Preferred AA batteries for Nikon F5

[multivoiced]

I just ordered a well-used Nikon F5 body and I have no idea what kind of AA batteries I should get for it. I have spent quite a while reading (mostly old) content on the web regarding battery advice. There is a recent discussion on Reddit with only vague conclusions.

Assuming there isn't a battery that works perfectly in all F5 bodies, which should I start with?

 

[Robert Ley]

I would think that any 1.5 volt AA battery can be used in an F5 although I'm not sure about the 1.2 volt NIMH batteries. I know that the NIMH batteries are not recommended in my F4,

 

[multivoiced]

Okay, that makes me wonder if I should start with lithium. The only "problem" with lithium is the choice of specs: Even at 1.5 volts, there are different power ratings among available batteries.

Is there any disadvantage to buying rechargeable batteries (instead of disposable batteries)?

 

[MFstooges]

When I read that reddit thread it seems the OP didn't know what he was doing. If there is some way you can connect the battery terminal with alligator clip and extension cable to the battery pack then you can measure the power draw from Alkaline AA. With that data you can figure out if NiMH will work/not.

What specs of the Li-Ion are your referring here? If you're talking about the capacity then the bigger is always the better. That means more rolls per charge. Buy battery from well known manufacturers like Panasonic, Samsung or LG. There are tons of Chinese brands but they always overstate the capacity to the level that their number almost means nothing.

 

[reddesert]

The camera should work properly with a fresh set of normal good quality alkaline AAs. Get a set of those and use the camera to make sure it works before fiddling with lithium, NiMH, etc. If you start off by putting oddball batteries in and it doesn't work, you won't know if it's the camera or incompatibility with the batteries.

 

[koraks]

the power draw from Alkaline AA. With that data you can figure out if NiMH will work/not.

Power draw won't be a limitation for NiMH. It's capable of fairly high peak currents at least on par with alkaline. LiIon is the same.
The main drawback of NiMH will be the lower clamp voltage. LiIon is usually a 3.7V cell with a voltage regulator built into the battery that keeps the output voltage at 1.5V.

@reddeserts suggestion to first test the camera with regular batteries is a good one to establish a baseline.

 

[Chan Tran]

NiMH batteries have current capacity much higher than needed for the F5. What they don't have is the voltage. Their 1.2V per cell is too low and the F5 will indicate empty battery way before the batteries are depleted. AA alkalines would work fine and cheap enough as 8 AA would last a long time. If you compare the cost of film to run down a set of batteries then the cost of film is very high so the batteries cost is minimum. The only down side of AA alkalines that they tend to leak and can damage your camera. I don't find disposable AA lithium are better although they would work fine. Their voltage is somewhat higher than 1.5V but doesn't harm the camera. They don't leak. But they are expensive but I think it's not that bad consider the cost of film nowaday.
So NiMH would work but won't last long as they only have enough voltage when fully charged.
While the users manual doesn't say anything about using rechargeables in the MS-30 (they do recommend the MN-30 pack which has something like 16.8V) but in the service manual they did say you can't use NiCad. I did use NiMH in my F5 and they work but as I say only for a short time before the camera indicates battery low.

 

[Chan Tran]

A note on EBL Lithium rechargeable AA. They are really 3.7V Li-Ion with regulator to keep their voltage a constant of 1.5V. Their maximum discharge rate is limited to 2A (I know because I asked EBL) and that would be sufficient for the F5. I power the F5 with external power and thus I can measure the current draw. The peak current draw is only about 1A so 2A max is good enough.
Although I have never use this type of batteries I think it's worth a try if you want to use rechargeable for the F5.

 

[Sharktooth]

NiMH batteries work fine in an F5 when they are fully charged, but their nominal voltage is close to the minimum voltage threshold of the camera. The F5 was designed for 8 1.5V batteries. This provides a nominal voltage of 12V. When the voltage from those batteries drops to around 9.8 volts, then the camera will disable itself. The problem with using NiMH or NiCd batteries, is that they have a nominal voltage of only 1.2 volts, so when 8 are used there is 9.6 volts produced. This is right around the minimum threshold voltage for the camera. When these batteries are fully charged they will be at more than 9.6 volts, but the voltage will drop in use. It doesn't take long for the voltage to drop below the minimum threshold for the camera.

Nikon made a rechargeable battery pack for the F5, but that battery pack uses 10 NiCd batteries. 10 batteries at 1.2 volts provides 12volts, so it's the same voltage output as the regular battery pack. Nikon used smaller NiCd batteries so they could fit 10 of them in the battery pack.

AA Lithium batteries (non-rechargeable), should work fine in and F5. They're also significantly lighter than alkaline batteries, and far less prone to leakage. The disadvantage is that they're fairly expensive.

I don't like using alkaline batteries in cameras, since almost all of them are now cheaply made and prone to leakage. If you use them, remove them after use, and never leave them in the camera. The battery holders aren't made any more and finding a replacement usually means finding another camera. They're just not available at a reasonable price.

If you're an avid DIY person, it's fairly easy to add a 9th NiMH battery to the existing battery holder. This will bring the nominal voltage to 10.8V, so it's well above the minimum voltage threshold, and will last a long time. I like this approach, since quality precharged NiMH batteries can have long storage life, and much less likelihood to leak.

