Battery finder: Which battery does your Konica camera take?
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The Konica Autoreflex bodies were built around 1.35V mercury cells1, which are no longer made. On account of them being, well, highly toxic.2 (But I’ve put together a guide on what you can use instead of a mercury battery.)
Fortunately, most of them — the Autoreflex A, A3, T and T3 — take the PX675 size3, and that one has an easy modern substitute that the larger mercury cells do not. Unlike the larger PX625 used by the later TC and T44, which needs an adapter or a purpose-made replacement cell, the PX675 is an exact physical match for standard 675 zinc-air hearing aid batteries.
The zinc-air chemistry is what makes this work without recalibrating the camera. They output a very steady ~1.4V, which is close enough to the original 1.35V spec that the meter reads very nearly right — any slight variation is well within the exposure latitude of negative film. More importantly, zinc-air shares the flat discharge curve of the old mercury cells. The meter will give you consistent readings right up until the battery dies, rather than slowly drifting into false underexposure as the voltage drops.
There is a slight catch, however. Zinc-air batteries are activated by oxygen. Once you pull the adhesive tab off the back, the chemical reaction begins, and the battery will run down within weeks to months whether the camera is actively metering or just sitting on a shelf in your office.
You can get photography-branded replacements (like WeinCells) that often have a pretty hefty markup. Many Konica shooters also just pick up a bulk blister pack of standard 675 hearing aid batteries at the drugstore or Costco at pennies apiece.
SLRs
| Camera | Battery | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Auto-Reflex | 1× 1.3V mercury cell (size not stated — see notes) Also at: Amazon | Konica's manual says only that the meter is “powered by a 1.3V mercury battery” and never names the cell, so check the size in your camera before buying a replacement. |
| Autoreflex A | 2× PX675 (1.35V mercury — see notes) Also at: Amazon | Manual: the CdS meter “operates on two Mallory No. PX-675 1.3V mercury batteries”. The easy modern substitute is a zinc-air 675 hearing-aid cell (about 1.4V); silver-oxide SR44-type cells sit at 1.55V and will skew the meter. |
| Autoreflex A3 | 2× PX675 (1.35V mercury — see notes) Also at: Amazon | Manual: “Insert the two 1.35 Volt mercury photographic batteries” — PX675 — for the meter. The easy modern substitute is a zinc-air 675 hearing-aid cell (about 1.4V); silver-oxide SR44-type cells sit at 1.55V and will skew the meter. |
| Autoreflex T | 2× PX675 (1.35V mercury — see notes) Also at: Amazon | Manual: “two Mallory No. PX-675 or Eveready EPX-675 or equivalent 1.3V mercury batteries” for the CdS meter. The easy modern substitute is a zinc-air 675 hearing-aid cell (about 1.4V); silver-oxide SR44-type cells sit at 1.55V and will skew the meter. |
| Autoreflex T3 | 2× PX675 (1.35V mercury — see notes) Also at: Amazon | Two 1.35V mercury PX675 cells run the TTL meter. The easy modern substitute is a zinc-air 675 hearing-aid cell (about 1.4V); silver-oxide SR44-type cells sit at 1.55V and will skew the meter. |
| Autoreflex T4 | 2× PX625 (1.35V mercury — see notes) Also at: Amazon | Two 1.35V mercury cells (Mallory PX-13 or PX-625) for the TTL meter — the larger size, not the T3's PX675. Mercury cells are no longer made; the usual fixes are an MR-9 adapter with a silver-oxide SR43, a zinc-air WeinCell, or a same-size alkaline that reads slightly off. |
| Autoreflex TC | 2× PX625 (1.35V mercury — see notes) Also at: Amazon | Two 1.35V mercury cells (Mallory PX-13 or PX-625) for the meter — the larger size, not the PX675 of the earlier Autoreflex bodies. Mercury cells are no longer made; the usual fixes are an MR-9 adapter with a silver-oxide SR43, a zinc-air WeinCell, or a same-size alkaline that reads slightly off. |
