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[OM] Re: OM-4 battery problem

Subject: [OM] Re: OM-4 battery problem
From: Moose <olymoose@xxxxxxxxx>
Date: Thu, 03 May 2007 14:55:32 -0700
John Hermanson wrote:
> Make sure bottom cover screws are tight (and NO, that extra open hole 
> does not mean a screw is missing.  Hole is for alignment pin on motor 
> drive/winder).  
Also check the batteries or try another pair. Some new batteries are 
defective
> Also, it is best to have the chrome (unpainted) battery 
> cap, and use silver oxide batteries (SR-44W, 357, MS76, G13).
>   
YES! Using LR-44s in an OM is asking for trouble. They can lead to what 
appear to be intermittent symptoms of camera failure, but are not. They 
may also lead to symptoms of failure in the photographer.

- Decreased mental stability.
- Abandoning a perfectly good camera.
- Paying for unnecessary repairs.

My comments last month on a similar question about lithium batteries, 
which have the same problems as alkalines:
----------------------------------------------------------------
Safely, as in will not damage the camera? Yes. Unless the scenario 
outlined below leads to irrational damage by the user.

Safely as in will not cause mental and emotional damage in the user, 
Possibly not.

The problem is that it doesn't take very long before the battery drops 
voltage enough under the load of the shutter that it causes the camera 
to lock up. The test light/sound says it is ok, you run the shutter dial 
down to red 60, the mirror drops, and the next shot is fine. And a few 
minutes later the next shot is fine, and so on, until you take a few 
shots in fairly quick succession - and somewhere in the run of shots, it 
locks up again, only to recover after a bit.

It takes it some time, increasing with age and use, to recover from the 
voltage drop from a heavy load, leading to symptoms that may easily 
cause the user to believe the camera suffers from some sort of 
intermittent failure.

Been there, done that, but only once. And fortunately, I realized what 
was happening after trying a set of 357s in the camera.
----------------------------------------------------------------

Moose

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