Olympus OM1n - battery replacement?

<p>Hi there, we have just purchased an OM1n in mint condition which we are delighted with. We recognise that there is a need to find a replacement battery eventually, presently a HD 625. There is argument that an existing 1.5v battery will suffice with an adjustment by one click to the film speed knob. An argument to use alkaline which diminishes over time down to 1.35 volts with exposure errors no different to some brand new camera exposure inaccuracies. Use of an external meter to compensate settings was also an option.</p>

<p>Whilst an old chestnut, ideas and thoughts much appreciated, </p>

<p>Apologies if this is not the correct section but the camera is considered a classic, best wishes</p>

<p>Carl</p>

<p>Do a search for mercury battery replacement. (above on pn search or on the web in general)<br>

You'll stumble across ...<br>

use an alkaline and compensate (variable based on battery voltage)<br>

add a schottkey diode and use a modern cell (requires internal modification)<br>

use a hearing aid cell (size and short life issues)<br>

use a Wein cell (pricey and shorter life)<br>

use a Cris adapter (pricey, but probably the best option for simplicity)<br>

use a hand held meter (sort of defeats the fun of the small OM)<br>

Many options to skin the cat.<br>

Jim</p>

<p>Hi Jim, this has already been done, hence the question to the forum, thanks</p><div></div>

<p>Carl, I use the Wein Cell 625 battery in both my OM-1 and OM-2n with excellent results. The meter seems to be pretty accurate with this battery; not so with the 1.5 alkalines though. If you can't find the Wein Cell locally, they're available on ebay for cheap prices.</p>

<p>I've always used the cheap 675 hearing aid batteries for my unconverted OM-1n. The 12 pack from Walgreens. These seem to work fine and last about 4~6 months. Don't even use a centering washer, just peel the tape and pop it in. When they die, they go without warning but the little 6 pack dispensers take up almost no room in a bag or pocket and so I always have a replacement handy. Metering a gray card the OM is within 1/3 stop (over exposure) of agreement with my Lunasix and checking outdoors is within 1/3 stop (also over exposure) of my E-410. Small compensations can be made with the asa dial but I don't bother as the negs come out of the soup within reasonable printing range of a grade 2 or 3 paper.</p>

<p>Another thought. If you send your new (to you) OM-1n to John at Camtech for a CLA he'll internally convert it to use a silver oxide battery, and also of course make sure no rotting foam is under the prism hump eating away at the paint and aluminizing on top of your pentaprism. Open the back and check for deteriorated foam light seal material, all OM-1n's are now old and this is a time , not use issue. Don't want to scare you but that's a great looking camera so don't skimp on it's care and feeding.</p>

<p>Andy ... if I may ... (thread hijack request)<br>

Why the Wein in the OM2n as it was designed for the standard silver oxide cell, like the 357 battery? The camera is looking for/was designed for 1.55 volts as I understand it, and it IS voltage sensitive. I'm confused.<br>

Jim</p>

<blockquote>

use a hand held meter (sort of defeats the fun of the small OM)

</blockquote>

<p>

Not really - a Sekonic L-208 is small, light, and quick to use. With a non-autoexposure camera I find that it's more convenient to use than the in-camera meter, especially since one usually gets to the point where metering every shot becomes unnecessary. It's a viable option (and doesn't preclude the use of the TTL meter).

</p>

<p>John Ribison: Hi there, is this camtech in UK? No scares, it was intended to get the body fully serviced at Olympus Luton, UK, we like to take care of our equipment and this was bought knowing the shortcomings at this age. It is working fine but for the lens aperture diaphragm being slow to return on a manual depth of field check, again expected. The lens has quite a few dust specs ( normal ) and we are looking for a 55mm or 50mm 1.4 replacement. Thanks</p>

Carl, I may have a spare 50mm f/1.4 knocking around. Can't promise, since my wife has a habit of tidying up in such a way that things disappear, but if I do then you're more than welcome to it.

