I bought the K100D on Boxing day. I installed the Alkalines that came with the camera and started experimenting. Granted, new camera = lots of time spent setting up the menu's and learning the buttons. So when the original batteries went dead after 10 shots, I figured it may have been an older set of AA's along with my spending too much time with the display on.

I put in a set of Engergizer rechargable 2500's. The camera comes to life, but the very first picture I take with the flash, the camera shuts down with a 'Low Battery' indicator. I put in the new Duracell's I have as spares and continue the evening with about 10 more flash shots. (And before anyone's fingers run to the keboard to tell me about rechargables, these were in service in a P + S and have been cycled several times and were up to full capacity.) Next day, I test the Bunny Batteries and they measure 1.3 volts. I put them back in (without recharging them) and the camera comes up and takes pictures fine, flash and no flash. Olny lasts for a few shots, then the battery indicator goes to half. A few more and it reads empty. I play with the display, view the pictures, look at a menu, try a different picture setting, and the indicator reads full again! Take a few more pix and it shuts off with the low battery thing.

It's not like I am totally new to digital or photography. These same recharables lasted a lot longer in my Canon A430, and there were only two in at a time. I see posts where others get great life out of a set of batteries, and that was one of my reasons for getting a camera that ran on AA's instead of a propriatary Li-ion. I don't think I am spending a excess amount of time setting up and taking a shot or if the camera is that power hungry. I am not using the anti shake and I manually focus %50 of the time. I only have a total of 36 pix so far, but I may spend a bit more time setting up a menu or a 'Scene Mode' where as the P + S would just come out of the pocket, click a pix and go away again.

I just bought a set of Eneloops to try. They measure 1.3 volts out of the pack, but they are only 2000 mAh so I don't know if they will do any better. I only have 14 more days on the '21 day return' policy to find out. I would rather return it and get another rather than rent it while it goes travelling to Pentax for adjustments.

BTW I did the firm update to 102.

Anyone have a similar experience and what did you end up doing?

Tom.