Review: Phottix grip for 40D

[rnourse]

Phottix BP-40D Battery Grip review

So I finally bit the bullet and bough one of the grips off ebay for my 40D. I'd bought the Phottix Cleon off the Ebay seller etefore and was happy with that so I browsed the grips he had up for sale an selected the one I though looked best based on the images (and heeding the bad reviews of the Optex unit for 40Ds). Unfortunately, I was shipped wrong unit.

Apparently I had ordered the Jenis XYTM unit and the Phottix was shipped instead. In fairness, the seller admitted the mistake and offered to pay the return shipping to exchange the unit for a Jenis but was honest in stating he'd prefer not to do so. He also suggested there were quality issues with the Jenis unit, a fact which was quickly confirmed with 30 minutes of web research.

Below is the seller's response to my comment that I'd been shipped the wrong unit. I think it actually bodes fairly well for etefore that he was willing to make things right. Sometimes, thats all you want to hear!

Etefore:

the one we used to ship is XYTM(Jenis grip).
I think that you can see it in camera shop in Canada.
you can check it.
we used to sell Jenis grip and lots of flaw and we still have about hundreds of faulty grip buyers returned to us.
it made if cheap APS plastic.
the one you got is same materials as Canon and we sold thousands of it and never find flaw. (ed: hmmmm guess that makes me the first!)
it uses the same design and same material as canon.
if you need exchange to the XYTM and no problem, we will take care of all shipping cost but if you get the one like the photo, please don't complain and don't be regret.
we will lost big money if you really want to do so but we don't want buyers feel we cheat them.
we just want to ship the first class product if we can.

regards
ken

- etefore

Phottix Battery Grip for 40D.

The unit arrived quickly and with no duties or taxes. It came a a clear plastic 'hanger' unit which had been opened to remove the two batteries that are usually packaged with the unit, (but not in the 'grip only' auction I won). No complaints as I have two brand new Sterlingtek units plus my original and one from hvstar.net. Unit arrived in a padded envelope but had been folded in half to make it fit in the bag.


The unit feels solid and weighs in at 375gms versus the canon 290gms
The door on this unit is on the side and not the end as in the canon model although it still takes the same bp-511 batteries.
The bottom and front of the grip are rubberized and have a pleasant non-slip feel. The texture matches that of the 40D body although the rest of the grip is not quite an exact match in terms of texture and gloss levels, Most likely this is because the body is magnesium alloy where the grip is most likely not!
The screw-wheel feels like cheap, hard plastic.
The pin connectors at the top of the battery connector stalk are solid, spring loaded pieces. I'm not concerned about them bending or breaking
The unit contains the usual tray to house 6 AA batteries for use in emergency circumstances
Battery door is a solid aluminium unit with a full length hinge. It is well attached and should not come loose with repeated use.
The instructions are in English, french, German, Spanish, Italian, "N" (Something that looks a little like german) and an Asian dialect that is presumably Chinese (based on the "C" designation for the language). English instructions are well written with none of the usual "for results that are surely the finest" gibberish.The instructions even describe how to remove the canon battery door!
The unit contains a small place on the side of the stalk to hold the battery door when the grip is in use. This is great as it means you're far less likely to loose the door, even if you temporarily remove the grip from the camera. I've no idea if the Canon units have this.
The unit screws firmly onto the base of the 40D. The fit is snug and flush with no freeplay or movement. I'm quite comfortable the grip and camera are not about to separate spontaneously. Overall this is a solid unit with a decent quality feel. No rattles, loose bits or unfinished edges.

Unfortunately that's where my evaluation has to end. The unit powered on and the dial and shutter button worked fine however the two AF/AF Point Select buttons did not function. The shutter did have a half-press which triggered AF... that worked well but using either of the other two seemed to 'wake' the 40D up (meter on in vf or centre point AF select indicator) but not actually do anything.

I've sent the unit back to Hong Kong at my own expense. etefore has indicated he will replace the faulty unit but I'm suspicious there's no way for him to test a replacement before sending it out unless he has a 40D and I sincerely doubt there will be any offer to compensate me for shipping the faulty unit back.

I will post an update when the replacement unit arrives, probably around mid-july.

[Magic_Puzzle]

Very cool post ... I purchased the "official" Canon grip and have had amazing results with it. It is well designed, solidly built and makes a huge difference in the way that my 40D handles. The plastic feels very nice and the construction tolerances are very, very close to perfect. I am very happy with my Canon grip and can recommend it highly as an alternative to the e-Bay products.

[rnourse]

Here in Canada that Canon grip is $325 + 13% tax = $367. For that kind of money you should be madly in love with it.

The Phottix is less than $80 on ebay.

[mckenzy]

i've placed my order for the 350D unit with verticle shutter... hope it turns out well. the original Canon grip for this is way too high to justify... i've read somewhere that the battery life is not so good... how's your experience?

