Mercury battery replacement - what works for you?

[Rick]

[poofygoof]

[Rick]

I can answer my own question at this point. I get at least four months out of a battery before the voltage drops below 1.35 volts. So for less than $3 US a year I can keep my Rollei rolling. Not bad at all.

I was rather surprised at how little interest my original post generated. Someone suggested that a high percentage of Rollei 35's are owned by collectors rather than shooters, thus no need for a battery. Can this be so?!

[poofygoof]

[Botzky]

Hello Rick,
I have read somewhere that you might increase battery life of the 675 cells slightly if you glue shut one or two of the "air holes" of the battery. As far as I understand, the more expensive Wein cells do actually have fewer holes than 675s and therefore last longer, but differ only slightly in voltage (maybe because of the decreased air intake?).
Since I have not tested this myself, I can not guarantee it will work, if you take a lot of pictures, this might not even be an issue for you.

Otherwise there is another alternative to the C.R.I.S. MR-9 adapter. There is an in-depth analysis of the whole mercury cell problem by a guy named F. de Gruijter that also explains how to make an adapter by yourself. So if you are handy and have the necessary equipment, you might produce a fine adapter to work with the silver-oxide batteries for something like $ 5. The guy also sells adapters for € 15 including shipping, so this seems like a good option as well.

I will probably get one of his adapters soon (as soon as I have checked whether my camera even still works properly), so I might report on it later.

[barrington]

I never bother even having a battery in my 35.I used to and the meter was accurate but I never bothered to get an adaptor for it.These days I meter using a Gossen Digisix lightmeter which only takes a couple of seconds and can expose accurately.

Barrington

[Peter]

It's true that this forum is not so active. I have not been using my 35 S for a long time, due to digital shooting. However, I was amazed at how well this little gem performed during my summer holidays in 2007. Rightly exposed and if you can manage the difficult task of "guesstimating" the distance for correct focus, you can get some great pictures.

Just one question: have you tried to test the accuracy of the shutter?

I have had problems with overexposure. Now, it might be due to metering problems (for instance, I bought my camera 2nd hand, so I don't even know if the meter has been re-calibrated to 1.5V), but I think there that it is very likely that the shutter is too slow.

Good luck!