| FC-1 | 4× LR44 or SR44 Also at: Amazon | Four separate 1.5V LR44 or silver-oxide SR44 button cells — not a single 4LR44 — and don't mix the two types. The camera cannot operate without them. |
| FP-1 | 1× 4LR44 / 4SR44 (6V) Also at: Amazon | A single 6V 4LR44 alkaline (Eveready 537) or 4SR44 silver-oxide (Eveready 544) — note that a 4LR44 is not an LR44, which is a 1.5V button cell. |
| FS-1 | 4× AA Also at: Amazon | Four AA alkaline cells; NiCd rechargeables can't be used. When they run low the whole system shuts off until they're replaced. |
| FT-1 / FT-1 Motor | 4× AAA, or 4× AA in the larger grip Also at: Amazon | Four AAA (LR03) or AA (LR6) alkaline cells, depending on which power-grip battery case is fitted, run all its functions. The camera will not operate without them. |
| TC-X | 1× AAA, or 1× AA Also at: Amazon | A single AAA (LR03) cell — or an AA (LR6) — powers the auto-exposure system. |
Compacts
| Camera | Battery | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Ai Big Mini BM-411Z | 1× CR-P2 (6V lithium) Also at: Amazon | One 6V CR-P2 lithium pack. The camera will not operate without it. |
| Auto S2 | 1× PX625 (1.35V mercury — see notes) Also at: Amazon | One mercury cell (Mallory PX-13 or PX-625) for the CdS meter. Mercury cells are no longer made; the usual fixes are an MR-9 adapter with a silver-oxide SR43, a zinc-air WeinCell, or a same-size alkaline that reads slightly off. |
| Auto S3 | 1× PX675 (1.35V mercury — see notes) Also at: Amazon | One 1.35V Mallory PX-675 (or Eveready EPX-675) for the meter. The easy modern substitute is a zinc-air 675 hearing-aid cell (about 1.4V); silver-oxide SR44-type cells sit at 1.55V and will skew the meter. |
| Big Mini BM-201 | 1× CR123A (3V lithium) Also at: Amazon | One 3V CR123A (or DL123A) lithium cell, which also runs the date clock. The camera will not operate without it. |
| Big Mini BM-302 | 1× CR123A (3V lithium) Also at: Amazon | One 3V CR123A (or DL123A) lithium cell, which also runs the date clock. The camera will not operate without it. |
| Big Mini BM-311Z | 1× CR-P2 (6V lithium) Also at: Amazon | One 6V CR-P2 lithium pack — not the CR123A of the non-zoom Big Minis. The camera will not operate without it. |
| Big Mini F | 1× CR123A (3V lithium) Also at: Amazon | One 3V CR123A (or DL123A) lithium cell. The camera will not operate without it. |
| Big Mini SR (BM-100) | 1× CR123A (3V lithium) Also at: Amazon | One 3V CR123A (or DL123A) lithium cell. |
| C35 | 1× PX675 (1.35V mercury — see notes) Also at: Amazon | One 1.3V Eveready EPX-675 or Mallory PX-675 for the CdS meter. The easy modern substitute is a zinc-air 675 hearing-aid cell (about 1.4V); silver-oxide SR44-type cells sit at 1.55V and will skew the meter. |
| C35 AF | 2× AA Also at: Amazon | Two 1.5V AA alkaline cells. Konica lists them in the flash specification and doesn't spell out what else runs on them. |
| C35 MF | 2× AA Also at: Amazon | Two 1.5V AA alkaline cells run the shutter, flash, film wind and rewind. Without them the camera can't be operated at all. |
| Hexar AF | 1× 2CR5 (6V lithium) Also at: Amazon | One 6V 2CR5 lithium cell; auto-date versions add a CR2025 for the date function. |
Rangefinder
Things worth knowing
The zinc-air trick
A PX675 mercury cell can be replaced with a zinc-air 675 hearing-aid battery. It runs at about 1.4V, close to the original 1.35V, and they cost very little because they are made in bulk for hearing aids. The catch is life: once you peel the seal and air reaches it, the clock starts and you get weeks to months whether you shoot or not. So leave the tab on each one until you actually need it.
Next-best, with a catch
A silver-oxide SR44-type cell will physically fit but sits at 1.55V, which pushes the meter off. You won’t break anything, and because silver oxide holds its voltage steady, the meter reads high by a consistent amount — so you can offset it on the film-speed dial, or bracket.
