I already had this lamp laying around for a couple of years now, and my grandpa recently passed his old Pentax camera with the same exact lens, and noticed it was yellow. I went on TH-cam and tried to find a solution. As I was scrolling, I came to your vid. It really helped me out. Thanks for the info.
Woah, awesome info. On the one hand, I enjoy the imperfections of various lenses (due to cheap design, age, or damage) but it's also awesome that there is such an easy way to bring some of these lenses back to their former glory.
WOW! Thank you for your interest of removing Yellow from vintage lenses. I have a Minolta 58mm f/1.2 which over time yellowed. The lens is 56 years old.
THANK YOU! I've now de-yellowed two radioactive Takumar lenses with my Ikea lamp. I de-yellowed one at a time to provide a before/after basis of comparison. I ended up de-yellowing the second lens even more than the first, so I'll probably go back and "touch up" the earlier one until it's as clear as the second one.
@@Noealz I've had the lens under the lamp for over 4 days. It's still yellow, but not as bad as on Day 1. I think my lens is just an extreme case. I'll leave it for longer, and see if it improves...or it may plateau out. Thanks again!
I used my floor lamp with a bright white led bulb and it worked great on my vintage Takumar 50mm F1.4. It definitely had a strong yellow tint and after two days it is almost clear. I plan to gibe it another day or two just to be sure. Thanks for the suggestion. You do not need the specific table lamp lamp. Any lamp with a bright white led will work.
I am particularly interested in how you reported an increased stop of light. Lots of other sources mention the yellowing being gone, but very few mention that it could actually improve its performance. I have been using my Takumar 50mm f1.4 for a while but now I wonder if I have really maximized its potential, if I wasn't actually at f1.4 all this time. Gonna try and find an LED light!
I have several of my old Nikkor lenses from the 60s and 70s under a UV bulb at this moment. Did a shoot and one of the lenses had way more cast in the pictures than the others . I like the cast but when it gets really yellow in darker environments it does take it down a stop or so .
Right, it's especially a problem since I shoot primarily at night - anyways, I hope you get a newish lens :) UV bulbs are pricey in Korea but the IKEA lamp works quite nicely
The decaying thorium oxide shoots electrons into the crystal lattice structure of the lens, these electrons get stuck and absorb light causing the yellowed look, the only way to shoot the electrons out of the lattice is to use light of a higher energy wavelength such as UV light : )
I have a question about the Super Takumar 50mm f1.4 after it has been de-yellowed. I used the aluminum foil approach with a 25 watt CFL UV light used in exposing silk screen emulsions. It worked great with very little heat. I think maybe 85F max. Now that this is done, I am looking at the lens and the yellow is gone, but there seems to be a lens coating on the front lens. It seems to me at least. This lens coating has a gold tint to it and I pick it up in light bouncing off of the lens. Do you have a Super Takumar 50mm f1.4 lens and does it have a similar lens coating? Again, the glass is clear now.
all radioactive lenses have a slight yellow gleam - but it is different from the accumulation of the yellow that builds up on the other lens, this is normal
I have a question . so meaning to say after doing that UV light thing on the radioactive lens it will be remove and be gone am I right ? thanks for the answer .
Any reason you're pointing it at the rear of the lens? I was planning on putting some tin foil in the rear lens cap and place it on its back while pointing the LED lamp close to the front lens.
first, do you have a radioactive lens? This is only for deyellowing radioactive lenses. The rear element is usually the one with thorium, so it is best closest to it.
@@Noealz Hi... One question: Must the lamp be of the daylight type? Is it necessary to put it close to the lens ¿Can grease of the lens degradate with that hot temperature?. Thank you for answering
@@Noealz I tried for for longer, make no different. I'm trying different method and it made a different, just a slight warm cast now but will explore other more efficient way.
I left my takumar in my camera for 6 months and I belive that its very yellow and I tryed Every lens i have and its yellow. Can The camera mirror/sensor get yellow to?
Thorium has a very long half-life, meaning it's only slightly radioactive. Thorium is in dirt everywhere, so it's difficult to avoid in any environment. Don't worry about it.
