Originally Posted by ColorChange
cycco I agree or disagree depending upon the specific light. The CatEye LD1000 draws a significant amount if you have even 1 row in constant lighting. I do recharge religiously and use high capacity NiMH batteries. You can see a noticable difference between 1.4 volts and 1.2 volts in how bright the light is. Now, on the Super FLash, it is less noticable and a Lithium is probably a good bet but not for heavier current draw requirements.
I generally recommend rechargables because they are much lower cost and you can have highest performance nearly all the time (frequent recharging versus running down a standard battery).
We're on the same page here, actually. I don't have an LD1000 so I'm not familiar with their current demands but if they use power quickly, a rechargable makes sense. If, however, the light isn't using that much power, nonrechargables may be a more economical way to go. Spending a lot of money for a rechargable battery isn't a good idea if you let it self-discharge regularly because that shortens the life of the battery.
The discharge curve for either rechargables or nonrechargables is pretty flat, so you still get
good performance until the cell is just about dead in either case.
One other thing to consider is the way in which the battery is housed. If the battery is housed in a holder that requires a screw to hold in place or a snap, frequent opening and closing of the case can lead to breakage of the light which is far more costly than a couple of batteries