LYON
PMA Member
Alright, I've debated over what batteries to use in my cameras more than any person probably should. So, what do you use? What works the best?
I've run alkalines in mine for quite a few years with decent results during the warm months. When it gets cold, they freeze and die WAY too quickly. Frustrating.
This summer I bit the bullet and ordered a nice charger and some rechargeables. I have been marginally impressed with them. I got some high Mah (2800), low discharge ones and they do okay. The thing I didn't realize until AFTER I got into them is that rechargeable AA's only output 1.2 volts. Standard AA's (alkaline and lithium) should have an output of 1.5v. Our cameras are made to feed off of 1.5 volt batteries. So even with freshly charged batteries, my cameras never show full battery since the voltage is lower than what it's made for. Using the rechargeables, I've been needing to swap batteries every couple of weeks, granted I'm running my cams on video mode, so it definitely takes more juice. All in all, I like using them since I don't have to buy more, but it's turned out to be more of a hassle than I thought it would be. There looks to be a promising future for rechargeable LITHIUM AA's though. Right now there are only a couple of random companies that make them and they are super expensive, but that will likely be the ticket in the future.
I ran 4 lithiums in one of my cameras this year and was REALLY impressed. They are expensive, but man it was nice not having to worry about replacing batteries every time I checked that camera.
I have noticed a HUGE difference in alkaline between the really cheap off brands and name brands. Some of the cheap ones are horrible.
Just curious what everyone else does, what works, what doesn't. What brands are best etc. etc.
I've run alkalines in mine for quite a few years with decent results during the warm months. When it gets cold, they freeze and die WAY too quickly. Frustrating.
This summer I bit the bullet and ordered a nice charger and some rechargeables. I have been marginally impressed with them. I got some high Mah (2800), low discharge ones and they do okay. The thing I didn't realize until AFTER I got into them is that rechargeable AA's only output 1.2 volts. Standard AA's (alkaline and lithium) should have an output of 1.5v. Our cameras are made to feed off of 1.5 volt batteries. So even with freshly charged batteries, my cameras never show full battery since the voltage is lower than what it's made for. Using the rechargeables, I've been needing to swap batteries every couple of weeks, granted I'm running my cams on video mode, so it definitely takes more juice. All in all, I like using them since I don't have to buy more, but it's turned out to be more of a hassle than I thought it would be. There looks to be a promising future for rechargeable LITHIUM AA's though. Right now there are only a couple of random companies that make them and they are super expensive, but that will likely be the ticket in the future.
I ran 4 lithiums in one of my cameras this year and was REALLY impressed. They are expensive, but man it was nice not having to worry about replacing batteries every time I checked that camera.
I have noticed a HUGE difference in alkaline between the really cheap off brands and name brands. Some of the cheap ones are horrible.
Just curious what everyone else does, what works, what doesn't. What brands are best etc. etc.
