On Fri, 28 Nov 2008 10:52:34 -0500, BAR wrote:

Don White wrote:
Wife wants to upgrade from my 3 yr old HP R707 compact digital camera.
This camera works fine...although the original battery doesn't seem to hold
its charge as long anymore while sitting on the shelf.
Costco just happens to have a super price $270.00 CDN
for its popular Canon A650 IS compact.
I also see the Nikon D40 on sale here with lens at just under $500.00.
I can't justify the higher end SLRs...especially when they seem be be
somewhat obsolete every three or four years
vs the old manual film SLRs that were still fine after 20-25 years .My
usage these days is more snapshot than trying to be artistic...although I do
like to do justice to scenery.

Buy one that takes AA or AAA batteries. You can use rechargeable or
throw-away batteries no need for a recharger just carry some extras with
you in the camera bag.

Don't let the battery a camera uses influence your decision. It's a
nothing-burger as long as it's rechargable. Any of the high end
cameras will not use AA or AAA because their power to size ratio is
much worse than the Li-ion batteries they probably use.

What could be more important than the battery type, if you're planning
on taking a lot of pictures in a day, is the battery life.

You may need a spare or two. And the cost of a spare rechargable
Li-ion battery over a set of AA NiMH is tiny when amortized over the
number of photos you take. Plus, most proprietary camera batteries
are available from 3rd party manufacturers for 1/10th the price of the
OEM battery.

There's nothing wrong with getting a camera that takes AA or AAA
batteries. But unless you're talking about something like a DSLR with
a battery pack or grip, that's just not an option for anything but the
lowest of low end cameras.

Steve