http://www.flickr.com/photos/43019448@N04/

I think Boyan was taking a US-centric view of the supply situation

Brian
Welsh Nikonian
Check out the Nikonians Team pages

>I think Boyan was taking a US-centric view of the supply
>situation

The usual problem...the rest of the world doesn't exist? Nikon sells world wide so my answer still stands and his reply isn't pertinent to the original question in reality. I am surprised you didn't point this out Brian.


http://www.flickr.com/photos/43019448@N04/

>Trying to get an idea re: the total number of D700's sold.
>My serial number is: 2040006, purchased 1/09.

I bought my D700 on 7/25/2008. Ser# 2020063.

Nikon announced the D700 on 7/01/2008.

Len

Visit my Nikonians gallery.

My serial # 23048xx purchased 11/11/10 if that helps any!

Visit my Nikonians gallery.

I bought one about a year and a half ago with the serial number being 2264xxx. I see a pattern here so far that D700s serial numbers start with a 2. Whether or not they are serialized for sections of the world where sold, I have no idea. I believe mine was made for sale in Europe, not the U.S.

Life is short so make lasting impressions

I bought my D700 in March 2011 with serial #2412349.

Visit my Nikonians gallery.

Visit my Nikonians gallery.

>I bought my D700 in March 2011 with serial #2412349.
Provided Nikon started at 200000 and not 210000 with no serial number gaps this implies around 420,000 sold in 3 years, compared to around 4,200,000 DSLR's in 2010/11.
UK retailers have told me sales have fallen recently in anticipation of a D800 "soon" - so maybe around 160,000 in each of the first 2 years production and 100,000 in the last 12 months.

Photography is a bit like archery. A technically better camera, lens or arrow may not hit the target as often as it could if the photographer or archer does not practice enough.

Len Shepherd

I bought one in June 2011, which was an "ex-demo", the retailer claimed that it only has around 50 clicks. But the serial number is "20106xx", appears quite "old".
I checked the appearence and the USB/shutter conjunctions are bland-new, photo numbers starts with _DSC0250, will that be any problems?

>I bought one in June 2011, which was an "ex-demo",
>the retailer claimed that it only has around 50 clicks. But
>the serial number is "20106xx", appears quite
>"old".
>I checked the appearence and the USB/shutter conjunctions are
>bland-new, photo numbers starts with _DSC0250, will that be
>any problems?

If properly stored, a brand new camera will still be "Mint" in 10 years.
However some have a little battery to store time, date and other settings that may have to be replaced.
Soon, if not already, all of that will be stored on memory chips.

Visit my Nikonians gallery.

>If properly stored, a brand new camera will still be
>"Mint" in 10 years.
>However some have a little battery to store time, date and
>other settings that may have to be replaced.
>Soon, if not already, all of that will be stored on memory
>chips.
>

Thanks for you comment, so the series doesn't tell anything?
Is there a way to check when was it manufactured?

I bought mine on 11/7/2008 SN 2008645.

Bob Baldassano
My Nikonians Gallery

"Nikonians membership - My most important photographic investment, after the
camera"

Retirement is a gift of time - Don't waste it!

By "series" you mean the file numbers? No, they may not mean anything, as they are easily - trivially - reset. For example, there's a custom setting somewhere in the camera that causes the file number to be reset every time the card is formatted, so the first frame after such a format would always be DSC_0001. So seeing a low number may or may not mean anything. However, it's rare that someone would edit the card to make it skip numbers, so if you saw a file number such as DSC_9983, it's fairly likely that it hasn't been reset for 10,000 frames or so. Finally, even if the file number isn't reseting with each format operation, like an older car odometer, the file number rolls over to DSC_0001 after DSC_9999, so again a low number doesn't necessarily imply low mileage.

The only way to know how much the camera has been used is to inspect the shutter cycle count that is embedded in the EXIF data. Take a shot and use an external program such as Opanda to find the count.

In your case I don't believe the "only 50 shots" claim. You're seeing DSC_0250 so I would guess that it's been though at least 250 frames, and the serial number seems pretty old to me. If it's really been a demo unit, I'd guess a lot more than 250 frames if it has been in use as a demo and not just stored. It's pretty easy to snap off 20 or 30 frames - that's only 5-6 seconds on C-Hi. Not every potential user does that, but it doesn't take many to get to 250 frames. That serial number seems to me (without inside knowledge) to date back to about 2008, and if it's been in use for three years as a demo unit it could easily have 3-4000 frames on it. That's hardly "about 50" but on the other hand, compared to a shutter design life of around 150,000, even 5000 is not really even broken in.

_____
Brian... a bicoastal Nikonian and Team Member

My gallery is online. Comments and critique welcomed any time!

I think it is pertinent, since there are different serial runs for different markets. I also think that overall production will closely mirror sales, unless you think Nikon manufactures fewer than they sell or significantly more than they sell.

I wouldn't consider refurbished units any more than I would used car sales when determining how sucsessful a car model is.

