Which are best for for powering a digital camera .

Rechargable AA Batteries
or Lithium Batteries

Or better still the pros and cons of each

Thanks

Dont just put ANY rechargables in your camera.
See the booklet for the correct ones.

There is no good or bad with batteries, it depends how much you use it, and if you can afford to keep buying Duracells.

My old camera took normal rechargeable batteries and my new one takes a nice little lithium one. The benefit of the old one was that i could take several sets of spare batteries in case one set ran out. I don't yet have spare batteries for the new camera so if it runs out i'm stuck, however, the lithuim battery does hold its charge MUCH longer than rechargeables ever did.
Thats what I've found so far anyway... hope it helps..
Em

Li-on batteries have higher capacity. AA batteries are readily available and can be purchased anywhere in an emergency.

That's the basic pro's and con's, my preference is for Lion.

Originally posted by Cyclone
Li-on batteries have higher capacity. AA batteries are readily available and can be purchased anywhere in an emergency.

That's the basic pro's and con's, my preference is for Lion.
My preference is for 2100mAH (AA rechargeables),but your camera may not give you the choice.

Whatever you go for, make sure you have at least one fully charge spare (or set of spares) on you at all times!

Your question is a little confusing as AA is a size of battery. Not what type. AAA were known as penlite, the small thin ones which go in remote controls. AA are the slightly bigger ones but the same shape.

In my digital camera I use rechargeable Nickel Metal Hydride (Ni-MH) batteries, which you can get fairly cheap from bardwells, 210mA/h or even 220 or 230 now. These last for simply ages. On recent holidays abroad I have taken 200+ pictures with flash etc. and not even had to put my spare ones in.

This type are a considerable inprovement on the once popular Ni-cad (nickel cadmium) batteries which had a number of problems with memory and less capacity.
And also (Ni-MH) last longer than normal duracel batteries

Er, I have the Ni-Mh ones for when I'm organised, or using the camera frequently. These tend to lose their charge over a six week period (ish), so if it's getting infrequent use, I resort to Duracell. I keep an eye out for when they're on offer in large packs though :thumbsup:

Stix I have never had this problem at all. Are you sure that your camera doesn't drain the power? With some kind of leak standby current? Do they do this if you take them out of the camera?

Originally posted by muddycoffee
Stix I have never had this problem at all. Are you sure that your camera doesn't drain the power? With some kind of leak standby current? Do they do this if you take them out of the camera?

Yes. That's also why you should never put rechargeables in a smoke alarm ;)

Originally posted by alankearn
Rechargable AA Batteries
or Lithium Batteries

I use 2100mAh NiMH batteries in mine, with some normal AAs for emergencies.

If you get one that takes AAs, watch out for cheapy batteries. Even the Duracell 'Plus' batteries aren't good for more than 3 pictures before they're too drained to do anything (in my Finepix S5000, anyway). Get some Duracell M3, though, and you're laughing. They last ages.

In short, don't be tempted to get the cheapy batteries; they'll cost you a lot more in the long run and you'll need to carry dozens around!

Oh, and the own brand ones from the 99p shop, Wilkinsons and Poundstretcher don't have enough juice to power the camera up! I couldn't believe it when the first thing that greeted me after new batteries was a 'battery critical' warning and a powered off camera. The Wilkinsons ones didn't even have enough left to retract the zoom lens!

(I don't buy those cheap tat as a matter of course, but I thought I'd check them out so that I knew I wasn't missing out on cheap batteries ;) )

My Camera has a Lithium Cell that has to be charged like a mobile battery in a charger..that is very usefull as its easy to use etc..But its bad if you forget to charge it like i did...and end up out for the day with a Camera you cant use.
...My next purchase on E-Bay will be a spare battery to keep with me charged !!!:|

Lithium Ion cells have better partial charge ability, higher energy density and less memory effect. But you can't pop into a newsagents and buy some if your battery dies.
I presume the original question is because it will factor into his decision as to which camera to buy or something like that.

Originally posted by Cyclone
I presume the original question is because it will factor into his decision as to which camera to buy or something like that.
If it's who I'm thinking of, he's going to glastonbury where 13amp sockets are in short supply :thumbsup:

And....

If you turn the LCD screen off, or at least resist the temptaion to sit there and have a conversation across a camera displaying recent pics to nobody :rolleyes: the battery lasts tons longer :D