I remember the first time I bought rechargeable AA batteries. “This is going to be great,” I thought. “No more buying batteries — I’m gonna save so much money with these.” If you’ve ever done the same thing, you can probably guess what happened: They were awful. After just a couple recharge cycles, they barely held enough juice to power anything. And if they were off the charger for a few days, all the power somehow leaked out.

Last year, I was looking around for a new digital camera to shoot WaterLine photos. My Nikon used a proprietary lithium rechargeable battery, and I was looking for a camera that used the same type of technology. But the camera I found at amazon.com with all the right features and at the right price was designed for AA batteries. On the item page was a suggestion for Sanyo Eneloop rechargeable batteries. I clicked on the link and was surprised by the number of positive reviews. What the heck — I figured maybe they were worth a try.