mij sold in Japan photographic equipment

<p>Just wondering,<br>

is it possible to get infected by radiation form Japan's nuclear reactor accident <br>

buying a camera form Japan these days?</p>

No, it's not.

<p>I am a fan of Japanese products, photography and music wise.<br>

No mean to insult any one there as I also have tremendous respect for almost anything <br>

Japanese. I also feel empathy for what they're gone through, regarding the nuclear accident.<br>

Glad someone says "not".</p>

<p>There has been a thread about this very issue some time ago....and I agree with Andy.</p>

<p>Les</p>

Radiation doesn't stick to objects and rub off on you, it travels in straight lines from atoms that are splitting. You could use

a poorly design nuclear power plant without enough shielding as a warehouse for crates of camera parts, leave them

there for a year, then make cameras from them, and the cameras would be perfectly safe.

 

The danger from contamination mostly has to do with the actual waste materials. The fission waste material includes

radioactive isotopes of strontium and cesium. Some of that material has got out of its containment and presumably into

groundwater and seawater and who knows where else, so there's a danger of some of it ending up in food.

<p>I'd be leery of Japanese seafood (i.e. harvested from near their shores), but certainly not Japanese cameras.</p>

<p>As a footnote, there ARE some mildly (certainly not dangerously) radioactive lenses, because of the thorium oxide used in some of the glass elements. See here:</p>

<p>http://camerapedia.wikia.com/wiki/Radioactive_lenses</p>

<p>I believe the old Kodak Ektar Aero lenses were so afflicted, as were certain Takumars (e.g. the 50/1.4). Over time, the radiation would cause the lens to yellow.</p>

<p>Yea,<br>

like the industar 61 lanthanum front glass element.<br>

Perhaps other lenses also, that haven't been denoted to be so.</p>

 

<p>Nuclear fission releases neutrons, which render practically every element they contact radioactive, including crates of camera parts used as shielding.</p>

<p>Nearly 90% of the energy released from nuclear fusion, on the other hand, is in the form of fast neutrons. While you might not have to bury (or reprocess) fusion fuel elements, you eventually have to bury the entire reactor.</p>

<p>Free lunch, anyone?</p>

<p>What is a cheap way to find out if a camera has been infected?<br>

Although the only way the camera is infected would be if it came in contact with a man who him self was so,<br>

or fell on infected soil or ground of any kind. The person who sold it said the 38mm was oily and couldn't sell it to any one, a sign that he probably wouldn't sell something he knew had been contaminated. Any way best way is to test.</p>

<p>If some guy used the camera to walk around in a radiation suit and photograph the wreckage of the nuclear plant, I'd be mildly concerned. Otherwise I wouldn't give it a thought. If objects circulating in Japan were that radioactive, people would be dropping dead in massive numbers throughout the country. Standing out in the sun would almost certainly represent a far greater danger to your health.</p>

<p>That said, if you want a cheap way to test objects for radioactivity AND have a fun time doing it, make yourself a cloud chamber -- educational and entertaining. You'll be disappointed at the radiation levels from the camera, but it will also give you a way of viewing background radiation. It's like watching meteor showers, except far more exciting. If you want to liven things up, find a lens made with radioactive glass. :-)</p>

Neutrons only render very heavy elements radioactive, unless you actually stick the element inside the chamber where

the fission is happening and bombard a sample with some stupid amount of the stuff. There's no danger from items

having simply been to Japan. Radiation is energy, not a virus.

<p>from what I understand the substances that are radioactive have a nucleus that emits neutrons, it lets them go, it is not stable, it changes, and it changes any other type of atoms or molecules that is near it. If it is like that then it is very easy to become contaminated, all you need to do is get close to it. <br /> Now if I've described it wrong then getting close to something radioactive is not just about enough in order to get contaminated.<br /> The cloud chamber, how do I go about, do I look it up on the internet or can you explain it, in simple words? Already got a lanthanum lens and another ltm39 one bought from Ukraine.</p>

<p>No, you don't understand quite correctly. Google and Wikipedia are your friends here:</p>

<p>Radioactivity:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radioactivity</p>

<p>In practice, radioactive contamination is the result of the deposition of a radioisotope (e.g. strontium 90) on something that is otherwise clean (e.g. your camera). That's not very likely, unless your camera was dragged through a dirty, radioactive environment. You're really worrying about nothing, IMO.</p>

<p>I hesitate to point you to this article, for fear you might feel EVERYTHING is contaminated, but here it is:</p>

<p>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radioactive_contamination</p>

<p>What you need to know about radioactive contamination is that it is governed by the same principles as any pollutant. There is a saying amongst professionals in the field that "Dilution is the Solution to Pollution." By the time something gets far enough removed from the site of the meltdown, the level of contamination is inconsequential -- less than the background radiation, including cosmic radiation, that bombards your body at a low level each and every hour of your life. (BTW, the body naturally repairs itself from this damage, so long as radiation doesn't get so intense the body's mechanisms can't keep up.)</p>

<p>Here's info about cloud chambers:</p>

<p>Cloud chamber: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloud_chamber</p>

<p>BTW, if you make a cloud chamber introduce a magnetic field through the chamber, and you can even differentiate between types of decay particles. They will deflect and sometimes even spin in little spirals. We did this in high school physics -- one of the more interesting experiments we did, IMO.</p>

<p>And BTW, if you're that worried about your camera, and if it's a camera I can use, I'll buy it off of you cheap! Just PM me. ;-)</p>

<p>Hi Sarah,<br>

I am not that worried.<br>

I am doing other things while posting questions this weekend.<br>

You've helped me like everyone else on this forum,<br>

and I admit I haven't been engaged enough in order to read and understand more about what it is all about. <br>

Just a question mark along with buying from JAPAN after the nuclear accident.<br>

I do have another one for sale, but I can't go cheaper than 530 euro, a Leica CL with an Elmar C 90/4. CL having been cla'ed and the rf adjusted so it is perfect, and the Elmar C in more than excellent! They both come from Europe. <br>

I am a teacher too by the way. I teach art/highschool level, painting is what I do. Thanks for all your valuable time and info. Great people in photo.net.</p>

 

Only if the camera and lenses or materials they are made from were submerged in the wreckage of the reactors I'd worry

about it. Is there some weird internet rumor going around about products made in Japan?

<p>I really don't know.<br>

Me and a couple of other people thought about it, but haven't posted anything before.</p>

<p>If you're talking about Japanese cameras and lenses off a Japanese assembly line, boxed and exported, then my answer would be that there would be NO RADIOACTIVE CONTAMINATION DANGER AT ALL. As someone else said, it's not a virus.</p>

<p>Not anew camera. It is a Pen FT. I didn't know who owned it. Hence the question.<br>

Also have a pen F with a microscope adapter and a circular vf. Only fault is a crack in the mirror, in good working condition. I am not going to buy a microscope so I won't need it.</p>

<p>Are you concerned because it was in Fukushima? Or just because it was in Japan? I don't think it's worth worrying about either way.</p>

<p>Bought a Nikon DSLR recently and knowing it was made in the Sendai plant which is near the accident but I wouldn't buy the one that is made in Thailand. I rather take the radiation.</p>

<p>Good news is my camera couldn't have been exposed enough for it to get contaminated.<br>

Nuclear power is an issue. People should be cautious, other wise governments wouldn't be spending as much money for protective measures. We should be able to understand that it is not only important to get energy, but also preserve the earth for our children and our children's children. So we shouldn't allow for new nuclear plants. There are other sources that are safe and unexploited. Radiation is a serious thing, not to make jokes with about camera tastes, you like Nikon I like Canon type of arguments. </p>