<p>Dear Jean-Yves Mead, how kind, this would be of very much interest, thanks, : )</p>

<p>Ditto on converting it to use silver batteres by Camtec. I've had John at Camtech do it to my 4 OM-1 bodies and I am very pleased with his work.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.zukio.com">www.zukio.com</a></p>

 

<p>Where abouts is Camtech? thanks</p>

<p>Carl, I realized after my post that you are in the UK after looking at your website. Great product photos by the way. No, Camtech is in the US. I'm sure you have available qualified tech's in the UK also. Do you know John Foster? He's written a couple of books about the Olympus Pen series and has the wonderful website www.biofos.com for all things Olympus. I'm also a member of the Olympus Circle and a real fan of the half frame Pen series. Sounds like you have a good background and product knowledge of the OM system and congratulations on that 1n, she looks like a real beauty.</p>

<p>Thanks John, (robison) will take a look at the website. Noted that Camtech USA would like to get the OM1n reproduced. We have been trying in the UK to get them to re release the body design as a digital camera (Like the Leica M9 etc) but would be just as happy to purchase a new OM1n film camera. Film/ flatbed scanners are improving in spec and coming down in price so it makes sense to still use film and scan. Thanks for the comments.</p>

<p>Jim, no reason other than I never knew better. It came with a 625 battery and I replaced it with one thinking that was what it used. My pics turned out great so I haven't done anything different. Am I supposed to use a different battery for the OM-2n from what I use in the OM-1? Of course print film is very forgiving so perhaps I'd notice a bigger difference with slide film. Thanks for the info...sometimes ignorance really <em>is</em> bliss, and I'm pretty blissful a lot of the time!</p>

<p>Andy -<br>

I hear ya brother; the more I know the more scared I get about all that I do not!<br>

Jim</p>

<p>Carl, I believe the reason Olympus could not re-issue the OM-1n is that the tool up cost would be very expensive for the limited fan base. The camera body alone would probably have to sell for $1500 to make a reasonable profit, perhaps more. It's that old dilemma, how many will sell. If you make a boatload to bring down the fixed cost per unit and a lot don't sell then your stuck with dead and or slow moving inventory. If you limit production to a anticipated demand based upon market research of Olympus fans, then the per unit price is too high for us regular folks, the result, still unsold inventory. This doesn't even take into account what OM mount Zuikos to make production runs of and the tool up cost of that.</p>

<p>On the manner of a digital OM. Well, the back just clips off and I always wondered why Olympus couldn't just design a digital back. But then I got to thinking about the filter stack in front of sensors and would there be enough room to even clear the shutter curtains. And again, how many do you make? What size sensor? I'd be happy with a 18X24mm but many would not be interested unless it was 24X36 or very close to that. Big bucks, 4~7K I figure, too rich for this mans wallet.</p>

<p>Although the initial cost of the Wein Cell is higher than a single pack of hearing aid 675's (zinc air just like Wein), if you are careful, the outer metal ring of the Wein cell can be removed when the cell is exhausted and a fresh hearing aid battery can be placed inside the ring. I've done that for my OM-1 and it works fine. OTOH, if I center the hearing aid cell carefully I can use it without the ring in my Minolta SRT's as well as in my Rollei 35. The shorter life of the hearing aid cells is partially offset by their low price. Never tried the CRIS adapter, but if you only have one camera that needs a 1.35 battery, it might be the best option.</p>

<p>I picked up a pretty neat little kit that makes two adapters for about $6 or $8 bucks, don't remember for sure. They take a little work but nothing major. The adapters use SR44 or equivalent size silver oxide batteries, and adjust size and voltage to fit in place of 625 mercury cells. the website is: <a href="mailto:battery.adapter@orange.nl">battery.adapter@orange.nl</a></p>

 

<p><a href="http://rick_oleson.tripod.com/index-111.html">http://rick_oleson.tripod.com/index-111.html</a></p>

<p>If you're not all that handy to make your own adapter, the CRIS MR-9 adapter is an excellent solution. The alkaline batteries won't do a good job; as they are the wrong voltage and (even if they were the right voltage) the way the batteries drain wouldn't lead to consistent results.<br>

<br />The OM-2N has become my favorite OM body for a number of reasons. A bonus: the OM-2N uses readily available SR44 (silver oxide) batteries, rather than the mercury cells for which the OM-1 and OM-1N were designed to use.</p>