Scott Chapin
Powder Springs, GA, USA
Nikonians Team Member

>Thanks for you comment, so the series doesn't tell anything? Is there a way to check when was it manufactured?
A body serial number tells you something - with limited reliability.
The position on lenses is better http://www.photosynthesis.co.nz/nikon/serialno.html
There was a time when Nikon used the first digit in the serial number to identify the intended selling country, but this ended a few years ago.
There is enough feedback in this thread to make an educated guess Nikon started 3 years ago at close to 2,000,000 and is now approaching 2,500,000 - making world wide sales close to 500,000. This is an average of about 15,000 units a month.

Photography is a bit like archery. A technically better camera, lens or arrow may not hit the target as often as it could if the photographer or archer does not practice enough.

Len Shepherd

Mine is 23968xx purchased in January of this year. I hope that helps somehow. I finally got my first post out of the way. Woohoo!

Hi I have had mine for 3 weeks, 2472407, purchased new, ex-Hong Kong, so have no idea how long it was in stock for . . .

Visit my Nikonians gallery.

Purchased in Sep, 2011 in USA

Visit my Nikonians gallery.

I found that this is a wonderful forum that you are so warm-hearted.
I got the answer by Opanda, the total shutter release appears to be "1526" for my latest photo, considering I've taken more then 1000 photos after the purchase, the "ex-demo" machine should have around 250 shutter release.
According to the serial number your provided, it seems that the bigger the serial number is, the later D700 was manuafactured, however we can't tell if this is the "rule".

Btw, Opanda is a fantastic software that I used it to read one photo from my friend which was taken by Iphone4, it tells me the GPS position, then I put in Google map I found the place where was she!
So be careful your Iphone

bought in feb 2009 ser # 222095

Visit my Nikonians gallery.

BTW Eric,

Welcome to Nikonians and I hope you are enjoying your D700 as much as I am enjoying mine!

Best regards, SteveK

'A camera is an instrument that teaches people how to see without a camera.' -- Dorothea Lange
My Nikonians gallery
My Nikonians Blog

Hi Eric,

Welcome to Nikonians!
Good Luck and Enjoy your Nikons!

Best Regards,
Marty

Mine is 2077xxx purchased 09/22/08 from Amazon.

Thank you Steve and Marty. I have been enjoying my D700 thoroughly since purchasing it earlier this year. It is only my second DSLR owned since owning the D100. As much as I loved the D100, the D700 is much improved. I have also owned many film cameras over the years such as the FG, FA, N70, F100, and F5...all great cameras. I plan on purchasing another D700 within a year unless the D800 is out by then.

My S/n starts with 2165--- butr it's a refurb, so it's hard to tell anything by that. One of the first things I checked was the shutter count, and it was the grand total of 6 shots. Probably a bad case of NAS followed by even worse buyer's remorse

"The law, in its majestic equality, forbids the rich as well as the poor, to sleep under bridges, to beg in the streets and to steal bread." Anatole France

Visit my Nikonians gallery.

#2496318, purchased 11/3/2011 from B&H
Chris

Chris
East Coastian Nikonian

Chris - You beat me for the largest serial number. Mine is 24756xx and was purchased in October. It came with ver 1.02 firmware installed.

Visit my Nikonians gallery.

Bought November 2011 in Germany, SN 25013XX, firmware1.02

Visit my Nikonians gallery.

>Bought November 2011 in Germany, SN 25013XX, firmware1.02

Aha, the first one I've noticed over the half a million mark. Welcome to the D700 club!
Classic camera to be sure.

Best regards, SteveK

'A camera is an instrument that teaches people how to see without a camera.' -- Dorothea Lange
My Nikonians gallery
My Nikonians Blog

Bought in September 2011 U.S. Model with S/N 2487829

- We may see a thousand things at any given moment, But only a fraction of that moment will last forever....... April is Autism awareness month

Visit my Nikonians gallery.

I believe I purchased mine in Feb of 2009 SN#2011481

Chuck

Chuck Vincent, F100, D100, D300, D700, D7000, P7000

Nion Lens- 50 1.8, 18-200, 28-200, 28-105 Macro, 28-300, 24-70 2.8, 70-200 2.8

Visit my Nikonians gallery.

My D700 is just 3 days old....bought it from B&H on 12-12-11.....serial number is 2499XXX....

Jason

www.gorgasphoto.com

24317XX here...purchased in March of 2011, new US model for $2149.00...right after the tsunami and quake in Japan.

Visit my Nikonians gallery.

I've bought mine 2 weeks ago.

I can help update this thread a bit.
D700 bought Nov. 21/2011
2493463

Gene

What does all of this mean? I can't imagine that Nikon would allow a method for competitors to calculate how many units of a particular model have been sold. Just saying...

Don

>What does all of this mean? I can't imagine that Nikon would allow a method for competitors to calculate how many units of
>a particular model have been sold.
In Japan there are league tables of the number of each camera model (and many electrical products) sold in Japan every month.

Photography is a bit like archery. A technically better camera, lens or arrow may not hit the target as often as it could if the photographer or archer does not practice enough.

Len Shepherd