After shooting my Nikon F3 with motor drive for a few months I ordered an eight-battery charger so I don't have to toss AA batteries into the trash. I know Nicads will work well in the motor drive. Does anyone know if NiMH batteries of the same voltage will cause problems? They're a newer technology and should have longer life before recharging.

-- Darron Spohn (dspohn@photobitstream.com), June 12, 2000

Answers

Darron,

NiCads and NiMh are similar in current rating. NiMh have lesser memory effect that reduse the charge retention capacity of Nicads. Nimh is a less toxic.

-- Anil (anils@vsnl.com), June 13, 2000.

Typically NiMH are a direct replacement for NiCd batteries. The only potential problem is that NiMH tend to have lower internal resistance. If the design is such that the battery internal resistance is a factor, then it could be a problem.

But with a motor based device, it is not a problem.

-- Terry Carraway (TCarraway@compuserve.com), June 14, 2000.

Darron, while I'm sure that NiMH AAs would work, I wouldn't be suprised if the firing rate was pretty lousy. The MN-2 NiCad pack is 16.8 V and 8 rechargable AAs would be only 9.6 V. It's my understanding that the battery indicator changes from two lit LEDs to one at 10.2 V. It's also my understanding that the operating range of the MD-4 is from 7 - 20 V so it should still be usable (yes, I know that amps are more important than volts, but I can't find any aperage specs).

Are you aware that the MD-4 is rated for 140 36-exp rolls of film with Alkaline AAs (the battery check will go from two LEDs to one LED after about 60 rolls at which time 4 FPS is no longer promised)? If you MD-4 is eating batteries, it may need servicing. If not, you may find rechargable AAs not worth your while.

-- Geoffrey S. Kane (grendel@pgh.nauticom.net), June 14, 2000.

Hi Darron, NiMHs are no problem with the MD-4. As Geoffrey said the firing rate may become lower but it is not a must. Ask for NiMHs, the kids use for there model cars, the ampere output is much higher as with the normal ones. If you use NiCds of this kind, you will have a firing rate close to the MH-2 / MN-2 combo. (I tested it) NiMHs are fast for the first five or six films. For finding out of the firing rate, put a film in, switch the body to manuel 1/125, and close the lense. Press the shutter release button for 30 pics (set the frame counter at the MD-4 at 30) and look for the time it takes. One bad side with the NiMHs is, that they may become hot when using in the C-modus and rewinding the film with the MD-4. Take care of that. Regards, Ralf.

-- Ralf Grambrock (101.51955@germanynet.de), July 06, 2000.