Batteries sometimes die after a few pictures

Periodically have a problem with batteries loosing charge quickly. I have 6, 4 purchased with in Oct, 2004 and 2 new ones only a three months old. Worst case I was using Canon 20D and hand grip, in recent wedding shoot, shot say 500 images, batteries exhausted. Replaced both batteries. Shot 3 images, batteries exhausted. Replaced with 2 more, after 2 images, batteries exhausted. Used plastic holder for handgrip with 6 new AA bateries. Same thing. Left camera set for 2 hours. Picked it up with same 6 AA bateries and all was well. All batteries (except first 2) showed full charges. Small shoot the next day had no problems and the next wedding had no issues. I have not been able to trace it back to any particular batteries. Anyone else experience this?

Brenda: Thanks for the reply. Since posting I learned there is a recall on the BG-E2 battery grip. Symptoms of the battery grip problem exactly matched my experience. I got authorization from Canon to return it for repairs. Complete turnaround time was 11 days from the time I shipped it to when I had it back. Grip was repaired at no charge. Canon even sent a prepaid mailer label to send it in. I've only shot 2 weddings since but it has worked flawlessly since. Thanks for taking the time to post.

Wow, excellent resolution for you, I'm glad it worked out. Thanks for the info too. I have never heard of this issue and now I know where to point people who are having the same problem.

I have problems with the battery life also. In our company studio we tried to hook the camera to the computer to quickly take/view/transfer pictures. The battery can't seem to support the connection for many shots before I have connection errors, and need to recharge the battery. I really wish there were a way to keep it running smoothly.