I recently bought a rechargeable 2CR5 battery pack (Charger + battery) form www.pictop.co.uk.

It does not work properly with the Pentax Z1/P (and not with a minolta compact either).

The two problems are:
*As soon as the built in flash is activated, the camera shuts down. (only removing the battery and reinserting it will wake it uo).

*Even without the flash, the mirror locks up quite often after the exposure.
(taking the lens of, on single focus mode press the shutter button, an then switching of power managed to release the mirror every time).

*The camera makes every now an then a strange sound like it switches off and on in a split second because the viewfinder also goes off and on.

Possible reasons for the problem:
*The voltage of the 2CR5 cell is 8.10 volt (more than 2 volts more than the disposable lithium version). The battery is actually made up of 2 cr123 batteries taped together. Each CR123 battery is 4.05 volt.

*I also bought a set of CR2 batteries for my Ricoh GR21 camera and Metz SC2 Flashgun. They are 4.05 volt (1 volt higher) but seem to work ok. The Metz flashgun makes a strange sound though (almost sparking noice)


Does anyone have experience with other 2CR5 recharcheables and do they work with the built in flashgun on the Z1/p?

I just shot two rolls with it after playing with all its functions for a while.
I think I understand all its functions now (handbook is handy, but for me not that essential).

I am very pleased with it. Built quaility feels good. I needed the autofocus in order to make spontaneous pictures of our horse (A silly Andalusion horse with lots of tricks he normally displays when I am not ready with focus or frame).
Together with a Tamron 70-300DL lens it focuses quite fast. Even the predictive autofocus worked when the horse came galoping towards me. (The only issue is the single autofocus point which is in the middle. So this predictive autofus dictates that the subject has to be framed in the middle).

The 4 frame per second motordrive can be useful but it can waste a lot of film indeed if you are not careful. (You can switch it to single advance mode)

I used the Flash for filling in shadows and it can be used at 1/250 of a second which is ideal for open lens portraits. (Not as good as my Mamiya and Rollei cameras) but for an SLR outstanding.

Also, compared to my manual Pentax P30N, the brightness of the viewfinder makes use of manual lenses a lot easier as well. I use a fixed aperture Tokina 500mm f8 mirror (m42 screw with PK adaptor) lens and it is for the first time a pleasure to use. The 1/8000 speed is very handy for this lens and fast film (since the aperture cannot be changed).

So overall very happy.
I could have bought a MZ5n (I liked the retro styling, but it feels a bit fragile and easily scratched. The *ist is even more flimsy and is not fully compatible with manual lenses (especially with M42 screw lenses, or lens reversal adaptors). It simply does not know the aperture of the lens.

The following website has one for sale (Z1/p £250.00)
http://www.waltersphotovideo.co.uk/

I know because I was looking for one myself. I bought one at Westcliffe, Southend instead because it was closer and could test it on some of my manual focus lenses.