camera battery pack or AA

I had the same dilemma for the camera I just purchased.

I ended up getting the one with a rechargable battery pack and buying a second battery to take with me. I'll be gone for only a week, so if you have a longer trip, consider buying two.

AA batteries are much easier to deal with, but I wanted a camera that was extremely lightweight and had an optical viewfinder (for when you can't see the LCD). My mom's camera runs on AAs and weighs 3 times what mine does. It's also a lot bulkier.

It depends on your priorities. If you don't mind carrying a heavier camera in exchange for not having to worry about the batteries, then get one that runs on AAs. If you want something tiny (my camera is smaller than an Ipod mini), you'll probably have to go with rechargables.

I also had a similar dilemma, between taking my own camera which uses a rechargeable and using my mom's which uses AAs. After much help from Jim on this board via PM I had my mom bring her camera out here when my parents were visiting and I decided to go with my mom's. Mine has a better zoom, my mom's has 2 more megapixels and is smaller and much lighter. I don't think the AA/battery makes any difference in weight, Liz, my camera is heavier than my moms because it is a bigger camera with a bigger lens, the batteries are equal weight. So I'm going to take my mom's and I got a rechargeable kit and pack of AA batteries.

Shari, my biggest advice would be to get the best camera. Recharging a rechargeable battery or AA batteries is really not much different, you still need batteries and a charger and a plug adapter (but not converter) either way. Just get the best camera you can afford that will take the best pictures. I don't think one is more convenient or easier than the other.

IMO, I would get the one with the AA's. Get a couple of extra set depending the number of pics you intend to take each day...and the resolution. Check the Monster AA's and charger. They were great for me. I took 797 high resolution pictures with mine. Don't foget to get a couple of adapters.

I have debated this and come up with a different conclusion. For two prior Europe trips, we've done the ones with AA batteries. We needed to replace that camera, and finally changed our mind because of three things:

1. Size/weight
2. AA Battery life was not too long, and most importantly:
3. The shutter speed for the ones with the battery pack appear to be much higher than with the AA ones, so you can catch more action moments.

We'll be making our first trip having to take the charger next week, so I can let you know how it goes.

http://www.monstercable.com/powercell/lineNiMH.asp
These are more powerful and stay charged longer.

Kelly, the battery shouldn't affect taking action shots because that's determined by the aperture - and in fact many cameras allow you to set that yourself (both mine with the rechargeable and my mom's with the AAs both go up to 1/2000), or to set it on auto to adjust itself depending on light, etc. When I go to tennis events and it's sunny, I set my aperture to 1/1000 and get crisp clear action shots! What batteries might affect is the "recovery time" (not sure of the technical name though I imagine there is one), in other words, how quickly you can take another picture right after taking one (especially when using the flash) - maybe that's what you meant? I don't know enough about cameras to know if battery source would affect this, though it seems rationally plausible that it could be related. It also could simply be the difference between 2 different models and how they're both made. Maybe an expert in our midst can help teach us?

I just switched from a battery pack camera to one that holds AAs. Yes, it's a bit bigger. But I figure, if the batteries ever crap out, or I lose them....I can always find replacements easily. Not so with a battery pack.

We're heading to France in a couple of weeks and we're taking several cameras. My digital Sony uses AA's. Hubby has a little Nikon uses a rechargable and the Panasonic camcorder uses a larger rechargable. I toyed with taking two sets of Monster rechargable AA's but the thought of dragging another charger along just isn't appealing. I'm stocking up on "digital" AA's and if a set dies...I'll toss them and reload. What's hard on the battery life is the constant "reviewing" of the pictures.

Linda

Gotcha, Kelly :) I agree it's important. Something I always do (and I don't know if all cameras have this or similar) is enable what our Panasonics call "burst mode" - with one press, it takes pictures over and over again in immediate succession. It even has 3 settings - high speed (3 pics/sec, takes 3), low speed (2 pics/sec, takes 3), and infinity (1.5 pics/second but keeps going pretty much til you let go). I use it for when I watch tennis - I have to throw a lot away (but it's digital so who cares) but I get the action shots I want. I haven't played with my mom's camera (the one that uses AA) - especially using the flash because I think that's where battery power would be most evident and burst mode doesn't work w/the flash, but I still think the most important thing is that the camera is good. a better camera using AAs would surely be better for capturing great shots than a worse camera with a rechargeable! As for the battery issue, it's probably just a matter of personal taste.:)

Also a way to save your battery life is to use the viewfinder instead of the LCD viewer. If you do that and don't review pics but download and delete you can extend the life of the battery by more than 2x. I'm with those who don't want to take chargers. I have to travel light (RyanAir) and the charger is too much added weight for me.

The new charges only weigh a few ounces...maybe 3 or 4 ounces. Weighs less than 1 AA battery.

its a matter of what is more important
I would rather bring all my gear, charger ect and leave behind a shirt or two....

Thanks for all the wonderful info! It was very helpful.

I know that I went through over 20 AA batteries on my 7 week trip! They are expensive!

Radio Shack has a charger for 4 AA's that runs on 90 to 240 volts, and 50 or 60 hertz (Catalog number 273-1900). All you neen is an adapter for the wall plug-in. AA's are available everywhere, if needed.

Yesterday I found a charger for AA & AAA AND iPod plus is good to 240 at Office Max for the same price I was going to pay for the iPod charger. That answered my question about double As.

I have two cameras one with the rechargable battery pack and one that takes AA's. I have rechargable AA's. But I find the flash does not carry very far after about two shots with the AA's!!! too many dark photos have led me to leave that one home and take the good camera - with two or three battery packs and charger (which is very, very light)

I used a power converter to charge my batteries. The converter did not destroy two chargers we had, but it did destroy two hairdyers. The converter and charger got very hot. While AA cameras are usually larger and heavier, the AA battery is available everywhere, ready charged, in an emergency. Also, digital users, note: As a precaution against losing a digital camera: we recently returned from a 3 week trip with another couple and lost the camera on the LAST DAY. In retrospect, I either should have uploaded pics to webspace as often as possible. OR, take several smaller memory chips and change them every few days. Those are two ways to guard against losing ALL our photos.

I have a Sony camera that recharges the battery in the camera. I also carry a spare (charged) battery. Usually I recharge the primary battery about mid-trip. Last trip I didn't bother, and the battery died the last day (I just put in the spare).

Using the battery pack is a lot less expensive than buying non-rechargeable batteries. I don't want to carry the extra weight of a separate AA battery charger.

I bought rechargable AA batteries and thank god for them!! I never had to worry about my batteries running out. I carried a spare set with me and charged them both everynight. My roomie on my tour had a newer Sony camera with a built in rechargable battery. We both took many pictures with no problems at all.

Good luck!!