I agree but if I load it up with new AA batteries it reads 100%. At least it always has.
Correct. The cam knows the battery percentage by how much volts are being sent to the camera. Alkaline AAs start at 1.5volts. They will slowly but steadily decline in volts as they are used. 1.5, 1.45, 1.38 etc etc.
Lithium AAs act very differently than alkaline. Lithiums are "hot-roded" at 1.7 volts. And stay at 1.7 volts the entire life of the battery until the last couple of percent. These are the most recommended because the cam will always receive the full power from the batteries. With alkys, you get less and less power to the cam, so performance of the cam may go down. Less flash range, worse detection performance etc.
The con of lithium AAs is because the volts never go down, the battery always reads fully charged, even if the battery is at 5%. It like a broken gas tank.
My own opinion after using every option is AA lithiums are the best option. The solar panel is probably longer lasting and far more economical, but every bear in my area spots those solar panels and tries it out for lunch. Because of my own experience, I'm not a giant fan of the lithium packs, which it's chemistry is different from AA lithiums and don't act the same.
I only run cams 2-3 months from mid September to late Nov. And alkys have been perfectly fine. I had nearly 1600 pics and videos on my Energizer alkys last year and battery read 50% by then. More than good enough for me.
Lithium AAs right now are not a tenable option despite their tremendous performance. The price is absolutely outrageous.
