PX27 Battery Adapter Set for Minox 35 GT, EL, GL

Suitable for various cameras, including:

• Minox: 35 AL, 35 EL, 35 GL, 35 GT, 35 PE, 35 PL, LX Overview of Minox cameras with PX27
• Rollei: 35 LED
• Agfa: Optima 335, Optima Sensor Flash
• Hanimex: VEF Zoom

Not suitable for Minox 35 ML, MB and M.D.C. (these require a PX28 adapter).

Also not suitable for the Minox C, EC and ECX or the Rollei A110 and E110. Four SR44 are too tall for these, as customers with the C, EC, A110 and E110 have reported to us.

For the Rollei 35 SE and 35 TE there is the square PX27 Rollei adapter.

Also not suitable for the late Minox 35 models from 1988 onward: GT-E, GT-E II, GS-E, GT-S, GT-X and Goldknopf Edition. Their built-in battery holder takes two CR 1/3N cells with a diameter of 11,6 mm. At around 13 mm, the adapter sleeve is too thick for it. The matching battery: CR 1/3N lithium cell.

Complete set with filter adapter: The included filter adapter only fits the Minox 35, and its size differs depending on the model. That's why the complete set is available in two versions: for GT, PL and PE (32 mm lens barrel) and for EL and GL (31 mm lens barrel).

ISO badge for the Minox 35 PL and PE: The ISO scale of the PL and PE only goes up to ISO 400. The badges in the Set and in the Complete sets go up to ISO 800 and therefore do not fit the PL and PE. The badge up to ISO 400 is available separately: ISO sticker for Minox 35.

Not sure whether the adapter fits your camera? Complete list of all cameras that take the PX27 battery type.

• Adapter material: engineering plastic
• Colour: black
• Adapter outer diameter: around 13 mm
• Height with 4x SR44: 21,6 mm (original PX27: 20,5 mm)
• Battery system: 4x SR44 silver oxide (1,55V per cell, 6,2V total)
• Replacement for: PX27 / V27PX / 4SR43 / EPX27
• SKU: 1027

The Minox 35 GT, GL, EL and PL originally required the PX27 mercury battery with 5.6 V, and since the mercury ban there has been no identical replacement for it. This adapter holds four SR44 silver oxide cells and keeps them centred in the battery compartment.

The usual makeshift fix, wrapping four button cells in tape and hoping the stack fits, is error-prone and leads to contact problems. Besides the Minox 35 models with PX27, the adapter also fits the Rollei 35 LED, among others.

• Inserting: Stack the four SR44 in the adapter all facing the same way; the flat, labelled side is the positive pole on each one. In the Minox 35, the stack goes into the battery compartment negative pole first, with the positive pole facing the cover (there is a plus sign on the inside of the cover to show this). In other cameras, follow the marking in the battery compartment.
• Transport protection: To protect it during shipping, the adapter sits on a small holding plate. Slide it off in the direction of the arrow; you won't need the plate after that.
• Longer break: If the camera is going to sit unused for several months, take the cells out. A leaking cell can damage the contacts in the battery compartment.
• First film: After changing the battery, start with an ISO 400 negative film. Its wide exposure latitude absorbs small deviations.

Alternative designations for this battery type: PX27, V27PX, 4SR43, S27PX, PX27S, RPX27S, PX27A, 4LR43, A27PX, 4AG12, U27PX, V7150, Varta 7150, L7150, EPX27, KX27, RPX27, H-4N, MER27, HS3C, 1413MP, 4NR43, VPX27

Problems with the power supply, such as poor contact or cells that run down quickly? In our FAQ article on batteries and adapters you'll find the most common causes and solutions.

“Do 4x SR44 even fit in the battery compartment?”

In the Minox 35 with PX27 (EL, GL, GT, PE, PL), yes. Four SR44 add up to a height of 21,6 mm, while the original PX27 was 20,5 mm tall. The adapter does not change this height: it is a sleeve that holds the cells centred in the compartment. The sprung contact in the screw cap of the Minox 35 takes up the good extra millimetre, and the cover closes normally. It is tighter in cameras whose compartment has hardly any spring travel. Customers have reported to us that the stack is too tall in the small Minox C and EC as well as in the Rollei A110 and E110. The adapter is therefore not suitable for these cameras, nor for the Minox ECX. Four LR43, on the other hand, would be too short at 16,8 mm and rattle around.

“6,2V instead of 5,6V, is the exposure still correct?”

Practical tests and community experience show: the Minox 35 series works at 6.0–6.2V without any relevant exposure deviation in normal daylight. In low light conditions (dusk, indoors), a slight tendency towards underexposure can occur. If you want to play it safe, adjust the ISO down by one stop. Negative film handles this small difference.

“Why SR44 and not alkaline (LR44)?”

The original PX27 was a mercury battery with 5.6V and a very flat discharge curve. The automatic exposure of the Minox 35 works without an internal voltage regulator. It responds directly to the applied battery voltage. SR44 silver oxide cells deliver 4 x 1.55V = 6.2V with a similarly flat curve: the voltage stays stable until the cell drops off steeply at the end of its service life.

LR44 alkaline cells start at 4 x 1,5V = 6,0V and then drop continuously. At first the exposure is right, after a few weeks it no longer is. In analogue photography forums, Minox owners regularly report deviations of about one stop when using LR44, without knowing that the battery is the cause.

“Wouldn't 2x CR1/3N lithium be enough?”

2x CR1/3N add up to 6,0V with a flat discharge curve, a good alternative on paper. In practice, photographers report CR1/3N cells that deliver undervoltage straight from the factory (2,7V instead of 3,0V). Especially from cheap suppliers and marketplace counterfeits. As a standard watch battery, SR44 is too cheap to be worth counterfeiting. This risk is eliminated. It's different with the late Minox 35 models from the GT-E (1988) onwards: there, 2x CR 1/3N is the battery type specified from the factory, and this adapter does not fit their battery holder.

“Why not just buy a ready-made PX27 replacement battery?”

That works as long as you can get one. There are ready-made PX27 replacement cells that consist internally of four LR43 alkaline cells in a housing. Their voltage drops over time, and the smaller LR43 have less capacity than SR44. When such a replacement cell is empty, you buy the whole unit again. With the adapter, you only replace the four SR44.