[rnourse]

I'm using the stirlingtek batteries and they've been fine. The service from stirlingtek was also very good. They forgot a battery for my little s40 (same unit as 250D/400D) and when I told them i was going to cuba and needed it they sent a unit by courier.

Just a quick update on the grip: a replacement unit arrived and upon initial inspection appears to function perfectly. I'll have a closer look later this week and post an update

[Ridebmx]

ive got 2 sterlingtek batteries in an opteka grip for my 350D and ive had no issues, sometimes it will say half life but just pull tray out and put back in and its good to go.

i like how the rubber grip goes 180* around it even on the back, the canon one for the XXD i see doesnt

[ben_r_]

A review with NO PICS????? :) Sorry you had to send it back. If you get another faulty one I'd recommend just saving until you can get the Canon one.

[rnourse]

A review with NO PICS?????

I took pics but have no hosting provider :(

The grip is fine and even with the return I still only paid a third of the canon price. This is not looking like the glass where you get what you pay for... the unit is solid and seems to be good value for the money

[SOT]

The grip is fine but doesn't work right?
You did say this
"Unfortunately that's where my evaluation has to end. The unit powered on and the dial and shutter button worked fine however the two AF/AF Point Select buttons did not function. The shutter did have a half-press which triggered AF... that worked well but using either of the other two seemed to 'wake' the 40D up (meter on in vf or centre point AF select indicator) but not actually do anything."

How is that fine? or a good value? what if the buttons on your 40D did that, would that be fine or a good value?

[scorpio_e]

I have been looking at getting a grip and for an extra 50 how could you go wrong with the Canon. It does not seem to make sense to cut corners and get a product that you might have trouble with.

[rnourse]

There seems to be a common theme here where some folks think EVERYTHING you use must bear the Canon name or be manufactured by a tier one vendor despite the fact many lesser brands are manufactured in the same chinese factory using the same plastics and electronics. I bear no ill will to those who choose to follow this particular path (really) but unfortunately my finances are somewhat limited and I must pick and choose where to spend the few dollars of discretionary income that the mortgage and two children does not swallow up. I do for example purchase Canon L series lenses, decent CPs and canon logo'd flash units. Not simply because they say Canon on the front but because I feel these are the places where a vendor name matters in terms of the final output. Not so with grips, batteries of other "non-functional" components that do not affect image quality.

If I decide to post my experiences with a 3rd party product for the benefit of others I would ask those who disagree with my decisions to respect the fact I am sharing my experiences and not rush to be quite so critical. You may dislike the product and choose not to purchase it but the fact I share my opinion of the grip helps you to reach that decision. Where would you be without folks like myself who take a chance and post their results? Your semi-personal attack, which suggests I am somehow mentally incompetent for choosing a non-canon grip does nothing but inhibit the flow of information from folks just like myself. No one would know the Phottix wireless remote works just like the canon at a quarter the price and the cactus flash controller would be living in obscurity. Ditto the Stirlingtek battery. Think man, THINK!

The first grip I received was indeed faulty. I returned it and the vendor has shipped a replacement that works perfectly. I am still at somewhere around a third of the price of a canon branded grip here in Canada and have what I consider to be a very good product that is almost indistinguishable in functionality from the branded product. The money I've saved has been put towards a nice 580 EX II so I consider myself well ahead. If you have money to burn then by all means, buy the Canon grip.

In tones as polite as I can muster I would respectfully suggest to those who do not live in my shoes, earn my paycheck nor support my family to refrain from such public displays of ignorance. Your rash and single perspective criticism does nothing other than warn others NOT to share their experiences for fear of such immature and single-minded lashings from the peanut gallery.

I'm off to shoot roller derby tomorrow am. With my grip and my flash.

[rnourse]

Apologies if I got a titch upset last night... now that I've cooled down a bit I realize my opinions on this type of feedback haven't changed however my tone was perhaps more stern than it needed to be. I should just let this stuff roll like water off a ducks back.

[mckenzy]

the duck has gone off his way ... no worries... i'm in the same duck.. i mean boat as you are (we're not CEOs ;p)... your review on Phottix helps. believe me.

I'm getting a Phottix grip that comes with a built-in rechargeable battery and AC adapter... lets see how that goes... 2 main points of interest will be whether its durable, serves its basic purposes:

- no need to keep changing batteries
- verticle shutter for portrait shots

extras would be:
- good battery life in the long run (no memory effect and whatnots)
- stable/efficient electronics that are on par if not better than Canon's equivelent

.. should i post a pic when i get it?

[FergusonFotos]

Mourse,

I too use 3rd party products at times for my camera supplies. I just ordered a Phottix grip for my 40D based on your review. I also use the Canon L lenses and the 580 EX flash, etc, etc....but like you said, if it doesn't affect exposure, I'll go 3rd party. I use a 3rd party shutter release that also works great, no complaints.

