Battery for a Yashica Mat 124g

wombat2go · Aug 11, 2014

A friend, now retired, wants to start using her Yashica Mat 124g again after years with digital.
The camera looks to be in good shape and the shutter too, just by sound.
The screen is bright but fairly dusty on the underside.

Does anyone know if the meter will be useable, at least for a test roll, with a common alkaline 1.5 v battery -example 625 types ?

I read comments by some that the meter was problematic anyway.. - ?

Incidentally, the camera was opened up yesterday first time since around 1975 when the front half of the leather cover was blown off a ferry out of Milwaukee and had an exposed roll of
"AP70/C41" film with some German text at end of roll, so maybe Agfa. I have brought the film back to process in next batch of Digibase C41.

Thanks for any battery info , or other info on this old camera .

MattKing · Aug 11, 2014

An alkaline 625 battery will give you incorrect readings, which will most likely vary as the battery is slowly drained.

The voltage will start out too high, and then will vary over time.

Others may be able to tell you whether the meter is reliable with the correct battery.

The "625 battery using" cameras and meters that I use work well with either an adapter that uses silver oxide cells (includes a voltage regulator) or an adapter that modifies the size of 675 hearing aid batteries (contact Jon Goodman here on APUG).

The Wein zinc air 625 cells are another, somewhat expensive alternative.

gone · Aug 11, 2014

While a 1.5V battery is incorrect, my experience is that they will probably work fine. Just adjust the ISO setting a little to get it to agree w/ a good hand held meter (chances are you're gonna have to do this even w/ a 1.35V battery), and ck it now and then. I have a 1.5V in my Canon FTb camera, and it's kept a stable voltage for a year now. There's two of those batteries in my Nikon EM that have been in there for over 2 years, and the last time I checked them they were reading 1.44V, and this is a camera that needs them for the shutter and the meter, not just for the meter like yours. If you just want to go w/ a closer voltage for whatever reason, hearing aid batteries are far cheaper than the Wein cells, and last just as long....not very darned long.

Ken Nadvornick · Aug 11, 2014

I believe the metering circuit does not employ the voltage-independent "bridge" design. This renders reading voltage-dependent. When that feature is present one can get away with a wider range of voltages.

So as Matt says, using the wrong battery, while it will operate the meter, usually gives incorrect readings. Except for that brief moment when the battery decay passes through the 1.35-volt mark, which is what the nominal voltage of the now discontinued PX625 mercury oxide cells generated.

Adjusting the ISO setting to compensate is, as mentioned, a fiddly but usually acceptable shorter-term workaround. The problem arises because the discharge curves for the different replacement cells are not the same as the original mercury cells. This means if accuracy is desired, one must relatively frequently recalibrate (readjust) the ISO setting to follow the decaying replacement cell. Mercury cells held a very constant voltage over their entire working lifespan.

When the correct voltage is supplied, the meter is surprisingly accurate in normally lighted situations. I am an original owner of a Mat 124G and have a lifetime stash of the original mercury cells in the freezer. I once asked my camera repairman if he would officially calibrate the meter. He was hesitant as they are not particularly robust, but I insisted. After he finished I checked it against my handheld meters (again, in normal lighting situations, not in excessively dim light) and it matched exactly.

Years later it still matches. Note that I am not a heavy user of this meter. But when I have used it, it continues to read correctly.

Ken

GRHazelton · Aug 11, 2014

Heh. My problem is getting the battery compartment off the camera! I really don't want to use a pair of pliers. Any suggestions out there??

Cybertrash · Aug 11, 2014

GRHazelton said:
Heh. My problem is getting the battery compartment off the camera! I really don't want to use a pair of pliers. Any suggestions out there??

I had the same problem, I put on a pair of rubber dishwashing gloves and managed to twist it off, the gloves gave me a better grip without searing my fingertips off.

Ken Nadvornick · Aug 11, 2014

GRHazelton said:
Heh. My problem is getting the battery compartment off the camera! I really don't want to use a pair of pliers. Any suggestions out there??

Maybe one of those rubbery "gripper" sheets that help in unscrewing stuck jars in the kitchen? Press down really hard with your thumb while rotating?

Note that stuck battery compartment covers can sometimes be that way due to corrosion from a leaking cell still inside...

