357 battery

[JeremyLangford]

My Minolta SRT-101 camera has been converted to use 1.5v batteries instead of the original 1.35v mercury battery. Right I use a 1.5v Alkaline PX625A battery. I have learned that Alkaline batteries do not have a steady current and so I need a 1.5v silver oxide battery instead.

What I dont know about is the sizes of batterys. I guess my current battery is a size 625? I went to Wal-Mart and saw this 1.5v silver oxide battery but I dont know if it will work because it doesnt say 625 and only says 357. Is 357 just a different battery size than 625? Will this battery be too big or little?

http://www.walgreens.com/store/product.jsp?id=prod15573&CATID=100398&skuid=sku315573&V=G&ec=frgl_wic&ci_src=17588969&ci_sku=sku315573

 

[colyn]

The 357 will fit with a rubber "O" ring. If I recall the number is #111 with 5/8 inch outside diameter and 7/16 inch inside diameter.. It can be found at any auto parts store..

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

As colyn said, the 357 is not as big around as the 625 is, but its voltage is stable due to it being a Silver Oxide. I use a lot of 357's because that's what all the Olympus OM series cameras use (except the OM-1, which uses the same 625 your Minolta uses). The 357 is easy to find and cheap. Walmart sells a 3 pack of them by Energizer for about $5.

 

[Trius]

There are some online shops that sell 357 batteries at a very good price, especially in quantity. (I have several OM bodies, and my daughter has one, plus other cameras that use them, so I need a steady supply.) You also see them labeled 357/303, and the Sony equivalent is SR44W. If I can locate the internet store where I bought my last batch, I'll post it.

The O-ring I use is a #9, which I purchased at Home Despot or Lowe's.

 

[rbiemer]

Jeremy,
You could get the PX625A battery from Radio Shack, either on line or, if there is one near you, in person. They are about $5 a piece.
Rob

 

[JeremyLangford]

I though these batteries gave voltage from the bottom and from the sides, so why doesn't the o-ring stop the current from the sides of the battery?

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

I though these batteries gave voltage from the bottom and from the sides, so why doesn't the o-ring stop the current from the sides of the battery?

The top and sides are positive, the bottom is negative. As long at the top touches the cap on the battery compartment you'll be ok.

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

Jeremy,
You could get the PX625A battery from Radio Shack, either on line or, if there is one near you, in person. They are about $5 a piece.
Rob

As has been noted in the previous posts, the 625A is an Alkaline battery, its voltage discharge decreases in strength over time and is thus not able to give accurate readings with a CdS cell meter like Jeremy's SRT-101 has. He needs Silver Oxide batteries.

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

There are some online shops that sell 357 batteries at a very good price, especially in quantity. (I have several OM bodies, and my daughter has one, plus other cameras that use them, so I need a steady supply.) You also see them labeled 357/303, and the Sony equivalent is SR44W. If I can locate the internet store where I bought my last batch, I'll post it.

The O-ring I use is a #9, which I purchased at Home Despot or Lowe's.

The batteries in the 3-pack from Walmart that I mentioned are 357/303 batteries and they don't last quite as long as regular 357 batteries did. There was a discussion of this on the OM email list recently. The regular 357 batteries are now hard to find, as are Sony's SR44. A bunch of us went together and bought a huge quantity of Sony batteries from an online vendor and we split the cost of them so we could each get 10 batteries for $17 including the cost of shipping them to the guy that actually placed the order and the cost of hin sending them on to us. I know the 357/303 doesn't last quite as long in my OM-4T bodies as the older batteries did; the Sony SR44 is supposed to be as good as the old 357. I'm gonna see soon when I start using the new ones I got through the OM list.

 

[JeremyLangford]

The batteries in the 3-pack from Walmart that I mentioned are 357/303 batteries and they don't last quite as long as regular 357 batteries did. There was a discussion of this on the OM email list recently. The regular 357 batteries are now hard to find, as are Sony's SR44. A bunch of us went together and bought a huge quantity of Sony batteries from an online vendor and we split the cost of them so we could each get 10 batteries for $17 including the cost of shipping them to the guy that actually placed the order and the cost of hin sending them on to us. I know the 357/303 doesn't last quite as long in my OM-4T bodies as the older batteries did; the Sony SR44 is supposed to be as good as the old 357. I'm gonna see soon when I start using the new ones I got through the OM list.

dang that stinks. I guess im just gonna get the 356/303 and see how long it lasts for me.

