Production date?
 

Well, I finally did it and my HD101 arrived today. I have a small, probably paranoid, concern about my camera.

The tape mechanism shows more signs of wear than I would expect from the camera going through a QC check. The edges of the mechanism are quite worn from being opened and closed a lot. Another strange thing is that the top of the camera has quite a bit of dust in the nooks and crannies, like the camera has been standing around for a long time and then dusted down. The final thing that seems a bit odd is that the serial number (07100123) seems to be lower than any others that have been posted in this forum.

Of course, it's quite possible that s/n's are non-sequential, but I'm just wondering if there's any way of finding out the production date of the camera as I don't want one of the early batches or a refurbished model.

There is an 'A' sticker on the base incidentally, and the drum hours show 0000.

any ideas? or am I being paranoid?

I would contact the dealer and return your camera for a different one.

NO WAY should you have physical wear on a new camera!

First contact your local JVC rep. and explain your situation.
He will stand behind you, than contact your dealer.

No, sounds like you're being screwed. Definitely contact your local JVC rep.