jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Eneloops ae my preferred choice. They hold a charge while in storage.

BHC Loc: Strawberry Valley, JF, USA

Sanyo Eneloops are NiMH and advertise a shelf life of three years. Lithium batteries, on the average, have a shelf life of ten years. Heck, after two years, I've forgotten where I put the darned things anyway - and when I do find them, it's right after the expiration date.

robert-photos Loc: Chicago

AA 1.5V Lithium Batteries are non-rechargeable and ~2900 mAh.

AA 3.6V Lithium Ion batteries are rechargeable but are only 800-900 mAh (note: this is not a normally available size because they can be confused with 1.5 volt AA's)

AA eneloops are rechargeable, 1.2V and 1900 or 2500 mAh
but are better than NiMH batteries because of their long shelf life.

I use eneloops for all my photographic (camera and flash) needs. I use Lithium batteries for my outdoor temperature sensor.

BHC Loc: Strawberry Valley, JF, USA

AA Lithium rechargeable batteries are only made by one or two companies in the world, are hard to find and VERY expensive; they are mainly used for military applications, primarily in IR Sniper Optics.

AA eneloops ARE NiMH batteries; they may have a longer shelf life, but that is a result of superior construction, not the type of battery. See:

http://us.sanyo.com/Battery-Products/XX-AA-4-Pack

johneccles Loc: Leyland UK

Eneloop are the ones you need, and they come ready charged!
JE

RodL Loc: Down Under

worth looking at the following link if you have the time.

http://batteryuniversity.com/

melismus Loc: Chesapeake Bay Country

Why do we not hear anything about NiZn (Nickel-Zinc) batteries? Terminal voltage is about 1.7; I am experimenting with a set and they seem to run a long time.

nimbushopper Loc: Tampa, FL

I've been using eneloop AA's and AAA's that I buy at COSTCO in my fuji camera, nikon speedlights, and portable home phones since 2006 and they all still work and charge fine.

Al Beatty Loc: Boise, Idaho

Hi Steve,

I also use eneloop batteries. I got them at CostCo for about $25.00 per set of 8. They are expensive initially but seem to last and last (at least they have for me). Take care & ...

foxhal Loc: Boynton Beach FL

I use NiMH AA's for a radio control model. A single failure is an issue. I found out that these batteries should be tested under load.B & H sells a battery tester that applies a load and reads out battery state of charge (% remaining) It sells for about $35 and will test a wide variety of cell types>

Crwiwy Loc: Devon UK

Manufactures figures appear far from the truth. I suspect they do their tests over a short period of time and this gives very different readings from real world figures. I have NiMH rechargeable batteries that claim 1000 charges and they are dying after only a few hundred.

I also tried some super batteries 2400mAh that are supposed to keep their charge for a year or more. Perhaps they do - but they do not work in my Bridge Cameras, only in lower power devices. In addition, they are very slightly thicker than standard and can be difficult to get out of some equipment.

Bridge cameras were originally set up for Alkaline batteries and rechargeable ones start at a slightly lower voltage - therefore the camera quickly sees them as being below its cutoff voltage and stops working - even though you could then put the batteries into a torch and have plenty of life left in them.

I always keep a spare set of batteries with the camera as I have found that they run out at the worst moments. Occasionally I have found that the spare ones have also 'gone flat' while not being used - so extra weight for no gain!

I noticed that newer Bridge cameras have a setting that selects Alkaline or rechargeable batteries. Be aware though that the newer types of batteries sometimes have even lower voltages so even though they may have much greater capacities - the camera may stop working even sooner. AA batteries are a constant pain in the butt to me and i am still looking for an answer.

DSLR's have special batteries and the cameras are set up for those batteries - hence you can perhaps get 900 shots.

>>The capacity of an alkaline battery is strongly dependent on the load. An AA-sized alkaline battery might have an effective capacity of 3000 mAh at low drain, but at a load of 1 ampere, which is common for digital cameras, the capacity could be as little as 700 mAh.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alkaline_battery

NiMH and NiCd batteries self discharge at a MUCH faster rate than alkaline batteries. In fact, at "room temperature" (about 70 degrees F) NiMH and NiCD batteries will self discharge a few percent PER DAY.
http://www.greenbatteries.com/batterymyths.html

Even though alkaline batteries are rated at a nominal 1.5 volts, they only deliver 1.5 volts when they are fully charged. As they begin to discharge the voltage of alkaline batteries continuously drops. In fact, over the course of their discharge, alkaline batteries actually average about 1.2 volts. That's very close to the 1.2 volts of a NiMH battery. The main difference is that an alkaline battery starts at 1.5 volts and gradually drops to less than 1.0 volts. NiMH batteries stay at about 1.2 volts for most of their discharge cycle.
http://www.greenbatteries.com/nibafa.html

Steve M Loc: Chester, NS, Canada

RodL: great link. Explains everything you should know about batteries.

OK, eneloops. Do they need the charger you can purchase with them, or will the existing charger I have work fine?

Thanks for all the comments folks.

Steve

Crwiwy Loc: Devon UK

I am sure I read an article somewhere where these batteries were frying flashguns as the electronics couldn't reliably handle the increased voltage.

Crwiwy Loc: Devon UK

The tip on eneloops sounds interesting - Amazon has them. Same question though about charger.

PhotoGator Loc: Florida

Check out the Sanyo Enelop XX 2500mAh Typical / 2400 mAh Minimum, High Capacity, 4 Pack AA Ni-MH Pre-Charged Rechargeable Batteries

http://www.amazon.com/eneloop-Capacity-Pre-Charged-Rechargeable-Batteries/dp/B0058GZWXQ/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1366462654&sr=8-6&keywords=enelope+rechargable+batteries


Powerex Maha MH-C801D Eight Cell 1-Hr PRO AA/AAA Charger

http://www.amazon.com/Powerex-Maha-MH-C801D-Eight-Charger/dp/B000E5S648/ref=pd_sim_e_10