Radioactive Yashinons
Mar 17, 2014 23:13:31 GMT
on Mar 17, 2014 23:13:31 GMT
Posted: Mar 17, 2014 23:13:31 GMT
I love the Yashinon-DX 45mm f/1.7 in my Electro 35s. The sharpness, the color rendition give that glass a character all its own. So to try to reproduce that with my SLRs and mirrorless digital cameras, I ordered a Yashinon-DX 50mm f/1.7, which I'm expecting in the next few days. I assume that the 45 and the 50, although slightly different in focal length and field of view, are similar in more than the name and the maximum f-stop.
But while researching the SLR lens, I found that a number of Yashinons are mildly radioactive, containing some amount of the element thorium in their rear elements. Camerapedia.com, probably not the most complete or accurate source, lists them as the
Yashinon-DS 50mm f1.4
Yashinon-DS 50mm f1.7
Yashinon-DX 50mm f/1.4
Yashinon-DX 50mm f/1.8
Yashinon-DS-M 50mm f/1.4
Yashinon-DS-M 50mm f/1.7
Yashinon-DS-M 55mm f/1.2
Yashinon-ML 50mm f/1.7
Yashinon 55mm f1.2 (Tomioka)
The DS 50/1.4, DS 50/1.7, and DX 50/1.8 are also featured in YouTube videos, with geiger counters to measure their radioactivity.
I've never seen anything that says the Electro 35 G/GS/GSN's Yashinon/Color-Yashinon-DX 45mm f/1.7 has any radioactivity. Is that the case? What about the M42-mount DX 50mm f/1.7?
I've been shooting with SMC Takumar 50mm f/1.4 lenses off and on for decades, and I'm not afraid of the relatively mild radioactivity they produce, but, not owning a geiger counter to test the Yashinons myself, I'm curious to know for certain which of them are not radioactive. Does anyone have any more authoritative information?
But while researching the SLR lens, I found that a number of Yashinons are mildly radioactive, containing some amount of the element thorium in their rear elements. Camerapedia.com, probably not the most complete or accurate source, lists them as the
Yashinon-DS 50mm f1.4
Yashinon-DS 50mm f1.7
Yashinon-DX 50mm f/1.4
Yashinon-DX 50mm f/1.8
Yashinon-DS-M 50mm f/1.4
Yashinon-DS-M 50mm f/1.7
Yashinon-DS-M 55mm f/1.2
Yashinon-ML 50mm f/1.7
Yashinon 55mm f1.2 (Tomioka)
The DS 50/1.4, DS 50/1.7, and DX 50/1.8 are also featured in YouTube videos, with geiger counters to measure their radioactivity.
I've never seen anything that says the Electro 35 G/GS/GSN's Yashinon/Color-Yashinon-DX 45mm f/1.7 has any radioactivity. Is that the case? What about the M42-mount DX 50mm f/1.7?
I've been shooting with SMC Takumar 50mm f/1.4 lenses off and on for decades, and I'm not afraid of the relatively mild radioactivity they produce, but, not owning a geiger counter to test the Yashinons myself, I'm curious to know for certain which of them are not radioactive. Does anyone have any more authoritative information?
