I always thought they were the best alkalines money could buy.

A brand new pack of 4 AAs loaded into my Fuji digital camera - ONE shot taken (with flash) and 'battery empty' flashed up and camera shut down. WFT?? These are Duracell Ultras with 2008 stamped on them!

On the other hand my NiMH batteries took over 150 flash shots and would have kept going had my card not been full.

Tell me I'm not alone.

Bad pack? I've never had any problems with any brand name alkaline batteries.

New one on me, I always buy Mallory by brand, I have done for 35 years and I've never been let down.
Watch out, only 3 weeks until the Boxer motorhome heads north!

Hell, I can't get more than 15 flash shots with Duracell lithium ultras, and I cant get more than 5 in a row.

There is nothing wrong with your Duracells. Alkaline batteries just aren't up to the task of providing the current that digital camera draw. Using them in digital cameras just kills them.

NiMH and the various other formulae are much better ar providing the current that they need.

"Alkaline batteries are simply unsuitable for high current-drain devices like digital cameras: in many cases the digital camera shuts down after only a few minutes. So called "Ultra" Alkaline batteries fare little better - their battery chemistry, capacity to supply large currents, internal resistance and rapid drop of voltage makes them unsuitable for digital cameras and other high current drain devices.

Unlike Alkaline batteries, NiMH rechargeable batteries can maintain a steady voltage throughout their discharge cycle - enabling hundreds, rather than merely a handful, of photos to be taken. And then of course you can recharge them - up to a thousand times. Even if you take a couple of hundred shots a week, they could last for over 10 years!"

http://www.digibattery.co.uk/

Sure it wasn't a fake set? There are some very good ones around - Richer Sounds even sold them at one point.

Gareth