Sony Radioactive Sony Lens

[Pimpy]

Does anyone know of any other Sony lenses that are radioactive.? I have never heard of a Sony lens that has thorium elements like this one.

 

[bdbits]

No, but back then there were quite a few lenses with thorium so it does not surprise me too much. It looks like a cool lens but the vignetting could be significant. They say the amount of thorium in these lenses was not harmful, but if I was of an age where I might have children I might hesitate.

 

[drd1135]

Pentax had some of those.

 

[bdbits]

Pentax had some of those.

Yes, quite a few makers did. I dug up this site that looks like a pretty deep dive into the subject.

Radioactive lenses

There are a significant number of lenses produced from the 1940s through the 1970s that are measurably radioactive. Main source of radioactivity is the use of thorium oxide (up to 30% by weight) as a component of the glass used in the lens elements. Thorium oxide has a crystalline structural similar to calcium fluoride (fluorite). Like fluorite, its optical properties of high refractivity and low dispersion allows lens designers to minimize chromatic aberration and use lenses of lower curvature,

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