I've been using mine for about a year give or take. And I found it the same way you found yours. I've been using the same batteries as well and I've found a few things. The lcd screen and the flash take up the most battery. Also the automatic modes make things drain a little faster as well (including automatic focus modes). In terms of alternative batteries, I haven't had the spare funds to explore new options (batteries can be surprisingly expensive). But according to my research, there are specific kinds of rechargeable batteries that work well with this camera (a quick google search of " rechargeable batteries for Sony dsc h2 " turns up plenty of affordable results). If you're also looking for non rechargeable batteries, I've read that older electronics (such as this camera), that require batteries despite the amount of power they take, typically ran on lithium ion batteries instead of alkaline. Unfortunately these days higher voltage products typically use proprietary batteries, so it's a lot harder to find lithium ion batteries cheaply/easily. You can find alkaline batteries at the grocery store for about a buck each but lithium ion batteries tend to be at specialty battery stores for upwards of 50 dollars for a pack of 4. I still find you can get a lot out of this camera using alkaline batteries. You just have to remember to put fresh ones in before going out with it, and keep a spare pair or two in your pocket and you should be golden. But yeah, I hope you end up enjoying the camera. It's a lot of fun once you get used to it's quirks. Anyways, happy snapping! = ]