Battery type LR44 — Compatible Cameras

The LR44 is a 1.5-volt alkaline manganese button cell measuring 11.6 × 5.4 mm. Since the 1970s and 1980s, it has been used as a standard battery in countless analog cameras, calculators, and small electronic devices and is now available everywhere in regular retail (drugstores, supermarkets, photo specialty stores). Common synonyms for exactly the same cell are AG13, A76, L1154, and LR1154 — when buying, it’s all the same.

LR44 (or its silver oxide sister SR44) was the standard button cell from the 1970s and 1980s for a whole generation of compact SLRs and rangefinder cameras. Typical models: Minolta X-700, X-300, X-500, X-570, XD-7/XD-11, XG-1/XG-7/XG-9 and CLE; Olympus OM-2SP, OM-3, OM-4, OM-10, OM-20, OM-30, OM-40 as well as the XA series (XA, XA2, XA3, XA4), which use LR44 directly; Nikon FE, FE2, FE10, FM2/FM2n, FM3a, FA, FG, EM and F3; Pentax K1000, KX, KM, K2, ME, ME Super, MX, LX, Super A, Super Program; Canon T60; Yashica FX-3 (including Super 2000) and FX-D; Contax 139 Quartz, 159 MM and S2; Konica FC-1 and FP-1. Important note: The Olympus OM-1 and OM-1n are NOT on this list — they were designed for the 1.35 V mercury cell PX625; also, in OM-2 and OM-2n, a factory spacer for 2x LR44 causes exposure errors because the 1.5 V voltage is above the specified voltage. The searchable full list with over 330 models at the top of this page shows which camera needs one, two, three, or four LR44 batteries.

The two cells are mechanically identical (11.6 × 5.4 mm) and fit the same battery compartment without an adapter. The difference lies in the chemistry and discharge curve:

• LR44 (alkaline manganese, 1.5 V nominal voltage): cheap and widely available. Voltage steadily drops over its lifetime — from about 1.55 V new to under 1.2 V when empty. Uncritical for simple on/off uses (shutter release, LED).
• SR44 (silver oxide, 1.55 V nominal voltage): a bit more expensive, but keeps the voltage nearly constant at 1.55 V over about 90% of its discharge, providing more consistent readings on the light meter. For slide film and generally critical exposure metering, SR44 is the clean choice.

For most of the cameras listed above, the difference hardly matters in everyday use — alkaline LR44 is enough for occasional snapshots. If you value consistently accurate exposure throughout the battery's life, go for SR44.

No — for two reasons. First, the LR44 at 11.6 × 5.4 mm is significantly smaller than the PX625 (15.6 × 11.2 mm) and does not fit into the battery compartment without an adapter. Second — even with an adapter — it delivers 1.5 V instead of the required 1.35 V. Higher voltage than specified leads to underexposure of about one to 1.5 stops because the light meter assumes more light and the aperture closes too far. Added to this is the bigger problem: alkaline cells do not maintain a constant voltage but continuously decrease it over their lifetime — the exposure measurement would drift permanently during the battery’s usage. For PX625 cameras (Olympus OM-1, Canon F-1, Rollei 35, Leica M5, Pentax Spotmatic, etc.) our PX625 adapters with zinc-air hearing aid batteries or the USB-C charging set with V80H battery are the right solution — not LR44.

Many of the LR44 cameras (for example Minolta X-700, Nikon FE/FE2, or Canon T60) require two or three cells stacked in the battery compartment. The correct polarity is important: all cells must be inserted in the same direction, otherwise the voltage will not add up and the camera will not respond. The correct stacking direction is stated in the camera manual or is embossed in the battery compartment itself — in many models, the plus (the flat, large side with the label) points upwards towards the cover, but this is not universal. If nothing happens after inserting, it’s worth checking: scrape the contacts in the battery compartment free of oxidation with a screwdriver or key and then clean with distilled water — this is the most common cause of failure in old cameras.