More Oly 35SP photos

[OlyMan]

Inspired by Trius' shots from this little camera, I thought I'd post some photos I took on my 35SP last December (can't believe it's been nearly a year 😱 ) I think the default settings on my scanner have oversharpened them somewhat, but it gives you an idea of what they're like. Film was Fuji Sensia 100

The results I get from this 30-odd-year-old baby never cease to amaze me.

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c187/olyman/Caitlin.jpg
http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c187/olyman/Beach.jpg
http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c187/olyman/Beach2.jpg
http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c187/olyman/Tree.jpg

Wish I'd used a graduated nd on the beach shots to give some life to the skys, but never mind.

 

[Solinar]

Wow, the baby is already goofing for the camera. The 35SP is really good about capturing blue skies.

 

[caspert79]

Olyman, what kind of battery do you use in your SP? I've got a SP here but I'm waiting for the battery cover to arrive and I have to order a battery too.

 

[OlyMan]

A 1.4V zinc/air hearing aid battery. It's a little smaller than the original PX625, so I made a shallow cardboard tube which fits into the battery compartment into which the hearing-aid battery fits, and I use a small copper washer on top of the battery so that it's +ve side makes good contact with the screw-on cap

The batteries come in packs of six for about the same price as one typical Lithium battery used in modern cameras. The only thing I make careful note of is to replace the battery every three months regardless of how much I've used the camera. This is because the battery is constantly discharging from when you first pull off its air-tight sticky tag, and the battery will be more or less flat in three to four months. Even so that means I'll get around 18 months out of a pack of six batteries

 

[Trius]

Olyman: Nice shots, I especially like the Caitlin shot. Looks like we maybe starting an RFF sub-subculture.... since rangefinders are a subculture on their own.

Caspert79: Another "solution" is to use a #9 rubber washer along with the hearing aid batteries. I use that set up in my OM-1s, and it works fine. In the SP that took my shots, I have a genuine mercury battery. It was installed when I had the camera CLA'd, and I have no clue how my repairman acquired it.... probably NOS. My second SP body was modified to take SR44 silver-oxide batteries when it was in for CLA and new leather.

Earl

 

[OlyMan]

Trius just be careful with those SR44 batteries: even though your camera's meter has been adjusted to accept 1.5V, these batteries have a sloping discharge and the only time you'll know their voltage has dropped unacceptably is when you get a film back from the lab with all the shots overexposed. That happened to me with an OM1. That's why cameras which take silver-oxide batteries also usually have a battery-check function of some sorts, to let you know when the power has dropped to an unacceptible level. Mercury batteries had a "sudden death" discharge: one minute they were giving the full 1.35V, the next they were totally RIP, so you didn't have to worry about the voltage drop effecting their meters.

 

[Trius]

Olyman: The SR44W (or SRW44, don't recall) have a flat discharge curve. I believe Sony has them. There may be other brands as well. Everready 357s used to have the correct discharge curve, but then they changed them. It has been a big topic on the OM list in the past.

Earl

 

[OlyMan]

Thanks for the tip. I'll stand corrected then. Whichever batteries I was using in my OM1 certainly didn't have a flat discharge curve, and ruined a film in the process 🙁

 

[Trius]

Yes, the wrong "compatible" battery can be big trouble. It's not a matter of "corrected" ... the battery manufacturers don't make it easy on us. If they would make the discharge curve charts available, (Everready used to, don't know if they still do) it would be helpful. Info on the Sony is here: http://www.sony.net/Products/MicroBattery/sr/index.html

The SR44W corresponds to the Everready 357, the SR44SW to the 303, which I think is the 357/303 with the flat discharge curve and long life.

The SR44W uses KOH electrolyte, the SR44SW uses NaOH. All the SR44 variants seem to have the same discharge curve, so I'm not sure if the SW is longer lived or what.

Earl

 

[OlyMan]

I suppose in the event of any uncertainty it's best to budget on "binning the battery" either after a predetermined number of rolls or after a predetermined time, same as I do with the zinc/air battery in my 35SP and 35RC. I replace them every three months without fail, regardless of how many rolls I've shot. In fact I keep a sticky label on the bottom of each camera showing the date the bat was last changed. I suppose there's the fact that I have binned a number of batteries which still had some useul life, but they're cheap to buy and I ask myself if I really want to risk getting duff shots.

The other option I suppose is stick the 35SP in manual mode, buy myself an old selenium light meter, and loose the battery problem forever! 😎

 

[Doug]

Isn't it the alkaline version of the battery, the LR-44, that has the sloping discharge rate?

 

[Trius]

Olyman: That's a really good idea; I think I'll adopt the date sticker for my OM-1s, and for the black leather SP when the mercury gives out. That, of course, could be years from now.

Doug: Yes, that battery does have the gradual voltage drop. But not all SR44 "compatibles" have the flat discharge. Everready changed their 357/303 to just 357 designation, and the curve changed.

Earl