Most powerful enough white LEDs would do the job; there are some cheap 10W LED projectors with removable front glass pretty suitable for this. They spit out enough blue for this. But ... do you really want to do this? Ask yourself before cleaning the lens. I do have one yellow Takumar, so I tested it against known good clean glass. Testing is simple: use a digital camera in controlled (indoor) lighting conditions; set fixed ISO, spot measuring, set a few lens at the same F-stop (let's say, f2.0) and measure the exposure (time); let's say you get 1/100, 1/110 and 1/120 for each lens. Some variance will occur, because the lenses are marked in F-stops and not T-stops, but in practice you will get something like +/- 10%. The focal of the lens does not matter. Is your lens way off? then by all means, clean it. Is it close enough to "good lenses"? think twice. The ageing process took decades, cleaning will take days and it will be irreversible (in your life span). Maybe you do want to have a lens with that extra touch ... just saying. Note: my yellow Takumar and the clean Pentax-M lenses measure the same ... exactly the same. I'm not saying that others do not loose light because "mine is ok", but it worth double checking.
So I'm getting contradicting "facts" about thorium lenses. So are they harmful? If yes, is there anyway we can prevent or lessen the effects? Or is there really nothing to worry about? Asking because my camera closet is in our bedroom where our baby sleeps. I appreciate it If anyone cares to answer.
Nothing really to worry about, thorium eyepieces however are something that you should worry about. Just don't go around crushing your glass into dust and eating it and you will be okay : )
@@Noealz lol. Sorry for hounding you with questions, so touching them does nothing? Or if you touched them and somehow your hand comes in contact with your eyes or mouth? I sound crazy don't I?
@@Noealz Cool thank you so much! I'm excited to get into film photography! I'm thinking of getting making a new channel just for it. Thanks for the info!
If you try to use direct sunlight, never leave the lens where it can get hot. This will cause balsam separation when the balsam glue used to stick the elements together lets go. Many old Takumars have elements which are glued together with balsam glue so beware.
✅ Websites
Wallpapers: www.noealz.com
Prints: www.society6.com/noealz
Donations: paypal.me/noealz
I already had this lamp laying around for a couple of years now, and my grandpa recently passed his old Pentax camera with the same exact lens, and noticed it was yellow. I went on TH-cam and tried to find a solution. As I was scrolling, I came to your vid. It really helped me out. Thanks for the info.
sure thing! anytime. best part is that it doesnt get hot
Haha! Same situation with the lamp :)
Woah, awesome info. On the one hand, I enjoy the imperfections of various lenses (due to cheap design, age, or damage) but it's also awesome that there is such an easy way to bring some of these lenses back to their former glory.
I kinda enjoy the yellow actually, it's like a mini ND filter in a way HAHA
WOW! Thank you for your interest of removing Yellow from vintage lenses. I have a Minolta 58mm f/1.2 which over time yellowed. The lens is 56 years old.
Oh I wanted that one for a while!
THANK YOU! I've now de-yellowed two radioactive Takumar lenses with my Ikea lamp. I de-yellowed one at a time to provide a before/after basis of comparison. I ended up de-yellowing the second lens even more than the first, so I'll probably go back and "touch up" the earlier one until it's as clear as the second one.
Awesome! : )
Living in Australia, I am reluctant to leave a lens in the sun for so long...The lamp is an amazing tip. Thank you!!!!
Glad it was helpful! plus it doesnt get hot :)
@@Noealz I've had the lens under the lamp for over 4 days. It's still yellow, but not as bad as on Day 1. I think my lens is just an extreme case. I'll leave it for longer, and see if it improves...or it may plateau out. Thanks again!
Great tip about the foil - you could really see a difference in the side by side comparison at the end.
Indeed, if I had a little mirror I would use it but I dont :(
Exactly the information I was looking for - thank you!
Glad it was helpful!
