Digital cameras ... your experiences please ...?

I would like to hear from people using digital cameras with rechargeable lithium batteries but I am concerned about their 'staying power' .... do these allow you to have a day out and take as many pics as you want? ...... is it necessary to care a spare charged battery? ..... I am concerned because my current camera is two years old and uses normal/rechargeable AA's that seldom last longer than a few pics. Your experiences please ......

Buy the official Lithium ION battery which is usually made by the camera manufacturer, or a camera shop like Jessops will usually stock one with their own name on it for a few pounds less (in my case it was the same price, so I bought the manufacturer one). You should definitely buy a spare, so you have one in the camera and one in your pocket or camera bag.

From the battery in my Nikon hybrid I get quite a long run, depending on how long I keep the camera turned on and how much I move the zoom in and out, it can range from a few hours to all day on one battery, and if I just take the occasional photo it will last me days or weeks. No problems with battery 'memory' so far, I use the official battery charger (came with my camera, not all camera's come with the charger but there's usually an official one available - I would definitely recommend the manufacturer's own official accessories). I rotate my batteries too - one is in the camera and the other gets charged, I switch them over when the camera tells me it's out of juice.

Digital SLR's eat batteries, my hybrid is pretty good :-)

sorry, but you had to be there.

Sorry I am not using it now and will let you know once I start using the same.

I have a Samsung digital and the batteries do get used up quickly but not so quickly that you cant have a few days out with it and taking lots of pictures. Suppose it depends on what camera you have.

I think if ya take a lot of pics (like I do) then ya DO need a spare, powered-up battery

It is always the case ya need another pic (or many!) just after ur battery dies!!!!!!

PS Mine is a relatively new Canon IXUS 750

I find using rechargeable NiMH batteries - these last a long time.

Personally, I love my digital camera. I have a canon with about 7.1 megapixels. The battery is a rechargable lithium battery and lasts usually for at least a day if the battery were to be on the whole time. If it is turning on and off for short period of times it lasts for a few outings. Hope that helps.

I prefer the old Leica camera my Daddy gave me
at my 20th birthday ... Makes very good b/w-pictures.
I do not like pixel-photos ... they look awful.

a rechargable lithium battery should give you at least one good day out taking as many pics as you want.
Bear in mind that cerain factors use the battery more, like flash, viewing photos you've already taken, using the screen, etc.
A second battery is preferable, but only really necessary if you're going to take more than about 500 photos, I'd say.

The life span of a lithium battery is about 2 or 3 years of heavy usage, around 600 recharges

If you use at least 2600 milliamp rechargeables. you should last at least 3 or 4 hundred photo shots before you run down.

I use an Olympus Mju with lithium batteries.

Charge it before you go out and take as many pictures as you like. I use a 512 MB RAM card and have never had a problem with low batteries.

Excellent camera all round

Never ever bother with a camera with AA rechargable batteries, as you inidcate they are useless.

I'm on my second Fulji Finepix. The first died from dust and sand damage. The batteries have been fine for a full day out and more. Only ever died once when I was on a "vigil" in a "haunted" castle, other peoples batteries went dead at the same time woooohhaaa! But supernatural influencse aside, they've been really reliable for the last couple of years.

I have a Cannon Ixus,on a recent holiday i took 173 photos without a recharge .Obviously your batteries wont last as long if you use the flash a lot

Rechargeable batteries will start to lose it after so many charges.an extra pair is smart

Battery life varies quite a bit based on brand, model, settings and usage.
However, you should figure you will get at least 200+ pics between recharges unless you are doing 100% flash.
So yes, this should allow you to have "a day out" as long as it's fully charged when you start out.
If you can afford it, a spare battery is a good idea anyway since just maybe you will head out having forgotten to first charge your battery.

Rechargeable NiMh batteries are the best. They generally last a very good time. (Especially the higher powered ones...2100-3200).
Using the flash or taking video will drain the batteries quicker...and also the LCD screen uses a lot of power too, so maybe its wise to turn the screen off in between shots.
Some of the newer cameras are more power efficient, so battery life is longer.
Most cameras should give you 200-300 shots with one charge.

even i had a same experience, i instead change the batteries

Using standard AA batteries is good because you can get them anywhere

Sony DSC-R1. Recharging battery inside the camera takes about 2 hours. Good for about 500 pictures.

However, that's a top of the line camera.