eatonrm

Rechargable batteries have a limited number of discharge/charge cycles. I would guess that if you have been using them for 3 or 4 years you are near the limit. Have you tried to google the battery to see if they are still around, they appear to be quite a good one to have.

bfphoto Loc: Houston, TX

Check out power x Imedion at http://www.thomasdistributing.com/.

Steve M Loc: Chester, NS, Canada

Actually never thought of that. I will check them out. If 3-4 years is a good lifetime for a battery, I do not think I will have a problem to replace them. I purchased then the same time as I purchased my camera, so this was basically my first experience with rechargeable.

Thanks for the additional comments. I have a Costco down the street from work, so there is where I will be going on Monday.

Steve

wlgoode Loc: Globe, AZ

Time for a battery education friend. http://batteryuniversity.com/

Steve M Loc: Chester, NS, Canada

Thanks wlgoode. A lot of good information and a lot of history in those pages.

Steve

wlgoode Loc: Globe, AZ

:thumbup:

ioptfm Loc: Isle of Palms, SC

Regardless of the age of the batteries I would keep a fresh set of Duracells on standby in my camera bag

ralphfr Loc: Long Island, NY

You don't mention which camera you own but I have a Fuji HS25EXR and it has a built in discharge function. If not
I would try a battery charger with a full disharge function before giving up on those batteries. You may have to cycle through a few discharge/charge cycles but they could come back. I have this one: http://www.amazon.com/Sony-BCG34HRE4KN-Refresh-Pre-Charged-Batteries/dp/B001DL9WDG/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1366580324&sr=1-1&keywords=battery+charger+for+sony+with+discharge+function

Also ++++ on the Sanyo Eneloop batteries. They are terrific!

Steve M Loc: Chester, NS, Canada

ralphfr: I shoot with a FujiFilm S1500, a bridge camera. The camera does have a battery discharge function. I miss read this a while back and thought I could not discharge my NiMH, but it says not to use on anything but NiMH, so I have them on discharge now. I was shooting with them earlier, so they should be down some to begin with. Not sure how long it will take to discharge, but I will see. While I wrote this reply, it looks like they may be discharged already. Just restarted the discharge again.

Guess I will see where this takes me.

Thanks for the suggestion, much appreciated.

You say you are shooting with a HS25EXR. How do you like this camera. I am looking at either the same one or a HS30EXR, but would really like the HS50EXR. Just not sure if I would use the 50X zoom a lot, but sure would be fun.

Steve

ralphfr Loc: Long Island, NY

Good to here about your S1500 having a discharge function. It can't hurt to try. If it doesn't work to your satisfaction I would strongly consider the Sanyo's. Well worth the cost for the ability to leave them charged and ready on the shelf knowing they'll be charged when you need them. Have set of Duracell NiMH and they don't last nearly as long and they won't hold a charge past a month.

As to the HS25EXR, I'm not ready to say I love it. Was looking to replace my Sony DSC-W1 that was dropped and suffered a broken battery door. It still works but since we're going to Alaska next month I was looking to upgrade. Initially I wanted a Canon dSLR body so I could use my Nikkor AI lenses from way back but my wife nixed that as she wants a companion on vacation and not a photographer. In researching non-interchangeable lens cameras I was instantly drawn to superzoom bridge cameras. Found what I considered a great deal on a Fuji S4250($149) which I bought and tried. Took very nice pictures but I was not happy with the LCD, viewfinder and the fact that the lens cover had to be removed to turn the camera on. Traded up to the HS25EXR and my first results were just OK. It turns out I was so overwhelmed with all the bells and whistles on these cameras I was not paying attention to the Auto settings and most of my images were high ISO as the lighting was poor to moderate. Plus I read somewhere that certain people like the rendering of CCD better than CMOS. Who knows? Now I know what I'm dealing with and I'm getting better shots. Don't want or need raw so I'm sticking with this one and I'll just have to adapt and learn. And I do have a lot to learn!

With both cameras in good light I am able to get decent handheld shots at near full zoom. Now I just have to hope I get nice weather in Alaska and the wildlife cooperates!

Sorry for the long winded response but thanks for listening and good luck with the batteries. Oh and as far as the zoom I would get as long a zoom as you can afford. This way you'll get better handheld shots when you can use the zoom at less than full focal length. IMHO.

Steve M Loc: Chester, NS, Canada

ralphfr: I have recharged the batteries and when I get home after work tomorrow, I will discharge them again. A lot of batteries are like that, getting the memory.

Thanks for the quick review about the HS25. Perhaps when you get back from Alaska, you will have some more comments. The articles on the FujiFilm says the HS25, 30 and 50 have a manual focus as well as autofocus. I want to check that out before I make my final decission. Thanks for taking the time to reply to my question(s) Much appreciated. HAve a great trip to Alaska.

Steve

ralphfr Loc: Long Island, NY

You're welcome Steve. And just to confirm, my HS25EXR has manual zoom which I really like as well as manual focus though I have not had to use it yet. Great features especially if battery consumption is an issue. I will definitely share my additional thoughts on this camera when I return. Good luck with your research. Thanks again.

Michael O' Loc: Midwest right now

Excellent summary comparison. Thank you !

Dun1 Loc: Atlanta, GA

Eneloop batteries are a great choice, they retain their charge even when stored, so if you don't use them on a daily basis you can depend on them having enough charge to get you through a shoot.
Consumer reports that Energizer Advanced gained a 74 out of 100 in their test if you have to get your hands on some batteries quickly.
One place that is a great website to shop for batteries, chargers is Thomas Battery Distributing company,

Steve M Loc: Chester, NS, Canada

Thanks Dun1 for your comments. Much appreciated

Steve