 

[JeremyLangford]

The batteries in the 3-pack from Walmart that I mentioned are 357/303 batteries and they don't last quite as long as regular 357 batteries did. There was a discussion of this on the OM email list recently. The regular 357 batteries are now hard to find, as are Sony's SR44. A bunch of us went together and bought a huge quantity of Sony batteries from an online vendor and we split the cost of them so we could each get 10 batteries for $17 including the cost of shipping them to the guy that actually placed the order and the cost of hin sending them on to us. I know the 357/303 doesn't last quite as long in my OM-4T bodies as the older batteries did; the Sony SR44 is supposed to be as good as the old 357. I'm gonna see soon when I start using the new ones I got through the OM list.

dang that stinks. I guess im just gonna get the 357/303 and see how long it lasts for me.

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

dang that stinks. I guess im just gonna get the 357/303 and see how long it lasts for me.

They last about 6 months in my Olympus cameras. I shoot a lot of film, a couple rolls a week, and the cameras (OM-4T) have electronic shutters and a sophisticated spot metering system with LCD readouts in the finder. Your SRT uses a simple CdS meter and is totally mechanical except the meter. It may last longer...but maybe not....I don't know how much current those old meters took. The older batteries lasted a year or so. Even if you only get 6 months, the camera you have only takes one battery so the 3-pack of 357/303's should last you over a year for $5. Not bad at all 😀

 

[plummerl]

Jeremy and Chris: I have had very good experience getting Sony SR44W's from this seller on EBAY: http://tinyurl.com/2gsonx

These are genuine Sony's, I have been paying $14.95 for 10, with free shipping. These are done with a BIN.

 

[john neal]

I get my 357 batteries from Maplin, (but they are US marked Rayovac) - unfortunately, they are around $2 each, but that is UK pricing for you, I guess. US prices should be lower.

 

[btgc]

Looking for silver-oxyde batteries, I've learned that some are low drain (mostly used in watches) and some - high drain, this are sold as "for cameras" and are more expensive than low drain. For XA2 I've got Varta V357, which are low drains and I got to know it after purchase. Next pair I'll try from some other shop which have "high drain" string in part number.

Again, some cameras in manual require "two 357 or lithium cr1/3n", some don't mention lithium - I're surprised to learn that those lithium cells have bad voltage drop curve, seems that more current cameras are designed to cope with this issue.

 

[ChrisPlatt]

My Spotmatic F was originally designed to use the 1.3V 625 mercury battery.
I now use a 1.5V silver oxide 625 cell. They work well and last a long time.
They aren't easy to find. I bought mine from a seller I found on eBay.
I assume the larger cell has a higher capacity than a small cell with O-ring.

Chris

 

[JNewell]

Do not use the 625 alkaline cells. The discharge curve is just that - a curve. You can order silver oxide 625 cells from a variety of online vendors - the discharge curve is much flatter, like the original mercury cells.

 

[Kim Coxon]

Chris,
The Spotmatic F has a balanced bridge meter. As such it is not dependant on battery voltage - so the alkalines work just as well. 😉

Kim

My Spotmatic F was originally designed to use the 1.3V 625 mercury battery.
I now use a 1.5V silver oxide 625 cell. They work well and last a long time.
They aren't easy to find. I bought mine from a seller I found on eBay.
I assume the larger cell has a higher capacity than a small cell with O-ring.

Chris

 

[wolves3012]

Chris,
The Spotmatic F has a balanced bridge meter. As such it is not dependant on battery voltage - so the alkalines work just as well. 😉

Kim

I recall taking a Spotmatic apart some time ago, to adjust the metering. Quite correct that it uses a bridge so it's not dependent on voltage. I don't know if an SRT would have the bridge but I'd be disappointed with Minolta if it didn't. The Spotmatic went about 5 years on one battery (625) and I changed it only because I thought I should, not because it was flat! That 5 years included accidentally leaving it on for two weeks once too.

 

[wolves3012]

Looking for silver-oxyde batteries, I've learned that some are low drain (mostly used in watches) and some - high drain, this are sold as "for cameras" and are more expensive than low drain. For XA2 I've got Varta V357, which are low drains and I got to know it after purchase. Next pair I'll try from some other shop which have "high drain" string in part number.

Again, some cameras in manual require "two 357 or lithium cr1/3n", some don't mention lithium - I're surprised to learn that those lithium cells have bad voltage drop curve, seems that more current cameras are designed to cope with this issue.

The drain of a camera battery is quite low if it's only powering the meter, watches would certainly be vastly lower though.

Lithiums perform far better than alkalines and cameras that use things like the DL1/3N cell are designed to allow for voltage drop. Such models tend to have LED meters and electronic shutters so they benefit from the power a Lithium can provide. The other area where the Lithium really scores is in the cold - they work to far lower temperatures than alkaline or silver oxide.