Camera Batteries- internal or replaceable?

[uintahiker]

I'll be getting a new point & shoot here sometime this year and thought I'd get thoughts on battery preferences.
Do you like the internal/rechargable batteries, or the replaceable/AA batteries? Why?

What I see:
Internal
nice to not buy batteries
wonder about how long the charge lasts
expensive replacement battery that is not "off the shelf"

Replaceable
buy batteries
batteries are easy to find
replacements are on hand and relatively cheap

What am I missing?
Any camera recommendations?

 

[Udink]

I hope to never own a camera that doesn't take AAs. I use Energizer rechargeable NiMH 2300 mAh AAs in my camera (Canon PowerShot SX130) and they always last an entire trip, even 5-6 days long. The most photos I've ever taken was almost 1,000 on a single trip and the batteries never went dead. My wife, on the other hand, has had a couple of cameras (currently a Canon D10) with a proprietary battery and they usually go dead after a day or so, so she's either left with having to carry expensive spares or have access to power in order to charge.

 

[Nick]

I used to love the cameras that took AA batteries, but no longer. Obviously the bulk of those cameras is one of the biggest cons. The cost of having spare batteries for the more compact models used to be prohibitively expensive to have a couple on hand, but lately you can usually get good aftermarket batteries for very cheap. I got spares for my S100 for less than $10 each. 2 or 3 tiny lithium cels for a camera like that probably weight comparable to one set of AA NiMHs. I can see it both ways for sure, but no more AA for me.

 

[IntrepidXJ]

I have never liked AA batteries for cameras. Even though the proprietary batteries can be more expensive, in my experience they always seem to last longer and don't wear out as quickly as AA rechargeables, do.

 

[Unimog]

^^ This. I love AA batteries for some things, but not camera. Gotta have lithium, but I don't like cameras with built in batteries either. I prefer a camera with a small lithium square battery. You can usually find popular ones from generic battery makers so I can carry a couple extra batteries that really last.

 

[Thiel]

+1 on lithium. Also I have bought generic replacement batteries in the past many times and I always regretted it. Even at double the cost the oem batteries are usually worth it---especially if you do long exposures or timelapse. .

 

[uintahiker]

Sounds like the most people like the internal batteries. Any recommendations on cameras that are durable but take good photos?