The longevity of rechargeable digital camera batteries varies greatly, but camera battery life in general has improved over the past couple of years. Just about any digital camera with a dedicated battery or a decent set of AA rechargeables should get you through at least an average day of shooting.
With dedicated lithium-ion batteries, you can consider it a rule of thumb that the smaller the cell, the shorter the life. If you buy a camera that takes AAs and doesn't come with rechargeables, you should purchase cells with the highest mAh rating you can find to get the longest life.
To extend the shooting time of digital SLR cameras, manufacturers often sell compatible vertical grips that attach to the main body of the camera and hold an additional battery, as well as incorporating a second set of controls for vertically oriented shooting.
In general, digital cameras are not designed to get the most out of disposable alkaline batteries, so they're a poor choice. Disposable options that offer longer life include AA lithium, CRV3, and AA Oxyride batteries. Some cameras that use dedicated rechargeable batteries can also run on one or more of these disposable types. For the greatest flexibility, look for a camera that takes both rechargeable and disposable cells.
For more information on digital camera battery types, take a look at
this section of our digital camera buying guide.
