How long do rechargeable batteries usually last?

How long do rechargable lithium ion batteries last after they are fully charged and take how many pics?

• in a digital camera, how long would lithium ion batteries last after a full charge and roughly how many pictures would they be able to last for? also can you get cameras that have rechargable batteries but can also take ordinary AA batteries?

• Answer:

  There are so many factors to your question, there isn't going to be any really right answer. A camera's manual will oftentimes list how many shots you can get on a full battery. First, a fully charged lithium-ion battery can last for a couple thousand shots or only a couple hundred shots depending on how much you use your LCD (one of the biggest power consumers in a camera.) If you use an optical viewfinder and don't review all your pictures, you can get a lot out of that battery. If your LCD is always on, don't expect to get more than a couple hunderd pictures on a fully charged battery. In digicams it's usually either/or when it comes to batteries. Of course, if it takes AA or AAA batteries, you can always use NiMH or NiCd recargable batteries. Some older digicams had battery grips that would allow using either the Li-ion battery or a AA or AAA battery magazine. Since the emphasis has gotten on smaller, these are hard to find. (For example a Nikon Coolpix 5700 uses EN-EL1 Li-ion battery, but with MB-E5700 grip, you use 6 AA's.) With battery grips for a DSLR, there is often that magazine. For example, I have a Canon 40D that has battery grip BG-E2. I can use either two Li-ion batteries or the magazine that holds 6 AA batteries. I carry that magazine, but I have NEVER used it. I'll usually have two fully charged batteries in the grip and that's enough to last me all day, though I have another fully charged Li-ion battery or two just in case. In general, Li-ion batteries will last much longer than standard AA or AAA batteries.