how do i know which camera is older than the other?

hey all, i have 3 d700's and i'm trying to determine which one is older than the other. do the serial/model numbers have any basis on this (lower number vs. larger number)? i have been checking the actuations on all 3 and something doesn't seem right. thanks in advance!

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Thanks

I would think the serial numbers are in sequence. Number of actuations would all depend on how much they have been shot. What is it that doesn't seem right?

Hello and welcome, might be easier asking Nikon for this question.

true, i could ask nikon, but i've grown to hate asking help desk since most of them hate their lives and jobs. i figure a forum would be most adequate.

as far as why i'm wondering about my actuations/serial number ratio:

the actuations to serial numbers didn't seem right since the camera with the highest serial had the highest actuations and hadn't been used in a long time compared to the other 2.

after much detective work and figuring which camera had what naming scheme (my body should have my prefix, the one my wife uses should have hers, and the older one should have had her same prefix as i have only been using my one camera, making 2 cameras seem the same). long story short, we got two bodies mixed up somehow when the lenses got switched and we have no idea who did it or how that happened. i never switch my lense (other than going micro or telefoto) and my wife swears she never did (she'd have no reason to touch my d700 body). i am really suspecting her pranking ghost grandfather. strange stuff has been going on in this house...

and finally thanks Don, i updated my gear to the best of my abilities before i pass out and go to bed!

Were both cameras bought as new ? and did you check the shutter count at time of purchase?

If you just rely on the file numbering with the name, don't forget that these numbers are reset to 0 after the 9,999th shot. If you carefully look at the exif files on the other hand, you might get to the real number of actuations.

I'm thinking serial numbers will tell you the order in which they were made, but that would have nothing to do with when they may have been purchased. So the most recently made could have been the first purchased while the oldest sat in a shop for a while. As for actuations, that all depends on how evenly they were used and is no reliable reading of age - but a good indicator of potential life span. I've got a rather old D90 sitting here with less than 10K actuations on it that I got in trade from my mother in-law. She bought it 5 or 6 years ago, but it's "newer" than many that were bought last year with regard to wear and tear.

I found something on serial numbers a while back and only remember that the first 3 are for region or something like that. Do an internet search and you should find more info. I should have saved the link.

You can a have a 1 year old camera with 100,00 exposures and a 10 year old camera with 20,000 exposures not sure what your getting at here,why would you care which one is older ?