Reasonably priced fast non-radioactive 50mm rangefinder/lens?

[Forest_rain]

Looking for a lens or fixed lens rangefinder manual focus/aperture with reasonable price (budget maybe $100)

I was thinking about picking up a Canonet QL17 GIII but I've read that the Canonet 1.7's may contain rare-earth/radioactive glass, although the lens quality is supposed to rival even Leica lenses.

I was also thinking of picking up an Aires IIIC with 50mm 1.9 lens, but I'm not sure if this lens is radioactive or not (it was produced in 50's 60's, is fast, so may be).

Are there any rangefinder/lenses produced in say, the 80's, which is an era known for phasing out the radioactive glass.

I know the Russian lenses are not known to be radioactive, but I've read that the Industar actually does have lanthanum in it, and some of them have some radioactive elements in them, but besides, their quality is not that great from what I've seen compared to other brands.

I know it's controversial, but it's a personal decision of mine to avoid the radioactive glass. I've reviewed the info on it and decided to avoid them. Besides, radioactive materials are banned here in Hawaii 🙂

 

[DownUnder]

Good grief... first Covid-19, now this.

I did read some time ago (I've forgotten where) that the Zeiss Tessar in the later model Rolleiflex T also had lanthanum and so may be radioactive. I've checked, and it doesn't glow in the dark, but I shudder to think I may be ultraviolated or worse every time I take out my TLR for a shoot or just to exercise the shutter speeds.

No doubt many will want to follow all this up. I certainly will.

Please would you list your references for all this worrying information you have related in your post?

 

[Pál_K]

... Besides, radioactive materials are banned here in Hawaii 🙂

So there are no bananas in Hawaii?

No brick buildings in Hawaii?

You'll get more radiation exposure from them than you will from having a "radioactive" lens on your camera. Just don't eat your lens or sleep with it.

You'll also get more exposure to radiation if you fly on a plane.

A handy chart for your viewing pleasure:

https://xkcd.com/radiation/

Don't tell Mazie Hirono she has nuclear submarines in Hawaii...

 

[CMur12]

I would prefer to avoid most radioactive lenses, myself, because those I know of become discolored. I have spent a lot of time trying to clear a Pentax Super Multi-Coated Takumar of the yellowing of radioactive elements, but I have yet to be successful.

If this is the reason for the OP's wish to avoid such lenses, I can fully empathize with him or her. In my own case, it's a matter of lens performance and convenience, not a fear of radiation.

- Murray

PS. I have a Canonet QL 17 GIII and I have really liked it. I used it mostly for travel and I got sharp, well-exposed slides from it consistently. According to Canon, this camera has a 6-element lens, of which four elements are made with "rare earths." "Rare earths" could be a lot of things and I have never heard reference to radioactive lens elements in this camera. It's a good lens, but I don't think anyone will find it comparable to a Leitz/Leica lens.

 

[kaffefant]

Looking for a lens or fixed lens rangefinder manual focus/aperture with reasonable price (budget maybe $100)

.....

I know it's controversial, but it's a personal decision of mine to avoid the radioactive glass. I've reviewed the info on it and decided to avoid them. Besides, radioactive materials are banned here in Hawaii 🙂

Based on the tests reported on this page https://camerapedia.fandom.com/wiki/Radioactive_lenses, I would find a Canon 50mm 1.8 in leica screw mount.

 

[p.giannakis]

Lanthanum is not radioactive.

 

[Mr_Flibble]

The Lanthanum isotope used in lenses really isn't THAT radioactive. Rated at 1/10000th of Thoriated glass.

The alpha/beta particles cannot penetrate your camera into your face. Also based on some quick and dirty calculations I did last year, it would take well over several years for someone to start showing signs of radiation poisoning and only if they taped the lens directly to an open wound or eyeball, ingested it or licked it continuously.

 

[Larry H-L]

I would prefer to avoid most radioactive lenses, myself, because those I know of become discolored. I have spent a lot of time trying to clear a Pentax Super Multi-Coated Takumar of the yellowing of radioactive elements, but I have yet to be successful.

Some confuse the amber-yellow lens coating of some Pentax lenses with yellowed glass due to radiation.

It is my understanding that the Super-Takumar 50mm f1.4 was radioactive, but not the Super-Multi-Coated or SMC-Takumar versions, but perhaps you are referring to a different lens?

 

[Ko.Fe.]

Under 100 usd RF lens or entire RF camera?
It is 2020, as they say here on RFF, most practical practical choice is black Jupiter-8. No odd materials in it. Easier to re-shim, if needed.
Canon 50 1.8 LTM for this price is going to be with fog.

 

[p.giannakis]

Under 100 usd RF lens or entire RF camera?
It is 2020, as they say here on RFF, most practical practical choice is black Jupiter-8. No odd materials in it. Easier to re-shim, if needed.
Canon 50 1.8 LTM for this price is going to be with fog.

Do you know anyone who shims them Ko.Fe. ?