Just wanted to let you know! :D

Linda

Apologies if I got a titch upset last night... now that I've cooled down a bit I realize my opinions on this type of feedback haven't changed however my tone was perhaps more stern than it needed to be. I should just let this stuff roll like water off a ducks back.

[kevinmcdade]

Great review! I have the Canon grip on my 40D and the Phottix on my 30D. There is VERY little difference in the two except for the price. The Phottix works flawlessly and feels great. If I would have known about the Phottix grips before I bought my BG-E2N, I would have two Phottix grips. I did try the Opteka grip for my 30D and hated it...stay clear of the Opteka for the XXD bodies. I had an Opteka for my XTi and it was great.

I have no problems using non-Canon products.

[FergusonFotos]

Wow I'm glad you posted that!! Before I read this initial thread I almost bought an Opteka for my 40D, but now I've ordered the Phottix...it pays to do one's homework!! ;)

Linda


Great review! I have the Canon grip on my 40D and the Phottix on my 30D. There is VERY little difference in the two except for the price. The Phottix works flawlessly and feels great. If I would have known about the Phottix grips before I bought my BG-E2N, I would have two Phottix grips. I did try the Opteka grip for my 30D and hated it...stay clear of the Opteka for the XXD bodies. I had an Opteka for my XTi and it was great.

I have no problems using non-Canon products.

[kevinmcdade]

Wow I'm glad you posted that!! Before I read this initial thread I almost bought an Opteka for my 40D, but now I've ordered the Phottix...it pays to do one's homework!! ;)

Linda

No problem!

I ordered the Opteka for my 30D thinking it would be like the Opteka grip that I had for my XTi...WRONG! It has all sorts of switches all over it. The batteries do not just slide into the grip base; you have two plastic sleeves that have to be taken out first then seperated before putting the batteries in. There is also a seperate switch on the grip that must be placed into the correct position before powering up the camera body. Don't get me wrong, it does get the job done it's just "different". Some may like it but mine sits in a drawer:rolleyes:

[FergusonFotos]

I have a Rebel XTI right now, I've ordered my new 40D, the Phottix grip, batteries, etc, etc....I'm so anxious to get it! It should all arrive by Wed or Thur! I've learned alot with my Rebels (I started with the XT), but now that I'm in my advanced photography classes they just aren't good enough! lol I have a wedding to shoot on the 16th, and I felt I wouldn't be able to get good enough shots with the XTI.

Linda



No problem!

I ordered the Opteka for my 30D thinking it would be like the Opteka grip that I had for my XTi...WRONG! It has all sorts of switches all over it. The batteries do not just slide into the grip base; you have two plastic sleeves that have to be taken out first then seperated before putting the batteries in. There is also a seperate switch on the grip that must be placed into the correct position before powering up the camera body. Don't get me wrong, it does get the job done it's just "different". Some may like it but mine sits in a drawer:rolleyes:

[Canadian Techdiver]

Good review. Thanks for the info. I just bought a 30D and I will be in the market for a grip in the near future. Living in Canada a few hours south of you, as well I feel the pain of the pricing and was not willing to spend over $300.00 for a grip.

[shuut]

I got the Phottix grip for my 40D a few days back, it's either giving me wrong battery life indication or it's draining my battery, or both. I would put 1 battery in the grip and then leave the camera on over night (heard some faulty grip will drain battery this way), when I get up in the morning and wake the camera up, the battery indicator will say it's only half full. That night I would play around and take pictures in the house with the half battery indicator and eventually the battery is shown as depleted and I can no longer take picture. I estimate at most 50 pictures taken with this battery. But when I take the grip off, and then put the battery directly into the camera, it's showing full battery life.

I read the manual comes with the grip and it says that when I put it on there should be no battery inside. I followed this instruction, and the put the battery back into the grip, and the same battery that was shown as depleted will show as full again. I then leave it to sit for a night with camera power on, and when this morning came, it's shown as half full again...

I am going to try and see if this battery is really half full or it's the grip that's acting up. But I think it would be really annoying if I have to reinstall the grip every time it acts up.

[strobe monkey]

People complain about not getting 6.5fps when using this grip and on AI Servo or AI Focus. Well I did a test and found out that even without using the grip, I don't really get 6.5fps when on AI Servo or AI Focus.
With One shot AF, with or without using the phottix grip, I get 6.5fps.
One thing I notice with using the grip is that the battery drains quite easily. Now I'm testing whether leaving the switch on the grip On or OFF has an effect.

edit:
Forgot to mention I used manual mode with 1/1000 shutter on all my tests. Focus was my lamp shade switched on and I'm intentionally moving the camera continuously while pressing the shutter. Also "S" quality to avoid buffer bottleneck (just in case).

