[dave sz]

no, was tested on some camera, don't remember which...

[kthung]

I used to use Energizer 2500 mAH rechargeables and got great battery life from them (some how I think I could squeeze close to 600-700 shots out of them with no flash) however the problem with them is that after about a week they would die regardless of whether or not I used them. The self-drain got so bad that basically, every time I knew I was gonna go out shooting, I would have to charge them up the night before. I now use Rayovac Hybrid Rechargeables. I picked them up pretty cheap ~$6/pack of 4 and its amazing. They just keep on going. I think I recharged them 3 times since I got them in october. I don't know approximately how many shots I get out of one charge but its plenty. Well worth the money.

[RiceHigh]

What has worked out best for you guys?
Need something that lasts long yet economical

Get Sanyo Eneloop then. But for optimal camera performance, CR-V3 Lithiums still rule.

[Marc Sabatella]

no, was tested on some camera, don't remember which...

Hmm. Then perhaps was this run before the days of the low self-discharge cell? I'd be really surprised if the Duracell 2650 really outperformed the Eneloop - especially if the test spanned, say, a week rather than trying to fire 1000 shots in a row.

[Gooshin]

eneloops

they beat any disposable i ever used

they beat the engergizer rechargable brand

and they beat some european "GP" brand that i had while in russia

they are also ultra reliable in external flashes and have a long shelf life.

[UnknownVT]

So Eneloops beat any higher capacity NiMH cells I've tried in my camera, although they don't do nearly as well in devices that are capable of using up more of the charge in the battery. Thus, the Duracell 2650 might beat the Eneloops in a clock radio but lose big time in a K200D.

Not to belabor the point that eneloops manage to maintain higher operating voltage under load than any other NiMH and LSD -
To help illustrate what Marc has been saying - I've similarly borrowed SilverFox's discharge graphs for the Duracell 2650mAh and animated it with the eneloop for "direct" comparison -
caveat: the horizontal axis is different scale - but the vertical/voltage axis is similar just shifted - so I aligned the 1.19V red-line (Pentax K100D cutoff threshold voltage) for the comparison (I also added the Energizer 2500mAh for comparison) -

one can easily see that the eneloop has significantly more curves above the red line than the Duracell 2650mAh (or Energizer 2500mAh) - despite the fact the Duracell 2650mAh (and Energizer 2500mAh) do have more capacity - unfortunately that capacity once the operating voltage under load drops below 1.19V is not available to the Pentax K100D, K200D and *istD family of dSLRs.

ref: NiMh Battery Shoot Out by SilverFox over at CPF

[Big Dave]

Dave sz,
Mine looks great. I'd rather spend my time taking pictures instead of worrying about batteries. When the AA's get low, burst speed slows greatly. The grip really helps steady the camera with long, heavy lenses also. Besides it was cheap and I still can use AA's in a Jam.

Dave

Problem is none of the ones I've seen look good and if they do, they're only vertical shutter grips and don't actually house batteries. I might have to wait til after I change bodies...

Attached Images

   

[dave sz]

Hmm. Then perhaps was this run before the days of the low self-discharge cell? I'd be really surprised if the Duracell 2650 really outperformed the Eneloop - especially if the test spanned, say, a week rather than trying to fire 1000 shots in a row.

The enloops and the rayovac hybrids were included in the test from what I recall...

[dave sz]

In those rather dark pictures it looks ok. To me hough it looks worse than even those terrible looking brick grips that canon uses. That grip also pretty much doubles the k100 size.I just dislike the look of the travor, to each his own though and as long as you're happy with it...

[UnknownVT]

More on eneloop usage in the K100D -

For those who are still interested -
on Dec/19/08 I put a set of eneloops (charged on Aug/31/08) in my Pentax K100D dSLR -
so that's ~3.6 months after charge.

I did not quite deplete them last night at a New Years Eve gig -
although the dSLR was showing mostly low battery signal
(but would also occassionally bounce back to half empty signal too)
it never shutdown.

I changed them out between acts so that I would not have to worry about the camera shutting down
(there is only so much I am willing to do.... or being bl**dy minded )

However at the point when I swapped them out they had already taken 1,123 shots - a few flash shots - but mostly without flash - this is an amazing performance - considering the eneloops were charged some 3.6 months before and the Pentax K100D dSLR has been notorious for being battery/voltage sensitive - (eg: Kodak Pre-Charged (LSD) otherwise excellent batteries - under similar conditions only managed 347 shots with several camera shutdowns....)

So it looks like eneloops (and re-badges like DuraLoops) have "tamed" this notoriously battery/voltage fussy dSLR - over any other LSD/NiMH battery.

[Mark Littlewood]

I've got a few sets of eneloops, and some hybrios which seem pretty similar, they work very well in my k100d.

Part of the reason will be the charger - lacrosse (which seem to be sold as technoline in the uk) bc, bl or rc 700 or 900 - i have the technoline bl700 which was the cheapest i could find at the time (the 900 has a faster top charging speed is all, I always use slow anyway)- it is awesome for conditioning and monitoring your batteries. I've been able to put sets of similarly performing batteries together so one doesn't let the other three down.

Seeing all the persuasive arguments for lithium e2 and cr2v here, though, i'm starting to wonder about cost/benefit... I'll plug in my power meter to the charger and see how much electricity (ie cash) it takes to condition a set of 4.

anyone know a good uk/eu source of lithium e2 aa, or cr2v disposable batteries?

Anyone have thoughts on ecological angle? what is the best way to dispose of such batteries?

cheers
mark

[Big Dave]

They were taken at night.

Dave

In those rather dark pictures it looks ok.