I use Eneloop batteries exclusively for my digital camera now- In the three weeks my wife and I spent in the US on our honeymoon, I only needed to recharge them once, and that was wandering around SF, LV, and LA like a Japanese Tourist photographing everything I possibly could.
With the Energiser Lithium batteries, it vitally important you take them out of the camera when you’re not using them, or they discharge very quickly. At $12/pair (and my camera uses 4 batteries) that’s not a very affordable way to go…
Do R/C car hobbyists still use NiCd packs? It’s been a few years since I knew people into serious high-performance R/C cars. I’d imagine that the better high current draw performance would be important for them, as well.
Definitely sounds like the OP needs a better charger. LaCrosse or Maha make good ones.
Keep the batteries charged. They’ll lose a pretty big percentage of their charge each month. After 2 or 3 months they need to be recharged even if they weren’t used. This is very annoying to me.
The Sanyo Eneloop batteries hold their charge much better but they’re expensive. Still probably worth it to save yourself the aggraviation.
I know that model helicopters use LiPo (lithium polymer) batteries, they’re light and hold a lot of juice. Downside is they need to be charged with a special charger, and if they’re overcharged or punctured, FIRE results. I charge mine in the kitchen sink (dry of course.)
I’ve been looking into these recently, and about 5% of Amazon reviewerssay they either arrived defective and had terrible customer service, or they caught on fire. I’ve added this Maha oneto my wish list instead.
I’ve learned to use a mix of alkaline non-rechargeables in AA and AAA sizes with LiOns in proprietary shapes/sizes for specific devices, like video cams that will be used continuously for hours at a time. My liOns when fully charged and new will power the video cam for about 4 hours. When the discharge time dwindles to about an hour after repeated cycles (in about 2 years), it’s time to throw them out and get new ones.
But nothing beats AA alkalines for some apps. They power my wireless microphones, both transmitters and receivers, and many non-wireless mics that need a DC bias.
The particular wireless mics I use eat up a pair of AAs after about 4 hours. I cannot take a chance that they will go dead in the middle of a recording session, so if they aren’t near full charge when I start, they get tossed even tho it seems a waste.
The nice thing is that alkalines don’t need to be recharged! Sounds silly, but when you carry a few hundred spare batts in all kinds of weather, the shelf life of alkalines is their trump card. Imagine what I would have to do to have the same assurance that any batt out of the parts box would be at peak condition if I had to charge all hundred once a month? I really don’t know which is cheaper, but cost isn’t the important factor here.
And after trying rechargeables of three chemical types for my still digital cams, I find them too much of a hassle, and now use alkalines there, too. My digital cams seem to work poorly at a voltage of less than 1.30 volts per cell, and some rechargables only make it to 1.35 volts brand new, fully charged. Worthless. I can count on alkalines to be at least 1.6 volts even after 6 months of storage indoors and out.
My digital camera also does not work well with rechargeables because of the voltage issue but I find using AA alkalines a waste of money. I have tried using rechargeables and they work badly but they work and I have also used an external battery pack with 4 D size alkalines. This works well and is much cheaper than using AAs but it is a PITA.
I am thinking of making a smaller power pack with either 5 AA rechargeables or with 2 D sized rechargeables and a voltage booster circuit.
I used to have a digital camera that used AA batteries and it was frankly a pain. For digital cameras try to find rechargables with a large milliamp/hour rating. A rechargeable with a 2000 mAh or more rating should work pretty well. And as noted before, check out the Sanyo Eneloop rechargeables for much longer shelf life.