Canon A-1 battery

I was wondering whether the battery required for the Canon A-1 camera

is likely to be available for several more years to come. My father

has an A-1 and he often finds it hard to find a battery for it. Only

certain shops stock them and I don't think many cameras use these

batteries anymore. Are they likely to be discontinued anytime in the

near future?

 

Regards,

Jason

I can buy a PX-28 size at the local drug store! Are you near a radio shack or a batteries plus? I seriously doubt that with over 4 million AE-1's plus all of the other A series cameras as well as the new F-1 made that use this battery it will be dicontinued anytime soon. They should last close to two years if you remember to turn the camera off (althought it has been discussed that this really isn't required as the meter only comes on when the shutter button is depressed)

 

Mark W.

Jason,

 

I've bought my last few at Wal-Mart in the electronics/photo section. I don't think you have anything to worry about for a good long while.

Although the manual calls for a lithium battery, I have used alkalines in my A-1s and AE-1s for over 25 years. Available just about everywhere, and cheaper too.

They are not going anywhere. There are Millions of Canons that use them, and there are plenty of other cameras that do as well, including the Pentax 67.

You can always stack four LR-44's to replace a PX-28.

It is easier if you build a small cylinder, the same size of the PX-28, using a piece of film and some scotch tape. t+

Then put the LR-44's inside. Respect the polarity of the batteries so their voltages will add up.

since I own my A1's (eight months) I have used 4LR44, an alkaline battery that I can find almost everywhere (not so easy to find as the AA, tough). But the problems I had with these batteries is they last so little! I have count how much last the last one I used: 22 rolls of 36 exposures, including 2-4 rolls where exposures of 30" were made and also a few exposures of 2-4 minutes. I know long exposures take the battery life downwards. For this reason I reccomend to you to take at least a pair of spare batteries with you if you are using this type of batteries. Just yestarday I lose a pair of great shots beacause I forgot the spare batterie! .... Actually it was at the end of the bag :( ... silly me! What I haven't found yet is the lithium battery, but think it would a better choice, for its durability.

 

Godd Luck!

 

GB

Giorgio,

 

Avoid alkaline batteries. Your camera will work OK with them, but they are depleted very quickly. Try to use Silver Oxide or Lithium versions of the same battery.

 

 

Also, I've found that you should advance the film to the next frame inmediatly after each exposure. If you fail to do that, even if you turn off the camera (the red L), the battery is drained quite fast.

This happens with the two A1 bodies I have, so I think this is a design flaw and not something wrong with my cameras.

I'm going out on a limb and will assume that the A-1 has the same feature as my F-1N (since it's based on the A series)... if you want to save on batteries, remove it for your extended exposure shots. My F-1N works without the battery in it. Keep in mind, it doesn't play nice if the battery is dead and still installed. It needs to be removed completely, as I understand it. I have batteries for it, but I never use it. The F-1N is my backup (strictly mechanical) and I use the T70 when I'm feeling lazy and want power. FWIW, not all exposure times are available without the battery. My F-1N denotes them by different colors on the dial.

-Chris

After remembering that a friend has an A-1, I called. He claims it does require the battery for bulb exposures. OK... no more assumptions!

-Chris

Noting Marcelo's post, I've also had a similar problem with an A-1: battery drain when stored. It might well be because I don't always wind-on when leaving the camera, although the most recent incident occurred after I did wind the camera on. In contrast there doesn't seem any problem with the AE1. For now I think I will have to store the camera without its battery loaded. Anyone else with an A1 able to comment.

Just a comment, my camera repair tech told me to not store the A-1 with the shutter cocked. This advise came after he repaired the sticking shutter. I have no battery drain problem and often forgetfully leave the camera in the A position instead of L. Maybe the lens cap or a delay clock keeps the meter from draining the battery. Is it possible that a faulty delay curcuit could be the cultprit of the problem?

RAdioShack still stocks them. While the alkalines are widely available, they don't last. As someone else posted above, the lithium batteries are good for two years, at least. I've had them last longer when I wasn't shooting a lot. And, they're very shelf stable.