A lot of people are recommending a camera that takes AA batteries. I would advise against this unless you own stock in a battery company. They eat them really fast. You will need to carry around a box of spares. Cameras that batteries use a Lithium battery are far superior to alkaline. I charge my battery ever so often and never run it so low I can't take pics. I use an 8 gig card so I can get about 4000 pics on it. I also carry the super slim charger in my camera bag, just in case. If you really took A LOT of pics, maybe a spare battery is an option. A spare battery is cheaper than buying a box load of AA's. I have used cameras with rechargeable batteries for many years now and never had to replace a battery due to failure.
Respect,
Brent
TV ~ Cadillac Escalade EXT, Prodigy BC, Reese Pro Series SC Rig ~ Keystone Passport 285RLS "Where ever you go, there you are"
HedoTravelers wrote: A lot of people are recommending a camera that takes AA batteries. I would advise against this unless you own stock in a battery company. They eat them really fast. You will need to carry around a box of spares. Cameras that batteries use a Lithium battery are far superior to alkaline. I charge my battery ever so often and never run it so low I can't take pics. I use an 8 gig card so I can get about 4000 pics on it. I also carry the super slim charger in my camera bag, just in case. If you really took A LOT of pics, maybe a spare battery is an option. A spare battery is cheaper than buying a box load of AA's. I have used cameras with rechargeable batteries for many years now and never had to replace a battery due to failure.
well i have lithium AAs and rechargable AAs and see absolutely no problem. A proprietary battery costing $39.95 is not my cup of tea. Also hard to walk into a corner store in Rome, Italy, and buy one, not the case with AAs.
bumpy
Rechargeable AA's are not a bad solution. I have tried them but they don't last nearly as long as a proprietary lithium ion battery does for me. My old Casio camera battery would last for longer than 500 photos without a recharge. Again, I take a lot of pics and I have NEVER had to buy a new battery, and I do travel around the globe with it with no fears of needing a spare. Besides, AA's take up a lot of space and weight when you need to have so many around. Besides, if you use rechargeable, you have to lug a charger around too. My battery is about the size of a book of matches, my charger is smaller than a pack of cigarettes & fits right in my bag no problem. For me, I would never go back to AA's. besides, they level of camera I like to use does not normally use AA's. Usually entry level cameras use them.
As far as the OP, it really depends on what features you want. Make a list, then go out and see what fills your needs and go from there.
HedoTravelers wrote: My battery is about the size of a book of matches, my charger is smaller than a pack of cigarettes & fits right in my bag no problem. For me, I would never go back to AA's.
I agree.
I use to be a firm defender of rechargeable AAs, not anymore. With a backup Lithium battery I'm good for close to 1000 shots. With the small charger and short recharge time there is no need for the cumbersome 'old tech' way of doing things.
Thanks to everyone for your inputs. The information received opened my eyes to all the different features/options available, that being said I will be summarizing the information and narrow down the choices to meet our needs. We like simplicity, ease of use, shirt pocket size and fast recovery from shot to shot.
Below are a few of the features we would like:
Both Viewfinder and LCD Screen
5 megapixel minimum
5x minimum optical/digital zoom
Point and Shoot
SD Memory card (non Proprietary)
AA Batteries (lithium) Currently work fine for our current camera.
Anti shake or Stabilizer feature
Close-up capability
Mike and Nancy
Tundra TRD V8 4WD
Prowler 20' Lite ( The Kramalot Inn )
EU2000i * Prodigy * McKesh * Trek
My suggestion is to take your list of requirements to dpreview's Feature Search, plug them in and see what it finds.
If you end up with a couple of choices, their Side by Side lets you compare cameras. If it doesn't find any, drop a requirement or two & try again. You may need to compromise on your requirements. For example, by asking for a camera that fits in your pocket & has a viewfinder, you are cutting out many possibilities. Don't get me wrong - I wouldn't purchase a camera without a viewfinder, but as they get more compact that is one of the things that gets left out.
Depending on the camera, there may be a complete review available at their site.
just happened to remember. during a previous similar thread I checked and posted the amp hours or whatever on my rechargeable proprietary battery in my Fuji vs the ratings on my rechargeable AAs in my Canon. no comparison, much higher on the AAs.
My latest camera is the Pentax K-7 that is the most fun I ever had with a camera. I use lenses from 6.5mm to 2350mm and I just purchased the 10-24mm Tamron zoom that works great together with my 28-300mm Tamron zoom for a 30-1 zoom ratio. DP Review just posted the Pentax K-7 review today.
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