AA batteries: What's it all about?

Life can be a tricky business for the modern consumer. So many brands to choose from, and no possible way of figuring out which gives you the best value for money. I try to keep up to date by checking out the latest consumer news on the internet, but there's only so much an ordinary Joe like me can really know. And besides, who can you trust? Who can you turn to in a time of need?

Take a simple example: AA batteries. The choice on offer is truly staggering. Every electronics manufacturer you can name seems to sell their own line of batteries - Panasonic, Sony, Maxell. Not to mention every supermarket, chemist or Swedish flatpack furniture store selling their own brand when you come to peruse the invariably mind-boggling selection on offer.

Now, I'm not naive enough to believe that these batteries are all going to provide the same duration of energy output. I know you can't believe those oh-so-familiar claims like "Extra Longlife", "Stamina Plus" and so on. But there has to be some difference between the value packs you buy off a gypsy at your local car boot sale, and the kind of batteries you can buy at a well-known retailer like Boots or Maplins.

The question I'm asking is: what exactly is that difference? Allow me to personalise this story for you.

I'm on a quest. A quest to find a brand of AA battery that allows me to take more than ten pictures on my digital camera before the bloody thing loses power and stops functioning completely. Usually with the lens perilously exposed and no way to retreat the lens back into the camera for the essential security and peace of mind that I crave and simply can't have while I know the lens is unprotected.

I've tried Maxell. They lasted for about ten pictures. I've tried Duracell Plus. They didn't even provide enough power to switch the camera on. Today I looked at the Duracell M3 range, but they were almost dizzyingly overpriced. £5.99 for a four-pack? I think not. So I went for the Sony Stamina Platinums. I'll keep you posted as to the results, but I can't say I'm holding out much hope.

Sigh. Life's complicated enough without these sorts of issues bringing you down. So if anyone comes across some reliable information on the internet about which is the "Best Buy" AA battery, I'd be happy to hear from you. What I'm looking for, ideally, is some kind of graph that plots duration against cost.

Thanks readers. And I hope you're having a better time than I am at the moment. I really am a bit down in the dumps about all this battery business.