BATTERIES FOR THE OLYMPUS OM-4

[Rick Bear]

Apparently, if my information is correct, the Olympus OM-4 will not meter correctly if you power it with modern batteries.

I have an Olympus OM-4 and understand that it will work ok, and meter correctly, using 765 zincair hearing aid batteries. I HAVE NOT TRIED THEM, but reports are that they work. Reports suggest they won't last as long as the original 1980s batteries, but they're cheap enough that it isn't really a problem.

I'll order some 765 zincair hearing aid batteries and give them a try. Meanwhile, if anyone has experience of using them, your comments would be appreciated.

Rick Bear

[Tellet]

I use regular 357 batteries in my OM-2 and it meters fine. I've heard of some issues with OM-4 eating batteries with a partial solution of putting it in B mode before storing it. I'm not sure about the zinc-air batteries but I do use hearing aid silver-air batteries in some of my older cameras that originally used a mercury battery (1.35v) and they work fine. Just need to put a spacer around them to keep them from rattling. None of the air batteries last very long compared to the mercury batteries but they do have a similar voltage drop curve.

[Dave Nelson]

Use the WeinCell MRB625 replacement battery for PX625/PX13. This is designed as a drop-in replacement for the OM-1, and even says so on the packaging. I am assuming the OM4 uses the same 1.35v battery as the OM1..... They aren't hard to find with a web search and that way you can find the closest seller to you.....

[jyutzey]

Late to this party, but I recently acquired an Oly OM1n and went through the same battery issues. I tried the 765 zincair batteries with an adapter ring. The voltage was 1.4/1.45 compared to the 1.35 of the original mercury batteries. I benchmarked the OM1n meter using the 765 battery against a digital camera meter. In good light, the OM1n meter overexposed by about 1 stop. In low light, the meter underexposed by about 1 stop. If you are shooting negative film, some would argue that given the latitude of the film that this is close enough, especially in good light. I wanted something more accurate, and will second Dave's suggestion of the 1.35v Wein batteries, which are designed as replacements for the old 1.35 mercury ones. Metering with these batteries is spot on. They may not last nearly as long as the old mercs, but the accuracy is worth the $5 ea. price tag to me. I got mine at Adorama, but surely there is a camera outlet in the UK that has them. Cheers!