Finding good, reliable batteries for your flash or camera is never an easy task. Having them charged and ready at a moment's notice is even harder. Regular akaline batteries start strong, but become spent rather quickly. Regular rechargable batteries are great for investment and reuse, but hold their charge less than akalines. In addition, when you buy them they're "dead", requiring time-consuming initial charging.

Not so with Sanyo's eneloop (Nickel Metal Hydride - NiMh) line of batteries. These rechargebles come fully charged and ready to go... and they can hold up to 85% of their charge for nearly a year. This way, you can charge your eneloops in advance of a shoot and not worry about them being drained before you even start. And in an emergency situation, you can buy a new set and use them immediately.

eneloop batteries are easily recognizeable by their minimalist white and blue color scheme. The charger is compact and easily fits in your pocket or camera bag. One nice feature of the charger is its flip out power plug.

Subjectively speaking, I've noticed an increased performance from my Olympus FL-36 flash using eneloop over other brands. Recycle time seems much faster than traditional rechargables and regular akaline sets. I've been using one set for almost a year now and supplemented them with another set of four, giving my flash four sets of ready battery power whenever I need it.

These batteries are also billed as "memoryless", which means you can recharge them whenever you need. You don't have to wait for them to run down to almost no charge in order to maintain long life as you would with some other rechargables.

eneloop batteries come in AA (2000 mAh) and AAA (800 mAh) sizes and can be charged and recharged up to 1000 times. Charging takes from 4-7 hours and the same charger can be used to charge both sizes of battery in pairs (inside/outside configuration). I've found the eneloop batteries run on the street at about $12 for a set of four and $18 with the charger. While they are slightly more pricey than regular rechargables, their performance and ability to be used right out of the package more than make up the few dollars difference.

Without question photographyvoice.com gives Sanyo's eneloop battery a rating of Highly Recommended.