I used my floor lamp with a bright white led bulb and it worked great on my vintage Takumar 50mm F1.4. It definitely had a strong yellow tint and after two days it is almost clear. I plan to gibe it another day or two just to be sure. Thanks for the suggestion. You do not need the specific table lamp lamp. Any lamp with a bright white led will work.
oh glad you could use the concept though! I wonder why it works though cuz in theory it should not lol
Thank you! I just bought a carl zeiss jena pancolar 50mm f1.8 thorium lens version and there is effective way to remove the yellowish tint!
always happy to help : )
I will try it this weekend. Thanks man.
best of luck!
I am particularly interested in how you reported an increased stop of light. Lots of other sources mention the yellowing being gone, but very few mention that it could actually improve its performance. I have been using my Takumar 50mm f1.4 for a while but now I wonder if I have really maximized its potential, if I wasn't actually at f1.4 all this time. Gonna try and find an LED light!
It's been a long time, but I noticed when I was out shooting in under similar conditions that I would be able to achieve much higher shutter speeds
It does common knowledge.
Very informative, straightforward. Love the comparison.
I am glad it could help : )
I have several of my old Nikkor lenses from the 60s and 70s under a UV bulb at this moment. Did a shoot and one of the lenses had way more cast in the pictures than the others . I like the cast but when it gets really yellow in darker environments it does take it down a stop or so .
Right, it's especially a problem since I shoot primarily at night - anyways, I hope you get a newish lens :) UV bulbs are pricey in Korea but the IKEA lamp works quite nicely
I had this lamp and got my 50 1.4 Super Takumar today. Just started the treatment will let you know how it fares.
best of luck!
Thanks so much for the tip, I'm off to Ikea to get the Jansjo light
Have fun!
Very nice, concise help video
Glad it helped : )
Really appreciate the research and concise info. Very helpful video!
I will be making more technical videos like this : )
Woah! I already had this lamp! Thank you!
Perfect :)
Thank you for posting this video. I learned from it.
Glad it was helpful!
Informative thanks!
Glad it was helpful!
@@Noealz sadly in my case that didn't work, same lamp from ikea, takumar 55/2 old version. Perhaps they changed diod or it isn't thorium glass idk
Great tip! Thanks !!!
Sure thing : )
What is the reaction that causes the lens to yellow? How does UV fix it? (fascinating btw!)
The decaying thorium oxide shoots electrons into the crystal lattice structure of the lens, these electrons get stuck and absorb light causing the yellowed look, the only way to shoot the electrons out of the lattice is to use light of a higher energy wavelength such as UV light : )
Noealz Photo that is fascinating thank you!
I have a question about the Super Takumar 50mm f1.4 after it has been de-yellowed. I used the aluminum foil approach with a 25 watt CFL UV light used in exposing silk screen emulsions. It worked great with very little heat. I think maybe 85F max. Now that this is done, I am looking at the lens and the yellow is gone, but there seems to be a lens coating on the front lens. It seems to me at least. This lens coating has a gold tint to it and I pick it up in light bouncing off of the lens. Do you have a Super Takumar 50mm f1.4 lens and does it have a similar lens coating? Again, the glass is clear now.
all radioactive lenses have a slight yellow gleam - but it is different from the accumulation of the yellow that builds up on the other lens, this is normal
I was wonder about that.
Great info！！ being finding solution for my Minolta MC 58 1.2 for a while, thanks a lot !
Glad it helped!
Thanks for the great tip! Well done.
Anytime : )
It works very well. All lenses are clear.
@@LeendertCordemans I am happy to help out!
I have a question . so meaning to say after doing that UV light thing on the radioactive lens it will be remove and be gone am I right ? thanks for the answer .
the yellow color will be gone after a few days yes : )
Thank you for the Video. I do the same in this week.
I hope it will help you very much!
Any reason you're pointing it at the rear of the lens? I was planning on putting some tin foil in the rear lens cap and place it on its back while pointing the LED lamp close to the front lens.
first, do you have a radioactive lens? This is only for deyellowing radioactive lenses. The rear element is usually the one with thorium, so it is best closest to it.
@@Noealz Yes, I have a few and they are very yellow. I didn't know it was just the rear lens. Thanks, I'll be pointing it the way you showed.