An LR44 is the worst of both worlds — a meter that reads off and a reading that changes over time as the battery discharges at an ever-decreasing output.
The later Konicas need power to shoot
On the Autoreflex bodies, Konica lists the mercury cells as the meter’s power source. The shutter is mechanical, so a camera with a dead or missing battery still fires at every speed. You just lose the meter and the automatic exposure that depends on it.5 The later cameras are a different story: the FS-1, FT-1, FC-1, C35 MF, Big Minis and Hexar RF manuals all say plainly that the camera won’t operate without its batteries.6
Not every Big Mini takes the same battery
The fixed-lens Big Minis — the BM-201, BM-302, F and SR — take a single CR123A.7 The zooms, the BM-311Z and the Ai Big Mini BM-411Z, take a 6V CR-P2 instead8, so check which one you have before buying spares.
Still to verify
A few Konicas aren’t here yet, because I haven’t been able to confirm their batteries from a legible page of the manual: the Auto-Reflex P, Auto SE, C35 Automatic, C35 EFP, C35 AF2, A4 and FTA. Each one gets added as soon as I can.
This is a growing document that I keep updating as I verify more models. Every battery listed here comes from the camera’s own manual or the manufacturer’s spec sheet, not from memory or a forum post. If you spot something that needs correcting, please let me know.
Battery charts by brand
Cameras: Agfa · Bronica · Canon · Contax · Fujifilm · Hasselblad · Konica · Leica · Mamiya · Minolta · Nikon · OM System and Olympus · Panasonic Lumix · Pentax · Ricoh · Sigma · Sony · Yashica
Action cameras: DJI Osmo · GoPro · Insta360
Notes & References:
- Sources: Energizer EPX675 datasheet; Energizer EPX625 datasheet, which lists the cell as mercuric oxide at 1.35V. [↩︎]
- 1.35V mercury-oxide button cells were phased out globally in the 1990s due to severe environmental toxicity and groundwater contamination. They were officially banned in the United States by the Mercury-Containing and Rechargeable Battery Management Act of 1996. [↩︎]
- Sources: Konica Autoreflex A instructions (scanned copy hosted by the Butkus archive); Konica Autoreflex A3 instructions (scanned copy hosted by the Butkus archive); Konica Autoreflex T instructions (scanned copy hosted by the Butkus archive); Konica Autoreflex T3 instructions (scanned copy hosted by the Butkus archive). [↩︎]
- Sources: Konica Autoreflex TC instructions (scanned copy hosted by the Butkus archive); Konica Autoreflex T4 instructions (scanned copy hosted by the Butkus archive). [↩︎]
- Sources: Konica Autoreflex A instructions (scanned copy hosted by the Butkus archive); Konica Autoreflex A3 instructions (scanned copy hosted by the Butkus archive); Konica Autoreflex T instructions (scanned copy hosted by the Butkus archive); Konica Autoreflex T3 instructions (scanned copy hosted by the Butkus archive). [↩︎]
- Sources: Konica FS-1 instructions (scanned copy hosted by the Butkus archive); Konica FT-1 instructions (scanned copy hosted by the Butkus archive); Konica FC-1 instructions (scanned copy hosted by the Butkus archive); Konica C35 MF instructions (scanned copy hosted by the Butkus archive); Konica Big Mini BM-201 instructions (scanned copy hosted by the Butkus archive); Konica Hexar RF instructions (scanned copy hosted by the Butkus archive). [↩︎]
- Sources: Konica Big Mini BM-201 instructions (scanned copy hosted by the Butkus archive); Konica Big Mini BM-302 instructions (scanned copy hosted by the Butkus archive); Konica Big Mini F instructions (scanned copy hosted by the Butkus archive); Konica Big Mini SR instructions (scanned copy hosted by the Butkus archive). [↩︎]
- Sources: Konica Big Mini BM-311Z instructions (scanned copy hosted by the Butkus archive); Konica Ai Big Mini BM-411Z instructions (scanned copy hosted by the Butkus archive). [↩︎]
