357/303 silver oxide battery

CMoore · Sep 4, 2017

Including the above mentioned Silver Oxide, and whatever the nomenclature is for the Alkaline Version...is it lr44 or something like that.?
How many different SIZES of these "Button Cell" batteries do we typically see in a 35mm camera.?
I guess the Olympus OM series took a different size.?
I am wondering..... if i have the 1.5V Silver Oxide for my Nikon F2, will that be a fit for most cameras that take this kind of battery.?
There seem to be about 30 different Numbers, but i am not sure How or If there is any size difference between them.
Thank You

MattKing · Sep 4, 2017

If you are talking about the different designations for the exact same battery, these seem to have arisen because of different countries, different manufacturers and different uses for the same power source. In essence they are equivalent names for the same thing.
But - there are different sizes of batteries, and not all cameras use the same battery. Olympus SLRs are a perfect example. The OM-1 used a mercury battery in the 625 size. The other Olympus OM film SLRs used silver oxide batteries that were originally referred to as MS-76 (in my market). That is the same size as the 357, plus a whole bunch of other designations.
In general, stick with the silver oxide versions.

CMoore · Sep 5, 2017

Hey Matt -
Yeah, i am hip to the advantage of the Silver Oxide. I was mostly wondering about ALL the different numbers for what looks like the "same" battery.
It seems my Nikon F2 and FM use the same type battery as my Minolta X-, XD, and SRT series of cameras.
I have a Oly OM1n and OM3....but they are both with a tech.....not even sure yet what they use...... but i realize it is different than the 303/357.
Thanks Again

MattKing · Sep 5, 2017

The OM3 uses a currently produced 1.5 volt, 357/303 silver oxide battery,
The OM1 originally used a 1.35 volt 625 mercury battery, and mercury batteries can no longer be legally sold.
Some OM-1s have been modified to use current silver oxide batteries.
You can buy voltage and size adapters that allow use of a smaller 1.5 volt silver oxide battery - like the 357.
You can buy adapters that physically hold a smaller 1.4 volt (within tolerance for an OM-1) size 675 or similar zinc air (hearing aid) battery in place in your OM-1.
The placement of the contacts in an OM-1 allows you to use a rubber O ring in the battery compartment to hold the zinc air battery in place.
All the above will work.

CMoore · Sep 5, 2017

Oh...OK.
I did not realize that.
Thought the OM1 and OM3 were the same.
That is a plus...about the OM3
Thanks

mgb74 · Sep 5, 2017

LR44 is alkaline (as you noted) and SR44 is silver oxide. Your SRT series cameras should - to my knowledge - use the 625 1.35v mercury battery. All the other Minolta models you mention use the 357 size 1.5v battery.

DWThomas · Sep 5, 2017

There are assorted and sundry guides/charts/tables online for a lot of battery info; finding them listed by camera might be more obscure. For the "button" cells here's one I turned up. Some of the battery manufacturers likely list cross-references on their websites, they have in the past. Last I looked, some of the online retailers have quite a bit of information also. It does seem as though they go out of their way to complicate things!

I believe the lithium CRxxxx coin cells actually have the xxyy number specifying the diameter and thickness of the cells instead of just some digits the marketing guy pulled out of thin air -- that could prove handy. (The xx is diameter in mm, the yy is thickness in tenths of millimeters.) My Gossen Digisix takes a CR2032 which is also used by glucose meters for diabetics and many bicycle computers and sensors, so they're widely available. Less so the silver oxide 6 volters (PX28, etc) most coveted for cameras from the 1980s or so (Canon A-series, Bronica SQ-A). The alkaline versions of those are used in a lot of those invisible fence dog collars, so they turn up in unexpected places.

AgX · Sep 5, 2017

I assume at least 25 sizes of cells were used in photography. (From C down to the smallest button cell).
Plus some rather propriatory packs.

darkroommike · Sep 5, 2017

AgX said:
I assume at least 25 sizes of cells were used in photography. (From C down to the smallest button cell).
Plus some rather propriatory packs.

That is certainly true when you add in the batteries used by point and shoots, Polaroids and compact/subcompact cameras. I used to work for Radio Shack and we had a huge book of batteries, equivalents, and substitutions. Today I usually just Google it.

Chan Tran · Sep 5, 2017

If you are looking for an SR44 equivalent there are many that would fit and work. However Eveready makes both the EPX76 and 357 and they are can be used interchangeably but the EPX76 has a little bit better specs than the 357.

The EPX76 is rated at 200mAh while the 357/303 is 150mAh. The EPX76 also has lower internal resistance.

mgb74 · Sep 5, 2017

Chan Tran said:
If you are looking for an SR44 equivalent there are many that would fit and work. However Eveready makes both the EPX76 and 357 and they are can be used interchangeably but the EPX76 has a little bit better specs than the 357.

The EPX76 is rated at 200mAh while the 357/303 is 150mAh. The EPX76 also has lower internal resistance.

Interesting. I've treated them, for whatever reason, as equivalents. Product datasheets show otherwise (particularly in discharge graph).
http://data.energizer.com/pdfs/epx76z.pdf
http://data.energizer.com/pdfs/357-303zb.pdf

However, you have to look closely. The EPX76 is rated at 200mAH to 0.9v while the 303 is rated at 150mAH to 1.2v. I don't know what minimum voltage is required for a modern camera meter.

E. von Hoegh · Sep 5, 2017

As for physical dimensions, https://d2ei442zrkqy2u.cloudfront.n.../BatteryCrossReferenceGuide_x18285catalog.pdf

Note that most of the sizes we use are now listed in Electronics, not Photo.

And would people please note that a single cell does not, by definition, a battery make... any more than a single cannon does.

E. von Hoegh · Sep 5, 2017

mgb74 said:
Interesting. I've treated them, for whatever reason, as equivalents. Product datasheets show otherwise (particularly in discharge graph).
http://data.energizer.com/pdfs/epx76z.pdf
http://data.energizer.com/pdfs/357-303zb.pdf

However, you have to look closely. The EPX76 is rated at 200mAH to 0.9v while the 303 is rated at 150mAH to 1.2v. I don't know what minimum voltage is required for a modern camera meter.

Most camera and handheld (not all, the Yashica RFs with the tiny lightbulbs come to mind) meters draw currents in the low microamp range, so mAH and discharge point is less important.

Chan Tran · Sep 5, 2017

mgb74 said:
Interesting. I've treated them, for whatever reason, as equivalents. Product datasheets show otherwise (particularly in discharge graph).
http://data.energizer.com/pdfs/epx76z.pdf
http://data.energizer.com/pdfs/357-303zb.pdf

However, you have to look closely. The EPX76 is rated at 200mAH to 0.9v while the 303 is rated at 150mAH to 1.2v. I don't know what minimum voltage is required for a modern camera meter.

The Nikon F3 specs requires 1.2v per cell that is 2.4V. Lower than that the meter shuts itself off.

357/303 silver oxide battery

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