[TDvN57]

Just read this article about a French study that determined that the blue light from LED's cause vision damage. They also refer to computer screens, etc.

What does this mean for the EVFs of future cameras?

Use an EVF camera and lose sight in your camera eye?????

Comments??

See the article here:

LED Lights in Your Home Can Permanently Damage Your Eyes, Study Finds | Bored Panda

[Bob 256]

A lot depends on the intensity and duration of exposure. Looking at a single (or multiple) modern (superbright) LEDs up close can cause vision damage and that damage risk isn't limited to just blue LEDs. Blue is the worst because those wavelengths do the most cell damage (pack more energy). LED "blue" is not quite as bad as UV but it's close to that range and quite a few white LEDs use a blue source to "pump" a phosphor to get the rest of the spectrum so they can also pose a risk. If an area is illuminated by blue LEDs (lighting effects), long term exposure could pose a risk. One thing which adds to the issue is that our eyes are much less sensitive to blue so it takes more blue light to light an area so people can see which results in higher intensities as far as area lighting is concerned. However blue area lighting is the exception and is not that common.

It's not so bad when the light is distributed as it is in an EVF (used as a backlight), or as it is in a common LED light bulb (diffused). The point intensity really falls off so it's not like looking at a concentrated source (like a single LED). You routinely look at blue light reflected from everyday objects (in the sun) which is just as intense or considerably more so. Of course if you spend a lot of time outdoors, you wear sunglasses (we hope) which absorb a good deal of that, particularly the UV. The same is true for EVFs. If you spend days looking at one, maybe you might be at risk, but for the casual use which is short term, the risk is low. Most flat screen TVs are one-third blue so we could be in a real fix if the risk was high.

It's just wise not to look at any concentrated LED source, particularly single LEDs (e.g., LED flashlights and the sort). The closer, the more risk but LED lighting (and its use in displays) is another story so don't start wearing your sunglasses in the house or when using your EVF

[gifthorse]

I'll just do it (take pictures) until I need glasses!

[Rondec]

There's something to be said for taking photos with an OVF, as long as you aren't taking photos of things like welding, or a solar eclipse with protection.

[monochrome]

Wasn’t there a Blue Blocker sunglasses craze 15 or 20 years ago?

[ChristianRock]

Long live the OVF.

I think Ricoh is right, it will make a comeback (actually... it never really left, as far as I know DLSR sales still outpace MILC sales.)

[Apet-Sure]

Years ago I read an article explaining that the fluorescent lighting used in offices gave off significant amounts of UV, which can cause cataracts and other eye problems. There were special clear sleeves you could slip over the fluorescent tubes that were designed to absorb much if not all of the UV. We had inspectors that worked at tables where their eyes were about 16-18 inches from the lighting fixtures, and I had a fixture under my overhead cabinet at my desk that was about 12 inches from where I often sat. After I read the article, I quit using that fixture and brought in a lamp from home that had an incandescent bulb in it.

As Bob 256 said, we're exposed to UV and blue wavelengths every day. I have replaced most of the lightbulbs in my home with LED bulbs. I think the inverse square law applies; if you move twice as far away from the light source you get one fourth as much radiation exposure (others can correct me if I'm wrong). Use common sense regarding intensity and duration of exposure, and you'll probably be as safe as you can be in today's environment. If your family has a history of cataracts, you might consider wearing UV/blue absorbing glasses inside and out just to be extra cautious.


And if you forget to put a UV filter on your film camera lens when you're at 8000 feet elevation at Mount St. Helens, your vacation pictures turn out fogged...aaahhhrrrggg!!!

[zapp]

Just read this article about a French study that determined that the blue light from LED's cause vision damage. They also refer to computer screens, etc.

What does this mean for the EVFs of future cameras?

Use an EVF camera and lose sight in your camera eye?????

Comments??

See the article here:

LED Lights in Your Home Can Permanently Damage Your Eyes, Study Finds | Bored Panda

There are international standards that have to be met by all companies that sell products. Otherwise you need warning stickers on equipment. We all have seen laser class warnings, led warnings are less common, but with strong leds you see them more often.
Blue led light is not new to product developers, but maybe to some journalists. Your camera carries many certificates like UL, CE, telecommunication, ...

Mirrors rock!

[photoptimist]

This can be summarized as life causes irreversible damage -- hence we are mortals.