@@Noealz Hi... One question: Must the lamp be of the daylight type? Is it necessary to put it close to the lens ¿Can grease of the lens degradate with that hot temperature?. Thank you for answering
excellent!
thank you very much : )
Hi, I have a question about the yellow on the lens. Does it have any effect to the photo?
it takes a stop or two of light away
buen!
muy bien ; )
Did not work on my FD 55mm 1.2 ASPH. 8 weeks of constant light from the Jannsjö and no dice.
Ah sorry it didn't work so well for you : /
Very informative. Thanks for sharing
Glad it was helpful!
The Jansjo lamp works but does not completely clear the yellow tint.
Can leave it just a little longer :)
@@Noealz I tried for for longer, make no different. I'm trying different method and it made a different, just a slight warm cast now but will explore other more efficient way.
I left my takumar in my camera for 6 months and I belive that its very yellow and I tryed Every lens i have and its yellow. Can The camera mirror/sensor get yellow to?
I think it might just be your white balance settings perhaps, mine was pretty much always on my camera for years without a problem!
Will this lens damage on my mirrorless camera sensor? i mean for long time of usage
nope no need to worry about that - at least I've been using my Super Takumar since forever on mine and nothing has happened yet
Thorium has a very long half-life, meaning it's only slightly radioactive. Thorium is in dirt everywhere, so it's difficult to avoid in any environment. Don't worry about it.
Anyone have a good light recommendation? The light he used in the video is discontinued.
you can still find them on ebay : )
Most powerful enough white LEDs would do the job; there are some cheap 10W LED projectors with removable front glass pretty suitable for this. They spit out enough blue for this.
But ... do you really want to do this? Ask yourself before cleaning the lens.
I do have one yellow Takumar, so I tested it against known good clean glass. Testing is simple: use a digital camera in controlled (indoor) lighting conditions; set fixed ISO, spot measuring, set a few lens at the same F-stop (let's say, f2.0) and measure the exposure (time); let's say you get 1/100, 1/110 and 1/120 for each lens. Some variance will occur, because the lenses are marked in F-stops and not T-stops, but in practice you will get something like +/- 10%. The focal of the lens does not matter.
Is your lens way off? then by all means, clean it.
Is it close enough to "good lenses"? think twice.
The ageing process took decades, cleaning will take days and it will be irreversible (in your life span).
Maybe you do want to have a lens with that extra touch ... just saying.
Note: my yellow Takumar and the clean Pentax-M lenses measure the same ... exactly the same.
I'm not saying that others do not loose light because "mine is ok", but it worth double checking.
Some yellowed lenses can lose up to 2 stops of light - depends on the lens of course. For someone who shoots at night, that is pretty significant
👍
: )
My understanding is that it can remove yellow tint, but radioactive is still there. Correct?
That is correct, but radioactive lenses arent really that dangerous. A banana has more radiation than the lens. Just don't use it 24-7 365 : )
So I'm getting contradicting "facts" about thorium lenses. So are they harmful? If yes, is there anyway we can prevent or lessen the effects? Or is there really nothing to worry about? Asking because my camera closet is in our bedroom where our baby sleeps. I appreciate it If anyone cares to answer.
Nothing really to worry about, thorium eyepieces however are something that you should worry about. Just don't go around crushing your glass into dust and eating it and you will be okay : )
@@Noealz lol. Sorry for hounding you with questions, so touching them does nothing? Or if you touched them and somehow your hand comes in contact with your eyes or mouth? I sound crazy don't I?
@@thetonycam3944 dont worry about it - just dont put the lens in your mouth. really, it's nothing to freak out about.
@@Noealz Cool thank you so much! I'm excited to get into film photography! I'm thinking of getting making a new channel just for it. Thanks for the info!
@@thetonycam3944 You'll enjoy it, though you can also use these lenses with mirrorless - it's fun
If you try to use direct sunlight, never leave the lens where it can get hot. This will cause balsam separation when the balsam glue used to stick the elements together lets go. Many old Takumars have elements which are glued together with balsam glue so beware.
oh yes this is why i stopped using sunlight for mine
I’m worried about the dust though
then you can cover it somehow : )