Leave it to SMS, the so-called battery "expert" to inflate prices
of the AA batteries that he loathes, when he somehow always can find
much lower Li-Ion prices than the rest of us can. Name brand AA
alkalines, such as those from Sanyo, Panasonic, RayOVac, Maxell and
others can often be found in larger camera & electronic stores,
supermarkets and Rite-Aid type stores for prices ranging from 20 to
25 cents each, not the 75 cents claimed by the "expert". Some of
these stores have permanently low battery prices. With others you
wait for sales (Pathmark == frequent, Rite-Aid == infrequent). If
you don't plan ahead and only buy 2AA or 4AA blister packed
alkalines as needed, then yes, you pay higher battery prices.
I really like these so-called hybrid NiMH batteries. I use the Hybrio brand.
Certainly for cameras, the alkalines are terrible due to the high current
demands. It's nice being able to grab a camera that I haven't used for
months and have it work. I could never do that with conventional NiMH
batteries. I'm even using them in my flashlights now that I know they won't
be dead after sitting for a long time.
Low self-discharge NiMH cells such as Hybrios, Hybrids, Eneloops,
etc. are excellent and the best types for many purposes, but not for
all. You can't make that generic statement, that alkalines are
terrible for use in cameras because there's a tremendous difference
in the power demands of different cameras. The worst possible case
is when shots are taken with the flash and the LCD is used. As you
suspect, some cameras do very poorly when powered by alkalines, but
many (in cameras from Canon, Fuji, Nikon, etc.) can provide hundreds
of shots from a set of alkalines even when the flash is used, up to
and beyond 1,500 shots when the flash is not used.
Bogus battery information can also color your expectations. One
example is Canon's A570IS camera. Canon's manual states that it
should be able to get 120 shots (CIPA test, using flash and LCD) and
400 shots (no flash and using viewfinder) from a pair of AA alkaline
cells. I tested that camera and got even more shots than Canon
claimed. SMS on the other hand frequently stated in this newsgroup
that the A570IS did worse than this by an order of magnitude. Even
today his battery data website claims :
I lent an AA powered camera (Canon A570IS) to a relative that tried
to use alkaline AA batteries while on a cruise. She reported getting
about ten pictures per set of batteries. When I inquired if this was
normal on rec.photo.digital I got a slew of responses and every one of
them reported similar results with alkaline batteries.
Whether bogus information or a blatant lie, the responses weren't
similar and unanimous. IIRC, he also stated that she then purchased
new alkalines and got the same terrible battery life. This couldn't
happen unless that particular camera was defective, and it's very
unlikely that it was, since he said he'd check the camera when it
was returned, but he never reported any findings. And despite the
above quote, which if true would indicate an unacceptable camera
with possibly the worst battery performance ever, SMS has since
recommended the A570IS in this newsgroup many times.
As you say, the hybrid type NiMH batteries are good choices for
flashlights, but with two caveats. The first is that if the
flashlight user waits for the light to dim before recharging the
batteries, there's a chance that one or more cells might become
reverse-cell damaged. The more cells that are used, the greater the
possibility. Two cell flashlights should be safe, unless they're
the more expensive types using voltage regulators. Flashlights
using four or more cells provide the greatest risk. The second is
that for emergency use, alkalines provide a good warning that the
batteries need to be replaced because of their slow, gradual voltage
decline. When NiMH batteries become depleted, the light falloff can
be extremely rapid, giving you little time to find a set of
replacement batteries. For most people using flashlights around the
home or auto though, this shouldn't be a significant concern.