 

[jcb4718]

Skyllaney based near Rugby in the UK are a relatively new electro-optic company specialising Leica mount lenses, specifically sonnar lenses. They plan to manufacture a new sonnar lens in Leica M mount but in the meantime completely strip down sonnar lenses, mostly Jupiter-8 lenses, polish them, selectively paint the inside black, reconstruct them (including shimming) and offer them (ebay) with a calibration chart. I bought a Jupiter-8 shimmed for 'portraits'. I was so please with it I had them calibrate my other sonnar lenses, a Canon and Zeiss f/1.5. They are extremely knowledgeable about these lenses and do a great job.

 

[Phil_F_NM]

If you're concerned about radiation from lenses, you only should pay attention to the ones with Thorium in them. Most of the M42 50mm f/1.4 Takumars were like this. Almost all of them have yellowed and they are spectacular lenses. Leica is known only for the collapsible 50mm Summicron being radioactive, but otherwise, your background radiation is higher.
Back when I was in the Navy, I worked as a weather guesser for my first 5 years. I served on a ship for 3 of those years and as a collateral duty I was also on the ship's at sea fire party. Since we had access to the reactor spaces as firefighters, we had to wear dosimeters and get them measured bi-weekly, if I recall correctly. My recorded exposure was always much higher than even the reactor engineers. Why? Because I also worked outside and had exposure to everything in the atmosphere, especially the sun.
In a nutshell, your lens isn't going to hurt you unless you grind it up and put the chips on your toast and eat it, or maybe snort it. Don't sleep with your lenses. If the latter is the reason you want to mitigate exposure, my apologies, to each, their own.
Cutting out the thoriated lenses is to deny oneself a large part of photographic history, as well as access to some of the very best lenses ever made, by any manufacturer, from any era.
Phil Forrest

 

[sebastel]

maybe i'm missing part of the question, but what would be wrong with the f/1.4 50mm nokton? is it not exotic enough?

well, your party. i think i can't help here.

 

[Swift1]

It is my understanding that the Super-Takumar 50mm f1.4 was radioactive, but not the Super-Multi-Coated or SMC-Takumar versions, but perhaps you are referring to a different lens?

From the research that I have done (I could very well be wrong), Asahi Pentax stopped using thoriated glass sometime during production of the Super-Multi-Coated version of the 50/1.4, or possibly when they switched to the SMC Takumar and SMC PENTAX versions.
I have a Super-Multi-Coated version and it is very definitely yellowed.

 

[Larry H-L]

Colton, I believe you are correct, it seems to be related to production dates and serial numbers. My Super-Tak is yellowed, but my later Super-Multi-Coated lenses are not. I like the yellowed lens the best, image wise.

 

[Ko.Fe.]

Do you know anyone who shims them Ko.Fe. ?

As service? I'm not sure if any left.
Black J-8 is total DIY, if you are willing to have images in focus as final result. Instead of forum endless and theoretical only discussions.
I prefer photos in focus. And shims from paper works.

https://www.35mmc.com/03/06/2017/jupiter-8-modification/

The filing down is the perfectionists bogus, based on my long term experience with re-shimmed only FSU LTM RF lenses. I'm using re-shimmed J-3 wide open from 1m to infinity. Even wide open it is fine. And @f5.6 it made me to get rid of Crons.

 

[CMur12]

From the research that I have done (I could very well be wrong), Asahi Pentax stopped using thoriated glass sometime during production of the Super-Multi-Coated version of the 50/1.4, or possibly when they switched to the SMC Takumar and SMC PENTAX versions.
I have a Super-Multi-Coated version and it is very definitely yellowed.

Hi Colton and Larry -

Thanks for this bit of information, Colton. It makes sense, as most manufacturers who used such glass, seem to have reformulated their lenses away from it in the mid-1970s.

My Super Multi-Coated Takumar 50mm f1.4 has significant yellowing, which can be seen by looking though it next to a lens without yellowing.

- Murray

 

[Phil_F_NM]

Regarding a previous comment about FSU lenses not being decent quality, I once put a $12 Helios-103 against a new Leica Summilux (pre-aspherical era) and without exception, only the very edges of the Helios images wide open could be discerned as being different, but not worse than, the Summilux. After that, I got rid of my M9 and went all in on Nikon rangefinders.

My old Jupiter-8 was fantastic after I did a tiny amount of work to it. My old Jupiter-12 was great and is still being used by a friend. My current 1956 Jupiter-12 is outstanding. There is no reason to discount any lens made in the USSR.

I have a small collection of Kodak Cine-Ektar lenses, all of which have Thorium in an element and most are slightly yellowed. All amazing performers.

Phil Forrest

 

[Bill Clark]

Interesting article from LHSA:

https://lhsa.org/2018/09/rare-earth-glass-leica-lenses-a-quick-and-quirky-overview/

Another one:

https://www.fourmilab.ch/documents/radiation/lens/

 

[Deleted member 65559]

maybe i'm missing part of the question, but what would be wrong with the f/1.4 50mm nokton? is it not exotic enough?

well, your party. i think i can't help here.

Forest Rain "(budget maybe $100)"