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[UV Surprise] Odd polycarbonate goggles


Stefano

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If I had to make up a tag for this topic, I would call it "UV surprise"...

 

This is a great example of how our cameras can, very literally, see the invisible.

 

I have several pairs of polycarbonate goggles. They are all the same, if we don't consider brands etc. They all block UV, as expected. But one of them is special:

 

Months ago, with my old camera, I noticed something odd. I was taking some UV photos of one pair in particular, and saw something that didn't make any sense:

 

post-284-0-80852700-1615905744.jpg

 

The right temple is... transparent? I thought it could be a reflection, but still I couldn't wrap my mind around it.

 

Then, when I was taking the first photos with my new (current) camera, of a random pair of goggles (the same as the previous one by coincidence), I did notice, quite clearly, that the right temple actually is transparent! And the left one is opaque! They are clearly made of two different plastics. How is this possible?

 

The first photos taken with the new camera aren't that good, I was still learning how to use the camera, the lens etc., so today I took some good ones to show this better:

 

Both images taken at f/22, ISO 100, and 45.3 seconds in BULB mode.

 

post-284-0-48330400-1615906800.jpg

 

post-284-0-14299900-1615906805.jpg

 

I took also some photos under UV LEDs, both 365 and 340 nm, and the results are the same. The temples to me look exactly the same with the naked eye, there is one which, maybe, looks a tiny tiny bit bluer, but can be just my imagination.

 

Under UV torches I also noticed the transparent temple fluoresces some, the other one much less.

 

You never know until you see the invisible!

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That is so weird !!

 

I suppose that when the goggles were being constructed some box of non-UV-protective temple pieces was accidentally substituted.

 

Send the manufacturer this photo and maybe they will send you a new pair??

 

The conclusion seems to be that we should all test our goggles by photographing them, yes?

:cool: :cool: :cool:

and

:lol:

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I have good ones, so no replacement needed. Still, this was a nice discovery for me. Like when I discovered our car has been repainted, it is full of spots everywhere and very uneven in UV.

 

I think I will keep those goggles as a curiosity specimen, they are special.

 

Anyway, I am seriously thinking about a tag to tag topics that show how our cameras revealed something invisible. Nectar guides and sunscreen are trivial examples, but this one was not expected.

 

It seemed a stupid idea at first, but now it doesn't seem that stupid to me. But I don't know how to call it. Does someone else think it is a good idea to add such a tag?

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I’m not sure we have enough examples to warrant creation of a new tag.

But for now you could use a title prefix.

 

[uV Surprise] Odd Polycarbonate Goggles

or

[uV Reveal] Hidden Car Repairs

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