CR-P2 Battery: Compatible Cameras

The CR-P2 is a 6-volt lithium photo battery based on lithium manganese dioxide (Li-MnO2). It's built as a sealed block containing two 3-volt lithium cells wired in series, measures roughly 35 × 19.5 × 36 mm and weighs about 37 g. The CR-P2 was introduced in the 1980s to power the then-new generation of compact autofocus and zoom cameras, and technically it belongs to the same family of block-style lithium photo batteries as the 2CR5 (also 6 V, different shape) and the CR-V3 (3 V).

The CR-P2 mainly powers autofocus and zoom compacts from the late ’80s and the ’90s. Typical models include the Nikon F-601 / N6006 and F-601M / N6000, the Nikon AF3 (One Touch), the Nikon Zoom Touch 400/500/600/800 series, the Olympus AF-1 (Infinity) and AF-1 Super, the Olympus AZ-300 Superzoom, the Pentax Zoom 60 / 70 / 90, the Minolta Weathermatic Dual 35 and the Fuji Discovery series (DL-200, DL-300, DL-400). You'll find the complete, searchable list of 34 models at the top of this page.

The CR-P2 contains no mercury and is not affected by the EU bans on the old PX button cells. It's still made as a regular, standard photo battery by Varta, Duracell, Panasonic, Energizer, GP and Kodak, and you can easily find it at electronics retailers, in drugstores and online, often sold as CR-P2, CRP2, 223, 223A, DL223A, EL223AP or 5024LC. At Ausgeknipst you'll find it as the CR-P2 Lithium 6 V Foto-Block. A typical CR-P2 lasts for several hundred shots in a compact camera, and because lithium cells have very low self-discharge, the shelf life is exceptionally long, at around 10 years.

There's no widely available drop-in rechargeable for the CR-P2. A few specialist photo dealers do sell lithium-ion adapters in the CR-P2 format, but it remains a niche market. In practice, a fresh branded CR-P2 is the simplest option, both economically and technically: one battery often lasts for several rolls of film and a whole year of holiday shooting. There's currently no reliable, widely available rechargeable replacement in the CR-P2 format, so a fresh branded battery remains the simplest and safest choice.