Nick,
Welcome the many of us who have older cameras that used the PX-625. Quite
a few from the OM-1[n] era did along with many hand-held light meters,
including the Gossen Luna-Pro. There are a number of options. You
mentioned one which is the most expensive, and should be done in
conjunction with a CLA. There are at least three others:
The C.R.I.S. MR-9 adapter:
It is reusable, made of metal, uses a physically smaller Silver MS-76 that
fits inside it, and has an internal voltage regulator to drop the voltage
down. BTW, this is what I use in the OM-1n and a Rollei 35S. Sources for
these:
http://www.zuiko.com/
http://www.criscam.com/
The 675 Hearing Aid Battery Collar:
Adapts the lower voltage (1.4V), smaller than a 625, and inexpensive
Zinc-Air hearing aid battery available at any drug store to the 625 size.
Made of sturdy nylon, it is reusable also. The 675 Zinc-Air cells will not
last all that long, but they're cheap:
http://www.olympusguy.com/NewLArt8.htm
The 625 Zinc-Air Wein Cell:
Designed specifically as a drop-in replacement for the PX-625 Mercury, this
Zinc-Air will last much longer than the 675 cells, but they are more
expensive. Available at any large camera store or through numerous camera
battery sources on line.
-- John
P.S.
If you ever encounter anything that used a *pair* of them, Gossen still
makes an adapter for a pair of cells as does Minox.
At 01:29 10/13/00 , Nick wondered:
>The OM-1 is the preferred camera for amateur film astrophotography, and
>I've been using my OM-1n for prime focus and eyepiece projection pictures
>very happily. I recently decided that I really needed to start using
>this pretty baby for terrestrial photos as well and bought a 50mm f/1.4
>... and then realized that the original mercury cell isn't available
>any longer in the U.S. I'd really like to be able to use the OM-1n's
>light meter, but I'm at a loss here. I've heard that the camera can be
>modified for silver oxide batteries ... how much does that cost, and
>where is the best place to have it done? This is a lovely little
>camera, and I sure don't want to have it butchered! Or are there
>possibly some other solutions ... short of using an external light
>meter?
>
>You help will be most appreciated,
> -Nick (OM-1 newbie)
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