At 07:50 PM 9/29/2005, Godfrey DiGiorgi wrote:
If you use a lot of flash and other devices that use AA form factor batteries, yeah, that's a good reason to stick with them. And I don't think what Pentax has done with the D/DS/DL/DS2 and standard batteries is at all bad. But overall, if I had a choice between a battery designed and tailored to give the maximum performance vs a standardized battery, I'd probably pick the former.
Like I said earlier, I use Energizer NiMH batteries that recharge in 15 minutes. I don't have a spare set of batteries yet, but 15 minutes for a full charge isn't very long to wait. With the proper cable, I think I can even use the charger in my car. (There's an 11-16 Vdc input jack on the side.) Later, when I have a second set of batteries, I don't ever see myself having problems with battery power for the camera. Even with only one set of batteries, I don't have any problems at all. If I think I'll be out for awhile, I just make sure the batteries have a full charge. It's not very likely that I'll need to shoot more photos in one outing than the batteries can provide power for.
A powerful flash unit, on the other hand, is a different story. I've been known to make my own gel-cell battery packs for those. I didn't like the life I was getting from AA rechargeable batteries in my flash unit. With a gel-cell, I never worried about running out of power or experiencing a slow-down in recycle time during a shoot.
take care, Glen
