[Ask]

Hello,I'm Interested in new Pentax products, mainly K-01.I would like to ask You (maybe kind of radiophobic question).

• Is it possible that new Pentax(or other Japanese producers like Nikon, Canon) cameras are radioactive after Fukushima accident?

• Does Pentax (and others) control their cameras and lenses for radiation?

Thank you for expert answers.


Kind regards.
Radiophobic photographer.

[Timd]

I think this radioactive issue is over hyped. You do realise that flying exposes you to cosmic rays; here in SA we have one nuclear reactor which has safety limits lower than the normal radiation from the granite rock of the local nudist beach.

Back to the question: The radiation is likely to affect people rather than make the camera radioactive. Even exposed to "high" levels of radioactivity (ie as part of the accident and not irradiated inside the reactor), the camera is unlikely to become radioactive. Similarly putting your chicken in the microwave does not make the food radiate microwaves when your take it out of the oven. Put another way: the level of radiation required to change the physical components of the camera to become radioactive is so high that no workers will be allowed anywhere near the factory. Or to get the camera sufficiently radioactive it will need to be stored very close to the reactor.

An analogy is the medical isotopes produced have extremely short half lives. These have been irradiated with very high levels of radioactivity to induce them to become radioactive.

Most likely the production of the cameras will be slowed down rather than the cameras will be radioactive.

Perhaps you will see clearly if your camera was radioactive - all the shots will be cloudy! To ensure it is not radioactive, take a long exposure with the lens cap on. If the photo is white, the camera is radioactive!! (sorry, I jest here)

Personally my belief is that the chances of the camera being radioactive is virtually zero. You have a higher risk of dying in a car or of Aids than of radioactive cameras...

[panoguy]

Excellent response, Timd.

Just forestall the inevitable tinfoil-hat brigade responses, this is a great time to mention old "radioactive" camera equipment, and a thread on just how (relatively) harmless they are.

[causey]

Besides, Pentax's factories are in Vietnam.

[Mareket]

You can't be a radiophobic photographer. Light is radiation.

[Alizarine]

Is it possible that new Pentax(or other Japanese producers like Nikon, Canon) cameras are radioactive after Fukushima accident?

Pentax bodies are made in the Philippines. As for radiation from specific components which might come from Japan, I am not sure, though it's unlikely.

Besides, Pentax's factories are in Vietnam.

The lenses, yes

and +1 to Timd's response, very nice.

[hcarvalhoalves]

Besides, Pentax's factories are in Vietnam.

I believe this settles the issue

[luftfluss]

You Tube

You Tube

[civiletti]

I'd be more concerned with food from Japan than with cameras. Of course, Fukushima radiation has spread all over the northern hemisphere, so foods that concentrate radioisotopes [milk, mushrooms, etc.] will not be as safe as before the meltdowns. By the way, the problem is far from over. Fukushima's spent fuel stores are extremely radioactive and open to the air. Many nuclear experts rank Fukushima over Chernobyl as the world's worst nuclear accident. See Fairewinds Energy Education |

[civiletti]

More on why cameras are not the biggest radiation hazard: The Radiation Warnings You Won't Get from the Mainstream Propaganda Machine

[Tom in Delaware]

Japanese producers and countries such as the US have been requiring monitoring of Japanese products at point of origin and the ports of arrival.
Japanese Exporters Screen Shipments for Radiation - WSJ.com

You're going to get more dosage from that 50mm f1.4 Takumar with the thorium element in it...

[Ask]

Many thanks, to those (not dose) who replied usefully.
Do manufacturers and importers control their products?
Thanks.

[Anvh]

Doubt it because the amount isn't really high enough.
You get more radiation in you by eating a banana, potatoes or eating nuts. For fun look up the Brazil nut.