Minolta XE-7 S-76 battery confusion - Alternatives? - Australia

Diffraction · Aug 12, 2021

Dear all,

I'd like to shoot a bit more again with my Minolta XE-7, and I'm looking for replacement batteries in case the current ones die. I'm a little confused by the options though!

The manual states that two silver-oxide 1.5V batteries (S76 or equivalent) should be used. Unfortunately, the only ones I seem to be able to find are A76, i.e. the same voltage but alkaline. Trying to find anything else seems to be a serious rabbit hole.

Will I be ok with the A76? I'm not planning to use the built in metre, but would like shutter speeds to be accurate. And, of course, I don't want to damage the camera.

Thanks for your help!

EDIT: Updated title to note that I am looking for this battery in Australia.

MattKing · Aug 12, 2021

For the last few years I've been buying them on the internet.
A quick Google search yielded this California example: https://24hourbatteries.com/silver-oxide-s76-battery/
I can't think of any reason why the use of fresh alkaline batteries would damage the camera, but alkaline batteries lose voltage over time, so you might find that the battery dependent shutter doesn't give you much service before you need to put new batteries in.

Diffraction · Aug 12, 2021

MattKing said:
For the last few years I've been buying them on the internet.
A quick Google search yielded this California example: https://24hourbatteries.com/silver-oxide-s76-battery/
I can't think of any reason why the use of fresh alkaline batteries would damage the camera, but alkaline batteries lose voltage over time, so you might find that the battery dependent shutter doesn't give you much service before you need to put new batteries in.

Thank you Matt! I'd go ahead with these but unfortunately will have to find an Australia equivalent, perhaps that's part of the issue.

One point of confusion: this seems to be a 1.55V battery, not 1.5V. It seems that's the case for many silver oxide batteries. What's up with that? Does the extra voltage not matter or were they always 1.55V and people just called them 1.5V?

MattKing · Aug 12, 2021

Diffraction said:
Thank you Matt! I'd go ahead with these but unfortunately will have to find an Australia equivalent, perhaps that's part of the issue.

One point of confusion: this seems to be a 1.55V battery, not 1.5V. It seems that's the case for many silver oxide batteries. What's up with that? Does the extra voltage not matter or were they always 1.55V and people just called them 1.5V?

That is one good reason to put one's location in one's information .
And yes, 1.55V is just a more accurate measurement of the voltage.
When the XE-7 was current, silver oxide batteries were much more common than they are now.
Most current products that are designed for them now may be more demanding of voltage accuracy than an XE7 was/is.

Diffraction · Aug 12, 2021

MattKing said:
That is one good reason to put one's location in one's information .
And yes, 1.55V is just a more accurate measurement of the voltage.
When the XE-7 was current, silver oxide batteries were much more common than they are now.
Most current products that are designed for them now may be more demanding of voltage accuracy than an XE7 was/is.

Haha my bad, sorry -- now listed! Thanks for clearing up the voltage question. I'll see if I can find one of these here.

MattKing · Aug 12, 2021

Diffraction said:
Haha my bad, sorry -- now listed! Thanks for clearing up the voltage question. I'll see if I can find one of these here.

It might help to change your thread title to something like "Minolta XE-7 S-76 battery confusion - Alternatives? - Australia"

Diffraction · Aug 12, 2021

MattKing said:
It might help to change your thread title to something like "Minolta XE-7 S-76 battery confusion - Alternatives? - Australia"

Done, thanks!

I just found this: https://www.officeworks.com.au/shop...-oxide-button-battery-en377bpz#specifications
The name is completely different, but it appears to have the correct voltage. Is this just another name or an entirely different beast?

MattKing · Aug 12, 2021

That 377 battery is the wrong physical size. The equivalent Energizer battery is a 357.
This (more expensive) one: https://www.officeworks.com.au/shop...r-357-303-silver-oxide-button-battery-en357bp
If you look at the equivalency information on the link I sent you, which looks accurate to me, you can see a variety of alternatives.

Diffraction · Aug 12, 2021

MattKing said:
That 377 battery is the wrong physical size. The equivalent Energizer battery is a 357.
This (more expensive) one: https://www.officeworks.com.au/shop...r-357-303-silver-oxide-button-battery-en357bp
If you look at the equivalency information on the link I sent you, which looks accurate to me, you can see a variety of alternatives.

Terrific, thank you very much for your help and for even going to the trouble of finding this correct battery. I didn't realise your original link had the list of equivalents, that's very handy. I will browse around to see whether there are any cheaper versions and will post again if I find any, in case it helps fellow Australians trying to find this battery.

UPDATE: After a quick search I didn't find any cheaper alternatives quickly, so I bit the bullet and bought two of these (which I believe is what the XE-7 needs). After all, it's about the same price as a roll of film, so not exactly the earth. Thanks again for helping me navigate this Matt!

MattKing · Aug 12, 2021

No problem.
I couldn't even guess how many of the original, MS-76 (as we then called them) batteries I sold to customers back when so many cameras used them.
They are significantly cheaper in the USA - which is something I know all you folks in Australia know lots about.
I can get them fairly cheaply here in Canada as well, if I am prepared to order them through the internet.
You may wish to consider doing that from Australia - they are generally relatively cheap to ship.
And one further piece of advice, which I've been giving for around 45 or so years now: if your camera takes two batteries, you should buy an extra two, and store them somewhere cool and dry and dark.

Diffraction · Aug 12, 2021

MattKing said:
No problem.
I couldn't even guess how many of the original, MS-76 (as we then called them) batteries I sold to customers back when so many cameras used them.
They are significantly cheaper in the USA - which is something I know all you folks in Australia know lots about.
I can get them fairly cheaply here in Canada as well, if I am prepared to order them through the internet.
You may wish to consider doing that from Australia - they are generally relatively cheap to ship.
And one further piece of advice, which I've been giving for around 45 or so years now: if your camera takes two batteries, you should buy an extra two, and store them somewhere cool and dry and dark.

Thanks Matt, this all seems like very good advice! Indeed it seems like some things are harder / more expensive to come by in Australia. I already get my used cameras from abroad, so why not the batteries. The only problem is the longer wait...

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