Nikkormat FTN battery

[Tony Parsons]

Just bought Nikkormat FTN - downloaded manual, which merely says 1.3v battery, but no further info. Can anyone let me know which battery was originally used, and which modern equivalent is suitable, please ?

 

Many thanks.

[jose_angel]

PX625, PX13 or MR9.

To make it short, good original batteries were made out of mercuric oxide, so they are currently banned.

Also, the meter worked with a STABLE current of 1.35 volts, so you must find an option which keep this current into a correctly sized housing (battery).

Sadly, there are no perfect available choices; but there are solutions, more or less elegant.

Search in google for "PX625 battery conversion" and will find all kind of ideas. I`d go for the non-destructive ones. Some are expensive.

Thanks God yours is a mechanical shutter camera. Use an incident hand held meter, as many people do with rangefinders. I prefer it to some built-in meters.

Edited July 12, 2019 by jose_angel

[Tony Parsons]

Many thanks, Jose - I do have a Weston Master V (two, actually !) which I intend to use, but I'll check out the links you have kindly offered.

[John Seaman]

Tony, there's a VERY long thread about Mercury battery options here:

 

need equivalent battery for PX625

 

I have uses 1.3V Zinc Air hearing aid batteries which are cheap but of limited life. They lack the extra flange of the original but can usually be fitted in the battery compartment with good contact without an adaptor.

 

Alternatively, PX625 1.5V batteries are available which are the same shape as the older Mercury units, that is they have the extra flange. When I've used these in Nikkormats I've often found that the readings were "near enough" or perhaps tweak the ISO setting so the reading agrees with a known accurate hand held meter.

[Tony Parsons]

John, thanks very much - I obviously didn't look closely enough !

[Tony Parsons]

Tried to edit previous, but time limit expired while I was typing !

 

Thanks again, John, i have read the entire thread (the bits I could understand!) and I can truthfully say I am far better informed, but unfortunately little wiser ! I think I'll try local hardware and camera shops, see what they can offer - as I said to Jose, no big deal as I already have a vintage meter to use with the camera (which only cost me £7.50 in any case !).

[SCL]

I searched thru the sealed pack of miscellaneous 1.5V button batteries I got for $1 at the local hardware store until I found one which fit. Popped it in and compared the meter reading with my handheld and all was fine. I sold my FTN about a year ago and didn't keep the specific battery info...it may have been an AG13/357 as that was a very popular size.

[orsetto]

The Nikkormats are among the easier old cameras to migrate from the banned mercury to newer substitutes. Their shallow single-battery compartment will usually accept a standard 675 zinc-air hearing aid battery as-is with no extra padding or washer (just center the battery in the compartment and put the lid back on). I have a load of Nikkormat FTn bodies that I bought for the lenses that were on them, all work accurately with the 675. A few have looser than usual battery caps: with those I do need to make a little "nest" of plastic food wrap or use a rubber faucet washer to keep the battery centered and stable: no big deal.

 

Don't be put off by the complaints of "zinc air hearing aid batteries don't last long" - yes, they don't last as long as mercury or alkaline, but is it REALLY such a hardship to change a battery every three to six months instead of every three years? You can buy a blister pack of sixteen zinc-air 675 on eBay for the cost of a single alkaline knockoff of the mercury battery. If the short life really bugs you, you could try a 625 alkaline: this will fit perfectly, but metering accuracy will be off by about 1 to 1 1/2 stops, and drift as the battery ages. If you're only shooting negative film, this is workable: just increase or decrease the film speed setting to bring the meter reading in line to what it should be. But if you shoot transparency film, its best to stick with zinc-air 675.

 

Camera repair techs can add a tiny diode to the battery circuit in most old cameras, allowing them to use modern, long lasting silver oxide batteries. This isn't cost-effective with most Nikkormats, because the typical FTn now barely sells for $30. If the camera is really special and mint, you might think the modification worthwhile, but honestly I'd just use the hearing aid batteries. Or, trade the FTn in for a newer FT2 (which is the exact same camera with built-in hot shoe and updated silver oxide battery chamber).

