I'm wondering about the 'real life' experiences of digicam users with
Li ions. The research I've seen says that (a) normally one can get 2-3
years;(b) the technology is constantly improving and (c) depending on
usage one can get longer run time. I've got one in a Sony laptop that
is still, after 4 years, giving me 45+ minutes. As for NiMh's, I've got
a bunch that are still performing surprisingly well after five years.
Oh, and I've got a few rechargeable alkalines that I use in
flashlights, that seem to be ancient.

One thing that bothers me is that it is really important to know how
long these batteries have been on the shelf before purchase, and that
is almost impossible to know since everyone seems to be selling them as
'new'.

This all said, is there any way to test the overall health of a Li Ion,
using a digital voltage meter?