Ken

[Edit: Ahh... I see 'Cybertrash' beat me to it.]

ic-racer · Aug 11, 2014

When I got my 124-G in 1975 the CDS meter was a step above the 'other' TLR with a meter. Although the competitor was German made, it had a selenium meter. Currently I use a Zinc/air battery with success.

trythis · Aug 11, 2014

Hopefully the battery was removed before storage. If its corroded, the lead wire will need replacing anyway. The voltage issue would bother me for slide film but not so much print.

ToddB · Aug 11, 2014

You could always for go on board light meter and use hand held. They are for faily good price no days.

Todd

wombat2go · Aug 11, 2014

Thanks, all, for the advice.
Summary: -1) Zinc air 675 needs adaptor and self discharges.
-2) No bridge, so the needle might be about 1.2 times upscale with a new EPX 625.
and setting the aperture follower on the needle will tend to under-expose.

I am mailing a roll of Ektar 100 and an EPX 625 and i will ask her to set the iso to one click below iso 100.

Gunfleet · Aug 11, 2014

There is someone who sells a little battery converter on Ebay from Thailand. I bought 2 for my lunasix and they work perfectly. I'll see if i can find his name.

bvy · Aug 11, 2014

This:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/130646083632

I bought one also. Works well.

Gunfleet · Aug 11, 2014

That's the guy. It got to the uk v quickly too.

pdmk · Aug 12, 2014

I have this camera and I am using one 625A battery type without any adapters etc, and it woks just fine

Xmas · Aug 12, 2014

trythis said:
Hopefully the battery was removed before storage. If its corroded, the lead wire will need replacing anyway. The voltage issue would bother me for slide film but not so much print.

The camera still had a film in it...

Mercury is toxic if you get to cover off you need to treat the debris like Hazchem spill.

wombat2go · Aug 12, 2014

Battery and compartment metal were of shiny appearance. No corrosion or leakage.
From reading some info, the battery can be delivered to one of the annual residential community hazardous waste collection programs here in Michigan.

wombat2go · Aug 12, 2014

Rhodes · Aug 12, 2014

I used weincell replacement battery on my, never had any problem.
http://www.amazon.com/WeinCell-MRB625-Replacement-Battery-PX625/dp/B00009VQJ7

tokam · Aug 13, 2014

My 124G was CLA'd in late 2008 and part if the CLA was 'recalibrate' meter for 1.5V cell.
I don't know if this involved insertion of a Schottky diode in the circuit or adjusting trimming pots
to adjust the meter response. Seems to be accurate in Sunny 16 situations but response is slow indoors
at lower light levels. A Gossen Profisix, (Luna Pro SBC), takes over the duties in the situations.

Alas, the rear element of the taking lens has succumbed to that outgas type fogging that this model
is reknowned for. This happened after a period of only 5 years. Have to find someone in Sydney to clean it
without taking me to the cleaners.

porkphoto · Aug 14, 2014

Try googling yasica_guy@yahoo.com he might be able to help you.

mklw1954 · Aug 28, 2014

I use 675 hearing aid batteries in an inexpensive adapter: http://www.paulbg.com/Nikon_F_meter_batteries.htm
and it works fine in my 124. Fortunately, the meter is good and I get good exposures.

I do check the volatge of the battery before use because they decay after a few months. I remove the battery and cover the +-side holes but I'm not sure if that stops the decay. But the batteries are inexpensive.

E. von Hoegh · Aug 28, 2014

Cover three of the four airholes on the 675; I got nearly three years out of one this way.

picmec · Dec 27, 2015

Just use 625

Just use normal 625 batteries, they work fine. I'm using them on my Yashica Mat 124 G as well as on my Rollei 35, have checked the meterings with a Seikonic light meter and of course (more importantly) the pictures themselves.

Some people will tell you that the metering is off one or two stops (although they usually don't even know which way!), but don't bother, it is not true -- at least for my cameras. -- Consider also that the indicated voltage just tells you what the rating for the battery is, not what the actual voltage is at a given time and under the given circumstances. Therefore is can't make a big difference if the voltage of the battery is a bit off.

And remember: The light meters on these cameras just meter the average light in the scene, they have nothing like "center weighted metering" etc. Plus they have these tiny indicators, which don't give you exact numbers. So you have to correct the metering anyway, no matter what battery. One could use a proper light meter with spot metering, but in the end that doesn't make the judgements for you - you have to decide yourself for what part of the scene you want to expose - and there is just one exposure for the whole frame.

If you find that your exposures are consistently a bit off, take b&w pictures and develop the films yourself, you might want to push your films a bit instead of crunching numbers at every shot.

Battery for a Yashica Mat 124g

Moderator

Privacy & Transparency

Privacy & Transparency