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We've all had it happen...the "perfect" expression flashes across a subject's face and your flash doesn't fire. Or the batteries manage a reasonable ready rate on your flash for all of the first five minutes, then you are left spending more time waiting for your flash to recycle than actually taking photos. And if your camera uses AA batteries, you know all to well the dilemma of turning off the LCD or having the batteries drain at super speed.


Energizer claims their new Ultimate Lithium batteries help stop these problems. Do they stack up? Read on and find out.

The Technical Details

Lightweight: The new Ultimate Lithiums are lighter than previous AA batteries, a definite plus when you are loading 4 to 8 into a flash or camera. According to Energizer, they are 33% lighter than standard AA batteries.

Extreme Temps: Per Energizer, the Ultimate Lithiums can handle temperatures from -40 degrees Fahrenheit to 140 degrees Fahrenheit.

Longer Charge: Test results from Energizer show 9x longer in some cameras than the Energizer MAX batteries.

Do They Work?

I've tried these batteries in a couple of different flashes. The recycle time for the flash is excellent with the Ultimate Lithiums and there is a much longer life to the batteries before there is a significant delay to recycle. The Ultimate Lithium batteries lasted approximately 4 times longer than another Lithium AA battery.

Like all batteries, once the power begins to drop, the drop off is a steep curve.

However, the point unto drop off more than makes up for the additional price of the Ultimate Lithium batteries.

The lighter weight of these batteries is very noticeable and welcome when facing a full day of shooting.

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Disclosure: Review samples were provided by the manufacturer. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.