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Best NIMH batteries for cameras that use AA?

S

swbsam

Platinum Member
I just ordered a new Pentax dslr that used 4 AA batteries and should pick up a charger and batteries. Any suggestions? My last camera that didn't use a propriety battery would die after a few dozen shots using most retail brands, so I'm wondering if there's something you professionals trust.

Thanks!
 
While I don't have them personally, I've heard great things about eneloops. They have a decent deal on eneloop batteries+charger my local Costco, too.
 
Eneloops are the way to go, the rayovac hybrid's are similar but not as good from my experience. You can find the Eneloops at any hhgregg if you have one close to you and the rayovac hybrids are at target.
 
Thanks guys - eneloops it is! Do they require a different charger than standard NIMhs? I have a few kodak value chargers from back in the day.
 
I dunno if they require a different charger. In theory they shouldn't, but the included charger is very slow, which is probably done on purpose to be gentler with them, prolonging their life.

I use Eneloops in my speedlight, and they work well.
 
Eneloops all the way! I ended up with two sets and chargers. 🙂
 
Another vote for Eneloops. If I'm shooting a wedding, I do get more shots and slightly faster recharge with the standard 2500mah AA's, BUT if I leave them alone for a month they're dead. Nothing's more frustrating than pulling out the flash gun and finding out your regular NiMH have self-discharged themselves. The eneloops take care of that problem as they're still ready to go even after a year.

BTW Eneloops do like to be charged slower than regular nimh, it tends to give them more capacity. I have a variable charger and I notice less capacity with faster charging on Eneloops than on my regular nimh batts. (1000mah vs 500mah charging rates)
 
I have Eneloops, but a lot of brands have low-discharge NiMHs these days that perform identically. I picked up a few low-discharge AAs branded by Radio Shack and they perform great as well.

The *MOST* important thing is to get a quality charger. I was using the stock charger with my Eneloops for a long time, and their capacity was decent. I bought a LaCrosse Alpha BC700 charger off Amazon for less than $30, and found out my Eneloops were not being charged to full capacity. I've run each of my Eneloops through the "battery refresh" mode of the BC700 and found the capacity to go up by 30-50% per battery. On average, AA Eneloops at max capacity actually hold around 2400mAh.
 
I personally don't like the Eneloop batteries. They are great if you take a few pictures at a time and then let your camera sit before using it again since they discharge slowly. However, for actual battery life (i.e. number of pictures taken on a charge), the three sets of Eneloops I have tried were all vastly inferior to the Duracell 2650mah batteries that I normally use. My Fuji gets around 400-500 shots per charge with the Duracells depending on what I'm doing. I never got more than 200 shots out of a set of Eneloops, and most of the time it was closer to 150. As jpeyton mentioned, this could be because of the charger, but I'm not interested in buying a new charger just so I can say that I use Eneloop batteries instead of Duracells, particularly when the Duracells are cheaper off the shelf at Walmart than the Eneloops are from any place that I can find. Even with a 50% capacity boost from a better charger, they still wouldn't be close to the shot count of the Duracells and I use my camera a lot so I don't have a need for the slow discharge feature of the Eneloops.
 
I love Eneloops, but I fit the above description perfectly - I take a few shots at a time and then let it sit.

I think most people would tell you that Eneloops aren't necessarily the best for total shots taken at one time, but they are the best at holding their charge over time, which is the way many (if not most) of us take pictures.
 
i second the recommendation for a lacrosse charger, great investment if you use AA and AAA NiMH cells
 
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