Which Super Takumar lenses are radioactive?

Super Takumar 50mm f/1.4 (All 7-element variants contain Thorium – thoriated glass!, no 8-element variants contain thorium.) Some copies have tested (moderately) radioactive, others have tested not radioactive: The hot ones: Serial #1557034.

Are super Takumar lenses good?

The Super-Takumar is a good looking lens with excellent build and mechanical quality. Optically it has that vintage “character” that some like but others might not. I like its decent sharpness wide open (which becomes excellent stopped down), good CA resistance, and good bokeh.

Are Takumar lenses safe?

As long as you don’t eat them, the lenses are not dangerous. Joke aside, the radiation levels albeit detectable are low and you only handle the lens for a comparatively short time. Thus total exposure to any radiation is small. The main issue might be the brownish staining of the glass.

Which Canon lenses are radioactive?

Camera lenses known to have contained thorium include:

• Canon FL 58mm f1.
• GAF Anscomatic 38mm f2. 8 (Anscomatic 726 camera)
• Kodak Ektanar 38mm f2. 8 (Instamatic 804 camera)
• Kodak Ektanon 46mm f3. 5 (Signet 40 camera)
• Kodak Ektanon 50mm f3.
• SMC Takumar 50mm f1.
• Super Takumar 35mm f2.
• Super Takumar 6×7 105mm f2.

Are radioactive camera lenses safe?

Exposure to these particles over time likely presents a health risk. Until further research is done, radioactive lenses can never be considered truly safe for usage.

Are vintage lenses radioactive?

There are a significant number of lenses produced between 1940 and 1970 that are measurably radioactive, like the Pentax SMC Takumar 50mmf/1.4 lens Walker shows in the video above. Thorium Oxide is the main culprit of this radioactivity and was applied to glass elements because of its crystalline structure.

What is super Takumar?

The Super Takumar is a 50mm f1. 4 lens that was released by the Asahi Optical Co. in the 1960s. It has garnered something of a legendary reputation online, and is known for its sharpness, bokeh, and propensity for flare.

How can you tell if a lens is radioactive?

So if you are wanting to take apart vintage lenses, you might want to be aware of this. A Geiger counter will tell you if your lens is hot. However, if you don’t have one, you can look for yellowed glass. Radioactive decay could also cause hot spots on digital cameras.

Are Leica lenses radioactive?

Second, all Leica rangefinder cameras use a focal-plane shutter, which means the film behind the lens is shielded from the radiation it emits except for the instant the shutter is open when making an exposure, which would produce negligible fogging.

Are modern lenses radioactive?

Some lenses produced from the 1940s through the 1970s were treated with radioactive thorium oxide to curb chromatic aberration. But as Andrew Walker explains in this 7.5-minute video, modern digital cameras can actually “see” that radiation as image noise that has the potential ruin your long exposures.

What is a super Takumar lens?

Are Helios lenses radioactive?

The Helios is not radioactive….Russian manufacturers usually copy quality lenses and manufacture them in mass quality.

Are old cameras radioactive?

Radioactivity in old camera lenses is due mostly to the widespread use of thorium glass elements in the 1940s, ’50s, ’60s and ’70s. Thorium oxide is highly refractive and low dispersion; this translated into cheaper high-quality glass by allowing manufacturers to make lenses of lesser curvature.

Are Pentax K mount lenses radioactive?

The good news is that there are NO Pentax-branded lenses having radioactive elements.