 

[Paul Howell]

I have stopped using alkaline as well, had one explode, not just leak but blew up in a Konica T 4 winder. I use old style "heavy duty" batteries, cheaper than alkaline but run down much faster as well. If traveling I will use lithium and will take out the batteries out at night.

 

[multivoiced]

Wow, thanks for all the input here! I am leaning toward keeping the battery count to eight, if possible, instead of creating a DIY project. But I have to keep an open mind.

The camera should work properly with a fresh set of normal good quality alkaline AAs. Get a set of those and use the camera to make sure it works before fiddling with lithium, NiMH, etc. If you start off by putting oddball batteries in and it doesn't work, you won't know if it's the camera or incompatibility with the batteries.

I like the approach.

@reddeserts suggestion to first test the camera with regular batteries is a good one to establish a baseline.

To clarify, I am looking for disposable alkaline AA batteries. Correct?

So far I understand from this thread that disposable alkaline batteries are not optimal, but are useful to see, as a start, how the camera performs under normal conditions.

If the disposable alkaline batteries work well, what's the next logical step? I would guess one would have to decide between disposable and rechargeable and between lithium and NiMH. I'm not aware of other options. Given the lack of good results from NiMH, that leaves lithium. Right?

 

[Chan Tran]

I have done the 9 battery mod without permanently change the MS-30 holder. It works OK but still get a low battery cut out relatively early.

 

[mshchem]

I have several F5 bodies all work great with Panasonic Eneloop rechargeable NiMh AA cells.

 

[reddesert]

Disposable alkaline batteries - what people who aren't battery geeks just call alkaline batteries, your average Duracell or Energizer AA etc - are what the camera was designed for. They're only not optimal because they're disposable, plus they leak if you let a set of used ones sit in the camera for a long time. The camera was originally designed for heavy users who would be changing the batteries frequently.

The other options are mostly freelancing or sub-optimal because they're either not really the right voltage, or supply the right voltage through a regulator, or in the case of non-rechargeable lithiums (which I haven't tried) expensive.

 

[bdial]

I use Alkaline AA’s in mine, take them out between sessions if you won’t be using it regularly.

 

[George Mann]

I have been using Lithiums in my F90x for years to good affect.

 

[MartinCrabtree]

Used ENergizer lithium successfully for a long time. Just got tired of the unpredictable lifespan as well as annoying "OK we're done" way they go south. Began using Duracell PowerBoost recently. OK so far but haven't been using the F5 much so data is sparse. Always remove them when parking the camera.

 

[pentaxpete]

Thanks for that Tip -- I just removed the Battery Holder from my F5 that has not been used for a while as i have been using my Minolta gear ----

 

[benderscameracorner]

I know we're talking about the F5 here, but I've found using lithium AAs in my F4 results in erratic motor drive operation, every third shot or so it'll stop half way through the advance cycle. Doesn't do it with regular AAs. The set of lithiums I tried aren't brand new, though they drive an R10 Super just fine.

As others have mentioned, always best to yank the battery out of any camera not in current use regardless.
(pour one out for all the old Nikon SLRs destroyed by leaking AAs/AAAs)

 

[MartinCrabtree]

Thanks for that Tip -- I just removed the Battery Holder from my F5 that has not been used for a while as i have been using my Minolta gear ----

Wasn't really meant to be a tip just what I do. However if it helps you that's all the better.

 

[Andreas Thaler]

I'm currently using the new Duracell Optimum batteries for testing, eg winder.

They do seem to deliver more capacity, but I haven't observed this closely.

Duracell Optimum - Duracell Batteries | AA, AAA, Rechargeable, Coin Button

Duracell Optimum - Duracell Batteries | AA, AAA, Rechargeable, Coin Button

www.duracell.com

 

[Chan Tran]

For rechargeables I just ordered 16 AA EBL AA Li-Ion batteries. I am trying them out. So far they work well.

EBL AA Rechargeable Li-ion Battery 1.5V 3000mWh

Shop EBL 1.5V 3000mWh AA Rechargeable Li-ion Battery at EBLOfficial.com. Super long life up to 1200 cycle, convenient and more affordable than thousands of alkaline batteries.

www.eblofficial.com

 

[Alan Edward Klein]

My Garmin GPS has settings for alkaline AA and lithium AA batteries. So there must be a difference.

 

[Sharktooth]

Thanks for that Tip -- I just removed the Battery Holder from my F5 that has not been used for a while as i have been using my Minolta gear ----

You also need to remove any alkaline batteries from the battery holder as well. If you leave the batteries in the holder, the batteries could leak and destroy the holder. The holders are no longer available, so if the holder gets damaged you'll need to get another camera just to get a good holder. Bottom line, don't leave alkaline batteries in any device or holder when not being used. Disaster will almost certainly result. Unfortunately, that's the reality these days. There are no leak-free alkaline batteries, just the cheapest lowest denominator junk.

 

[Christiaan Phleger]

Ha funny enough I just got towards the end of a bulk loaded roll of EK5222 and my F5 started to choke a bit on the winding and then gave an ERR message, blinking lights twice then shut down. I pulled the AA Lithium Energizer batteries and noted that I installed them October 5, 2023, and I likely had about 35-45 rolls run thru it. Pro F5 tip with those AA Lithium Energizer batteries is to sharpie marker the date you installed them, I got a solid 10 months out of them.The biggest drain I think was the recent inclusion of a new lens the 85mm 1.8 G, I think I did a lot of testing the AF functions and how the Dynamic Focussing works.