On Mon, 19 Jun 2006 03:14:50 -0500, Ron Hunter wrote:

I use lithium (non-rechargeable) batteries as backup to my NIMH pack.
The lithium cells can be bought for $20 for 12 from Sam's Club. They
last for about 300 shots in my camera, and their shelf-life is very long
(up to 10 years), low temp. performance is great, and they are quite a
bit lighter than NIMH or alkaline batteries. If 300 shots uses up two
(in my camera), that makes my cost per picture less than 1 cent, which
isn't prohibitive, at least not to me.

So, cheapest in my case is NIMH, since the manual warns not to use
alkalines.

Someday . . . someday you may own a camera that can use alkalines.
Kodak makes 'em now ya know. But maybe Sam's is selling older
batteries? The ones here (Energizers) have had 2020 expiration
dates for quite some time, indicating a longer shelf life than 10
years. But I'm sure you'll have no problem using yours well before
2015 arrives, especially since they're much more economical than
your "less than 1 cent" indicates. Looks like 0.4 cents per shot
from here, making them if not a bargain, not an expensive luxury
item either. One thing I don't know about them is whether they're
known to leak, and if so how often compared to alkalines, and under
what conditions. If I could feel safe leaving lithium batteries in
equipment for years at a time it would easily justify their higher
cost.