Just got my hakuba hand grip and it has a tripod mounting hole

[gale]

I know this was a big question at one time-the cheaper hand grips vs. the expensive ones. The hakuba DOES have a hole in the bottom for the tripod so you don't have to take the grip off for that. It does need to be swiveled around to get to the battery compartment though.

It's not really comfortable yet-I think I need to get used to it. It took me a while to figure out how to hold my camera with it-at first I couldn't reach the shutter button or the * button easily but I figured out I had it too tight. lol.

[Mike K]

I know this was a big question at one time-the cheaper hand grips vs. the expensive ones. The hakuba DOES have a hole in the bottom for the tripod so you don't have to take the grip off for that. It does need to be swiveled around to get to the battery compartment though.

I had heard that it has a mounting hole. I had also heard that the bottom plate which holds the grip and contains the mounting hole plastic? How flexible is it?

[gale]

It does appear to be plastic. The tripod mounting hole is metal. I would prefer it to be all metal but don't have the $$ to spend on the other one (whose name escapes me right now) when I don't use my camera very much. If I find I love the hand grip, then I might invest in one of the better ones.

eta: it doesn't appear to be very flexible at all. It seems pretty strong. I always use a neck strap but even so I'll be keeping an eye on the strap loops on the hand grip.

[Tdragone]

On mine; the handstrap doesn't loosen all that much. I notice when it's becoming looser; my hand almost falls out of it vs a snug fit when I have it how I like it.

A note about tripods though:

Don't overtighten the tripod onto the knurled knob on the bottom of the hakuba grip. If you do this; when you try to unscrew the camera + hakuba off the tripod; the tripod stays locked to the hakuba and the hakuba unscrews from the camera. That's my only pet peeve.

I usually keep mine slightly loose and then just swivel the plastic out of the way to get to the battery compartment.

Hope it helps.

[lostdoggy]

I have that grip don't use it much. It cramps up my hand everytime. There is one that I saw but can't remember the name, it looks like a workout glove made w/ I think neoprene.

[gale]

I've seen the workout glove type. I don't want to wrestle my hand into and out of a glove every time. I just want something so that I can stretch my fingers every so often. I have carpal tunnel syndrome and after a while, holding the camera makes my hand hurt.

[BearLeeAlive]

When I first started to use a hand strap I had it snug and had a bit of trouble with finger dexterity. I have loosened it so that it is just a bit loose on my hand when my fingers are wrapped in position. It works great like that once you get used to it. Since I started using it 6 months ago I never use my neck strap, the hand strap is way more versitle.