Tim Hughes' notes on the OM1 battery fix pointed us off to
http://data.energizer.com/
for technical data on various alternatives. He did not mention zinc-air
batteries. I recalled that a short time ago there was some question
here about whether the zinc-air batteries started to decline as soon as
they were exposed to the air. While at energizer.com I decided to take
a look and found the following:
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"The key to miniature zinc air battery shelf life is the tab seal. This
seal should not be removed until the battery is put into service.
Miniature zinc air batteries stored at room temperature with the tabs
left in place and subjected to typical hearing aid service tests show
950f initial service after one year and 90% after two years.
Accelerated testing indicates that room temperature service maintenance
at four years should exceed 85%.
The activated (tab off) air cell batteries have an expected fresh
capacity maintenance, depending on cell size, of 50% after 3-12 weeks at
20oC (68oF). Beyond 20 weeks, at 20oC (68oF), fresh capacity maintenance
drops to 0-10%. It is therefore very important to keep the tab seal in
place until usage."
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Once the tab seal is removed it would seem that the life of the battery
is at most a few months. At only $5.69 for a pack of 8 at Radio Shack
these batteries are cheap. If you use your camera constantly they may
be a good deal. If you leave the camera untouched for months at a time
then maybe not.
Chuck Norcutt
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