The Details
Today, the best rechargeable batteries are the “low self-discharge” Nickel-Metal Hydride (Ni-MH) cells.
These batteries have a lot going for them: they come fully charged (like alkaline batteries), and they can hold their charge over many months (unlike regular Ni-MH rechargeables). Because they can hold their charge for so long, they are suitable for low-drain devices like remote controls and flashlights. However, they are ideal for use in high-drain electronic devices like digital cameras, where they out-perform alkalines. See this graph for a comparison:
Overall, the best rechargeable AA battery is the Eneloop Pro. They have a high energy capacity (2550 mAh), and they perform better than similar high-capacity AAs. They can only be charged 500 times (versus 2100 times for regular Eneloops). But most people will never charge their batteries that many times. For example, if you charged your batteries twice a week consistently, it would take 5 years to reach 500 charges.
Also worthy of consideration is the Powerex battery, which is cheaper than the Eneloop Pro. These Powerex are also low-discharge, high-capacity batteries (2400 mAh), but they do not perform quite as well as the Eneloop Pro (see this review for the details on their performance).
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