Canon F1N battery

darinwc · Mar 21, 2015

i just picked up a very well used Canon F1N (the latest model). The shutter works without the battery on the fast speeds as expected.
But with the battery i get nothing. I tested the battery (its old) and I am only getting 4.5 volts instead of the 6 volts required.

OK, so get a new battery. -I remember from having a F1N before that htey can be finicky about the battery. I see i can order alkalines or lithiums.. i dont see any silver oxide.
is there any preference? Or were they designed for a mercury battery?

Les Sarile · Mar 21, 2015

Lithiums last longer and have much wider temperature tolerance.

MattKing · Mar 21, 2015

If it is a Canon New F1 it takes a 6 volt battery: http://www.amazon.ca/Camelion-4SR44-S28PX-Silver-Battery/dp/B005MJF32Y

If it is a Canon F1n, I believe it still used the mercury batteries.

Edit: it may or may not be compatible with a lithium alternative - many cameras manufactured before lithium batteries existed are not compatible

benjiboy · Mar 21, 2015

Go for the Lithium ones I've had one in one of my F1N's for 11 years, Canon recommend in the user manual either Silver Oxide or Lithium not Alkaline.

David A. Goldfarb · Mar 21, 2015

If you use the camera frequently, silver oxide is expected to last a year, lithium six months, which I found to be true when it was my only camera. Now I get whatever is available and change it every few years it seems.

benjiboy · Mar 21, 2015

David A. Goldfarb said:
If you use the camera frequently, silver oxide is expected to last a year, lithium six months, which I found to be true when it was my only camera. Now I get whatever is available and change it every few years it seems.

I find that difficult to believe David I have had three New F1's for around thirty years and have always found the Lithium batteries last longer than the Silver Oxide ones.

David A. Goldfarb · Mar 21, 2015

Curious, and not sure why that would be, Ben. I've had mine since the early 1980s, so I suspect you bought yours new as well, and we've both gone through plenty of batteries in that time. Maybe it's a temperature issue, but for the most of the past 30-odd years, I've lived in climates not vastly different from the UK.

I just checked my current battery--still fine after three years of light use.

benjiboy · Mar 21, 2015

David A. Goldfarb said:
Curious, and not sure why that would be, Ben. I've had mine since the early 1980s, so I suspect you bought yours new as well, and we've both gone through plenty of batteries in that time. Maybe it's a temperature issue, but for the most of the past 30-odd years, I've lived in climates not vastly different from the UK.

I just checked my current battery--still fine after three years of light use.

I don't know , I actually bought all three of mine second hand David, what I find amazing is that the light meters have never been adjusted since I've owned them and I tested their meter accuracy against each other recently with a a Kodak Grey Card and a digital spot meter and they agree with each other within 2/10ths of a stop.

David A. Goldfarb · Mar 21, 2015

When mine was in more active use, I'd sent it for a CLA every five years or so--the last being at Marty Forscher's Professional Camera Repair a year or two before they closed in the 1990s--but the meter and shutter have always been accurate. Even though I don't shoot so much 35mm anymore and don't even have so many FD-mount lenses left, I can't imagine selling it.

benjiboy · Mar 21, 2015

David A. Goldfarb said:
When mine was in more active use, I'd sent it for a CLA every five years or so--the last being at Marty Forscher's Professional Camera Repair a year or two before they closed in the 1990s--but the meter and shutter have always been accurate. Even though I don't shoot so much 35mm anymore and don't even have so many FD-mount lenses left, I can't imagine selling it.

I've heard of Marty Forscher the camera technician David, he was even famous in England in his day with the cognoscenti.
I love my New F1's they are everything I ever wanted in a 35mm camera (I never desired to own a Leica although my wife once in a weak moment offered to buy me one) they will have to praise them from my cold dead hands.

darinwc · Mar 21, 2015

Well I picked up a new battery today, and still no luck. The battery check works, the meter works, until I try to take a photo and then it dies.

benjiboy · Mar 21, 2015

Is the battery giving out 6 Volts, and have you cleaned the battery contacts ?

darinwc · Mar 22, 2015

The battery is brand new, also tested with a multimeter is good. I cleaned the contacts with an eraser.

The battery test works and shows the batter in the correct range. The meter works and the slef timer will beep. But once you press the button enough to fire the shutter, it goes dead.

David A. Goldfarb · Mar 22, 2015

Maybe a short somewhere. That shouldn't happen.

benjiboy · Mar 22, 2015

If that's the case Darin your camera needs some professional attention, or sending back to where you bought it from

John Koehrer · Mar 22, 2015

You can't check the battery with a multi-meter. It may read 6V without a load and 5.8V with a load, that''s enough to not trip the shutter.
Been there done that when I was in the biz.
And no, the BC in the camera doesn't load the battery either.

darinwc · Mar 22, 2015

Good information thanks all.

Well I traded for it fully knowing that it was a roulette chance that it was working. Its pretty beat-up (a quality i find endearing). And the prism is dented, so I don't know if it worth repairing.
-Though I just found out that there is a repairman who comes into my local camera shop once a week. May be worth it to get a quote.

Question: do you know if it has a capacitor somewhere? I was wondering if cameras may be similar to flashes.. If they have a capacitor that charges from the battery, then discharges to fire the shutter.. Well capacitors tend to go bad in flashes that haven't been used in a long time. But maybe with cameras there is no way to charge/discharge like i can with a flash. -I dunno, just guessing.

flavio81 · Mar 23, 2015

darinwc said:
The battery is brand new, also tested with a multimeter is good. I cleaned the contacts with an eraser.

The battery test works and shows the batter in the correct range. The meter works and the slef timer will beep. But once you press the button enough to fire the shutter, it goes dead.

It might have something to do with one of the two electromagnets (solenoids) that fire the 1st and 2nd shutter curtains. Time to go to the camera tech.

flavio81 · Mar 23, 2015

benjiboy said:
I've heard of Marty Forscher the camera technician David, he was even famous in England in his day with the cognoscenti.
I love my New F1's they are everything I ever wanted in a 35mm camera (I never desired to own a Leica although my wife once in a weak moment offered to buy me one) they will have to praise them from my cold dead hands.

+1

F-1N is the best 35mm SLR i've ever owned.

benjiboy · Mar 26, 2015

The main two things about batteries in the New Canon F1are to always carry a spare and even if you forget the camera works perfectly well if you remove the dead battery mechanically without one on all the most used speeds.

Canon F1N battery

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