A quickie spot metering shows that my current LED-lit monitor has about 1/32th the blue light brightness of the blue sky outside my window. My iPad (at full brightness) is about 1/16th the blue light of blue sky. I seriously doubt even the best EVFs are as bright as daylight.

As Bob 256 said, as long as one does not stare at the sun or any other concentrated light emitter, the damage will be negligible.

[SSGGeezer]

Years ago I read an article explaining that the fluorescent lighting used in offices gave off significant amounts of UV, which can cause cataracts and other eye problems. There were special clear sleeves you could slip over the fluorescent tubes that were designed to absorb much if not all of the UV. We had inspectors that worked at tables where their eyes were about 16-18 inches from the lighting fixtures, and I had a fixture under my overhead cabinet at my desk that was about 12 inches from where I often sat. After I read the article, I quit using that fixture and brought in a lamp from home that had an incandescent bulb in it.

This also applies to areas in a liquor store where there are wines in racks that are exposed to the UV from fluorescent lights, they will oxidize badly if not old quickly. Not that I am a drinker or anything like that.

[beachgardener]

Long live the OVF.

Here, here, I'll second that.

Long Live the OVF.

[RobA_Oz]

I can’t help wondering if this is going to be the latest in a long line of things that people can start a movement against. LED lights emit no UV, which makes them valuable for archives and museum collections, but the basic LED strongly emits a blue frequency. Most are coated to absorb the blue and re-emit a range of other frequencies, although some blue remains.

Blue light is back-scattered in the atmosphere, making the sky appear blue – the same phenomenon occurs in blue eyes. So, maybe Noel Coward was right for another reason: only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the noonday sun, because it’ll damage your eyes. But, who’d have thought gazing into those baby blues could be making you blind?

[stevebrot]

There has been a fair amount of news and rumor in the last few years regarding environmental lighting that is "blue rich" as well as blue light from computer and device screens, some of it based on good science and some based on the the desire to sell "safe" and "healthful" lighting products, eye wear, supplements, and diets. The science is that wavelengths at the blue end of the spectrum may present some of the risks to vision normally associated with UV light. It might also be worth noting that there is also good science associating blue light with mood and mental processes. Any actual risk to vision associated with camera displays, household lighting, blue-biased stage lighting, or mixed-spectra LED grids is not yet established, though research is ongoing.

As for the linked BoredPanda article in the original post...there is no reference to the original 400 page study. No reference, no study.

Click bait.

Click bait.

Click bait.

Click bait.

Depletes Melatonin!! Makes cancer worse!!


Steve

[MarkJerling]

Just read this article about a French study that determined that the blue light from LED's cause vision damage. They also refer to computer screens, etc.

What does this mean for the EVFs of future cameras?

Use an EVF camera and lose sight in your camera eye?????

Comments??

See the article here:

LED Lights in Your Home Can Permanently Damage Your Eyes, Study Finds | Bored Panda

To answer your questions:

1. It means nothing for EVFs of current or future cameras.
2. You are no more likely to use your eyesight if you use a camera with an EVF than if you use any other camera.

What it means is that EVFs are no more likely to destroy your eyesight than street lights, car dash displays, televisions, light bulbs or regular sunlight. Unless you stare directly at the sun of course. That's not a good idea at all.

If you want to learn more, and not just the scaremongering stuff, here's some reading material:
https://www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/publications/pdfs/ssl/opticalsafety_fact-sheet.pdf
Blue lights from LED screens do not hurt your eyes ? Quartz
7 Blue Light Facts: How Blue Light Is Both Bad and Good For You
Blue Light and Your Eyes | Prevent Blindness

[mikesbike]

My seemingly unique experience is in using the computer screen for any length of time for reading, not necessarily from looking at scenes, causes my eyes to hurt or become uncomfortable. So, if I will be on line for any lengthy period of time for the purpose of reading or writing, I wear sun glasses when using my mac book pro- which incidentally has named the clarity produced in their screen technology- their "Retina" display. I guess it really latches onto your "retina"!

My large-screen hi-def TV is a 55" Samsung vintage LCD, not LED, which was their top model at the time now about 10 years old. (1080 not 4K) I still like it very much, even after viewing more recent models owned by friends. I have not noticed any negative effects from viewing TV (again, "scenes").

Perhaps the colorization in photos or scenes reduces the blue aspect and intensity.