Please don't draw and quarter me for arriving late to the EOS 5 party and asking a stupid question.

Has anyone figured out how to use AA cells with the EOS 5? (Yes, I have heard about the D-cell kludge with a 4ft wire and belt clip). Are there any 3rd party vertical grips that use AA's? Does anyone else find this to be a fatal flaw in an otherwise nice camera? In the posts I've read, people are getting fewer than 10 rolls per battery change. This means a "surcharge" of almost $1 per roll of film to use this camera, whereas cameras using AA's cost much less to operate, especially since one can go to the local warehouse club like Costco and get decent alkaline AA's for about $0.25 each, or name-brand alkaline for a few cents more.

And now perhaps the most optimistic question of all: has anyone heard of NiMH batteries the same form factor as the lithiums in the EOS 5? I've seen AA NiMH for sale on the web.

Sorry if this post is covering old turf, but couldn't find answer on web, photo.net or here. I would be very interested in the experience of others in what seems like a fine camera.

-- Stephen Murphy (scmurphy@micron.net), May 07, 1999

Answers

Maybe the other guys are using their flash on every shot. I don't use it very much and get 40--50 rolls of 36 exposures per battery in my A2s.

-- Dave Jenkins (djphoto@vol.com), May 08, 1999.

There are no rechargable betteries with a 2CR5 form factor. You can make one with small NiCads and a 2CR5 shell, but you'll be lucky even to get one roll out of it. That's my experience anyway. Not worth the effort.

There are no Canon or 3rd party grips which take AAs for the EOS-5 as far as I know.

-- Bob Atkins (bobatkins@hotmail.com), May 08, 1999.

EOS magazine (www.eos-magazine.com) is offering a rechargeable system for GBP 69.95, approximately USD 110. This system offers 2CR5 or C123A batteries, which are said to last five years (not, obviously, per charge). Dunno whether this works or not, but the magazine is quite reputable.

-- Ed Baumeister (ebaumeister@compuserve.com), July 17, 1999.