I'd second the thought about not basing your camera choice on the batteries it uses. Buy the camera that meets your photographic needs. We carry 2 batteries for each camera. We took a total over 9000 pictures on a 3 month tour this summer in Europe, and did not have battery recharging problems. It was definitely more of a challenge there than we found in our trip trip across the U.S. I do use AA's in my GPS, and with hard use they last about 3 days. I spent a lot on GPS batteries and found myself carrying 2-3 extra sets. Just like the in U. S., they are more expensive in small towns/stores. I was actually glad our cameras did not take AA batteries, because of my experience trying to keep the GPS in batteries . I almost bought the Canon X 130 just for that reason (it took AA's), but opted for the G-12 instead. The Canon charger plugs directly in the electrical socket- no cord to carry, and with extra battery probably about the same as 4-AA's. If you take many pictures, the spare battery will pay for itself compared to AA's. If you do go with the AA camera use lithium batteries. BD (Before Digital), my SLR's used AA's and I'd still have to carry a bunch of lithium batteries. They did last a lot longer, but cost about twice as much. Think about getting your son the same camera, If you go for rechargeable batteries. Then you only need one charger.

Not quite. My curiosity got the best of me so I weighed them-- 4-AA's weigh 3.5 ounces, Canon G-12 battery and charger weigh 4.8 ounces. I'll carry the extra 1.3 ounces.