mercury battery replacement on F prisms

Z

zoom2zoom

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sorry, even though the cameras i am referring to is not rangefinder, you guys are so helpful.

i got the urge to take my 2 Nikon F bodies for a test run, and noticed that both batteries in the prism are dead.

is there a way to get replacment batteries for these prisms..

also, something on the side.. i have 2 of these cameras for ever, never really thought about these until recently, but i have a silver and black one. the black one is in near mint condition with standard 50mm f2 and case. May i ask the if there is any value in these cameras..

thank you in advanced.
 
zoom2zoom said:
is there a way to get replacment batteries for these prisms..
Click to expand...

I don't have a Nikon F (at one time I coveted one badly!) but I've been kind of studying the PX625 situation for a few weeks now as I was given a light meter that uses that battery.

I'm now trying the Wein Cell. It's a correct-voltage drop-in replacement for the mercury 625. The disadvantage is that they don't last as long as the mercury cells.

They make what appears to me to be a better work-around, which I may get. It's a 625-size adapter case which holds a smaller silver oxide cell and adjusts the voltage down to the 1.3 volts of the 625. These cost about $30, however.

also, something on the side.. i have 2 of these cameras for ever, never really thought about these until recently, but i have a silver and black one. the black one is in near mint condition with standard 50mm f2 and case. May i ask the if there is any value in these cameras..
Click to expand...

An original Nikon F in good shape will still sell for $150-$200-ish, with the black ones going for a little bit more.
 
just ordered 2 wein cells.. shipping was a whopping $9.00, costing more then the batteries itself. but looking forward to it.

thank you for your quick help.
 
You may want to go with the MR 9 adapter eventually. The Wein cells lifespan is about 3 months, so you have to keep replacing them. Also, I beleive that the fall off curve for power loss is different than the old batteries you are replaing, so your metering may suffer once the Wein cells begin to lose power. The MR-9s work great, I have three of them in different cameras.
 
Ray Nalley said:
It's called the MR-9 and it works great. Used them until Wein cells came along.
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May I ask why you went with the Wein Cell and didn't stay with the adapter?

How long do the Wein Cells last for you?

A couple weeks ago I was reviewing the discussion and I gathered that the adapter and the silver oxide was a better and longer-lasting long-term solution. Is this not what you found?

Thanks. :)
 
I use a lot of older cameras that use Mercury cells and it's just less hassle for me to keep a bunch of Wein cells around for them. In the long run, the MR-9 is more cost effective, but cost isn't really a factor, so I've gone to the Wein cells as I've bought cameras that use the old Mercury cells.

The MR-9 works exactly as advertised, and if you use one of these cameras on a regular basis it is absolutely the way to go.
 
I have bought new Wein cells and found they were totally kaput. Who knows how long they were at the store, but they were totally dead. I guess they have to be truly factory-fresh.
 
Pablito said:
I have bought new Wein cells and found they were totally kaput. Who knows how long they were at the store, but they were totally dead. I guess they have to be truly factory-fresh.
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One thing they do note is that it takes a few minutes from when you peel the tab off until they are up to full power.

I don't think they sell them locally (Omaha) anywhere. I phoned the area's "real" camera shop, and they stock some, but not the 625. I got mine from a web shop specializing in old batteries and such, which I can't remember the URL, it's bookmarked at home. I assume their stock turns over frequently and they are fresh.

I also noticed that B&H stocks them, so I assume their stock is fresh as well.
 
ampguy said:
I would just build something like this, should cost about $1 or $2:

http://ludens.cl/Electron/mercreg/mercreg.html
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That's an interesting page! Thanks. I missed that one when I was googling last month.

That's an interesting little regulator project. I actually remember enough electronics to understand most of it, but I would think that would be too large, physically, to install inside of something like a light meter.
 
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