Alkaline (and lithium) batteries in a 2 or 2N will produce meter errors
up to 2 stops (needle low in finder) producing overexposure. OTF
exposure is not affected (atleast not noticeably).
Also, if you put 2 bodies of the same type side by side, one meter might
be within 1/2 stop high the other 1/2 stop low, which between the two is
1 stop difference, but totally acceptable from a service standpoint.
John
MR THOMAS N CURLEE wrote:
> I got both my bodies back from John H. this week. One is a OM-2 MD
> and the other is a OM-2S. Both needed batteries so I dug around in
> the camera bag and came up with a set of 357's and a set of 357A's (I
> bought them by mistake). I well know that some OM cameras simply
> won't work properly with anything but the 357 but my OM-2S works (at
> least fires) with almost anything I put into it. As long as the
> camera fired properly I figured I could get away with 'wrong'
> batteries for a while.
>
> I checked the metering on both cameras by putting the same 50mm lens
> on both bodies and metering the same blank wall. I got 2/3 to 1 stop
> difference between the 2 bodies. I wasn't too happy about this and
> thought bad thoughts about John H. (sorry John!), figuring that I
> would need to send the camera back for re-calibration. THEN I
> remembered that I had 2 different types of batteries in the cameras.
> I picked up a batch of 357's the next day. Now the 2 bodies are
> within 1/3 of a stop or less. I checked the 2 357A's and found that,
> for some reason, the voltage was different between the 2 cells - 1.
> 498V vs. 1.518V. For what it's worth, a new 357 measures 1.619V.
> The difference (6 - 7 percent) makes a noticeable difference in the
> meter calibration.
>
> Moral: Use the right batteries - the 357.
>
> I found it interesting that the 357A is a alkaline battery. I saw
> 357A and assumed it was the same as a 357. The package was marked
> 357A while the battery itself is marked as a LR44.
>
> For those in North America, the home repair store chain Home Depot
> stocks the 357 for $1.38 ea. This is much cheaper than Radio Shack,
> who had the LR44 marked as the 357A.
>
> I guess I've learned my lesson on what battery to use. Do what John
> tells us to do and use the 357! Now I need to get out and put some
> film through the cameras.
>
> Tom
>
>
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