 

Last but not least: of the 14 Nikkormat FTn bodies I've accumulated over the past few years, about half had meters that were wildly innaccurate or or totally dead. These are old CdS meters, and they tend to croak after 40+ years. If yours works, consider it a nice bonus, if not- the batery issue is moot, and you can just use your Weston (or phone app). Other than their aging meters, the Nikkormat FTn is bulletprooof: most durable camera Nikon ever made (yes, I include my F and F2 bodies in that comparison).

[BeBu Lamar]

I would try it out with the 625 alkaline battery and see how well it works before trying other more expensive solution. You may find the meter is not accurate regardless of whatever battery you use.

[Tony Parsons]

Thanks again for the info and advice - I'll try the most cost-effective (= cheapest) solution, and be prepared to be pleasantly surprised if I get acceptable results. But as said I'm ancient enough to fine a hand-held meter perfectly acceptable. Phone app ? I have enough problem using the d*mn thing to make phone calls and receive e-mails !

 

The vendor said the meter worked, so I may get lucky - as for 'collectable', it has a couple of nice little dings to give it 'street-cred' !

[Gary Naka]

As I remember, the ring resistor under the aperture coupling ring tends to go bad/wears out, and there is no Nikon spare parts bin to get replacements, only scavenging from other old cameras. If you turn the aperture ring, and the meter bounces all over, the ring resistor is bad.

[Tony Parsons]

Thanks for that, Gary - we shall see ...

 

My grateful thanks to all who offered their advice and experience - I think I have enough info to decide on a course of action now. I'll post an update in due course.

 

Tony

[Fiddlefye]

When confronted with the same issue in my Olympus OM-1 I discussed what to do with my tech and ended up doing the diode correction method. Then again, my tech is a good friend and charges me embarrassingly little for his work. At any rate, it works just fine and dandy.

[orsetto]

The Olympus OM1 is worth modifying because it is still holds significant resale/collector value, and has no similar later version with updated battery system (all other OM models take modern silver oxide batteries, but aside from the $$$$ OM3 they're all electronic AE bodies, unlike the elegantly mechanical match-needle OM1).

 

Opting for the diode camera circuit modification, much like spending $20 for a diode-equipped silver oxide adapter shell, somewhat depends on how much you live and die by a specific camera x what is the intrinsic value of that camera. Evaluated by this matrix, the Nikkormats are about the worst possible candidates for any pricey battery option: the FT and FTn bodies are literally worthless today, and as Gary Naka mentioned ring resistor failure is always a possibility just around the corner.

 

So its probably not worth paying a tech to internally modify a Nikkormat FT/FTn. Unless you just really REALLY prefer the shoeless prism look of those models vs the later FT2 (which has a hot shoe and already includes the silver oxide battery mod direct from the factory). The final AI-enabled FT3 also takes modern batteries directly, but is much more expensive due to scarcity and collectibility: Nikkormat FT goes for $10-$15, FTN $15-$25, FT2 $30-$60, FT3 typically over $100. If you don't want to use short-lived zinc-air hearing aid batteries, perhaps the most sensible "battery modification" for a Nikkormat FT/FTn is to get a still-cheap FT2 instead (a nice functional FT2 body usually sells for less than a tech would charge to modify an FT or FTn).

 

Heck, if you don't mind electronic shutter and AE, you could get a Nikkormat EL for the same price (or less) than an FT2: the poor unloved EL runs on the same big honking 6v silver oxide battery used in car keyfobs and garage door openers.

[Tony Parsons]

Update as promised.

 

Managed to source an alkaline PX625 battery - as I was not sure if the meter would respond, I went for the cheapest I could find ! Fitted it, checked - and the meter works ! I'll have to check it against other meters, see if any compensation is required, but I'm chuffed as it is !

 

Once again, my thanks to those who responded, and for their advice.

[ericphelps]

Good news there. I recently got a used but pristine Gossen Luna Pro very cheaply which came without batteries. I'd read about the WeinCells, available on B&H and other sites, under $5 each [needed two], and they work perfectly. So there might be another option for you in the future.