[Jon]

The thing to remember about 6.5 fps is that you won't be able to achieve that except at sufficiently high shutter speeds where AF doesn't slow the camera down. So you need high shutter speeds (faster than X-sync) and a good, contrasty subject your camera will be able to lock focus on quickly, or else manual focus. AI-Servo is constantly recalculating the focus between shots, so will slow down a little; AI-Focus starts out pretending to be One-Shot, until it notices the subject's moving at which point it decides to be AI-Servo. So it's going to be really slow.

[keitaro]

I am still waiting on my BG-E2N battery grip from my local reputable computer parts dealer (who now starting to stock camera gear). They were selling them for $99 CAD.. i missed the deal, and went with $113. I ordered mine just when they stopped selling it (due to low Canadian Dollar). I am still waiting since they responded to one of my emails saying that their initial supplier is out of stock, therefore they are waiting shipment from an secondary supplier.

They listed that they stopped carrying it, but their prices keep jumping. It was at $135 about a week and a half ago. Now its $186 still not taking any new orders since they say they have stopped selling it. I don't want to cancel my order since its a wicked deal for a OEM battery grip!

[poah]

the problem with the phottix grip and the 6.5fps in AI servo is the camera thinks the grip has AA batteries in it which slows the max FPS down. I have no idea why it does this.

The battery indication can not work properly if you don't attach the grip and batteries in the right order.

[jr_senator]

I'm off to shoot roller derby tomorrow am. With my grip and my flash.

I'm old fan. We haven't had roller derby in the States for 30 years. Any links to roller derby in Canada?

[strobe monkey]

the problem with the phottix grip and the 6.5fps in AI servo is the camera thinks the grip has AA batteries in it which slows the max FPS down. I have no idea why it does this.

The battery indication can not work properly if you don't attach the grip and batteries in the right order.


Where did you get that information ? ? ?

I tested my 40D without battery grip in AI Servo mode as well as AI Focus. When subject moves, the "AI" plays and takes a bit of time which affects the FPS.

[Jon]

Where did you get that information ? ? ?

I tested my 40D without battery grip in AI Servo mode as well as AI Focus. When subject moves, the "AI" plays and takes a bit of time which affects the FPS.Exactly.

Now, using AA cells in the grip may introduce another problem, because AA alkalines can't handle the power demands of digital cameras as well as Li ion or NiMH can.

[diffuzhun]

I am still waiting on my BG-E2N battery grip from my local reputable computer parts dealer (who now starting to stock camera gear). They were selling them for $99 CAD.. i missed the deal, and went with $113. I ordered mine just when they stopped selling it (due to low Canadian Dollar). I am still waiting since they responded to one of my emails saying that their initial supplier is out of stock, therefore they are waiting shipment from an secondary supplier.

They listed that they stopped carrying it, but their prices keep jumping. It was at $135 about a week and a half ago. Now its $186 still not taking any new orders since they say they have stopped selling it. I don't want to cancel my order since its a wicked deal for a OEM battery grip!

Did you ever get your grip? Something very fishy sounding about that deal.

To the original poster, great review. I bought the Phottix (came packaged w/2 batteries) also and agree with your views on certain third party products. I couldn't resist the $62.47 price.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&item=200265728606

The Canon BG-E2N was about $170+ on Amazon when I bought the Phottix. It's now down to $152.04 on Amazon. What a ripoff that original $300+ price was! It's decent quality products like the Phottix, LinkDelight, etc. that's driving the Canon price down. If there weren't for quality third party products, Canon would still be charging an arm and a leg.

I've had it for a little over a month now and no problems. Batteries don't show any drainage when stored on or off.

BTW, I saw a amateur review of the Phottix grip on Youtube to get a rough idea of the grip before I bought it. He even bought it from the same Ebayer as me.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2sVvW2bVFcc&feature=PlayList&p=8C34C31C45D5C77F&index=8

[powerslave]

Got my BG-E3 off ebay for 70 bucks brand new :D

[G..]

I want a grip for my 40D and know that the Cannon spec'd one is the BG-E2.

I have seen the BE-G2N advertised (I think is for the 50D) but I see it sold as also fitting the 30D & 40D can any one help with more info please?

[strobe monkey]

My blog about the Phottix battery grip here (http://rmphotographynow.wordpress.com/2009/06/11/phottix-bp-40/)

[G..]

Thanks Strobemonkey - just ordered one.

[arisarnado]

Hello guys. I have just some problems regarding the Phottix batt grip for Canon EOS 40D.
At one time, I encountered a problem where I couldn't change the shutter speed via the
dial on the grip. :( I had to remove the grip and install it again to have it working.
Also, there was a time that pressing the shutter on the grip and the camera itself did not wake
the camera :(

Am I doing something wrong? Like overtightened the grip perhaps?

Thanks guys. :)