battery grip question

[FIREWALLROB]

Even a 5D without a grip is too small for me.

A grip gives a much better hold - or get a 1d.... better still !!

[cking2]

Originally Posted by ps249

Why do people buy battery grips? I am not a pro by any means but I can get a good 700 shots out of my battery. I might take a minimum of 60 shots per shoot (per day).I guess the people who buy battery grips are pros who are away from civilazation for weeks?

I don't know about away for weeks, but when you are running a large IS lens battery life is reduced, and I have lost power after shooting about 250 images....without the grip at a game. For me a grip is essential and makes the camera feel more like the 1 series camera I have.

What gives me fits is the huge difference in menu systems. Trying to remember where everything is at is a pain.

[johneo]

While the battery power available doubles, I like the grip because it means it will advance the film to the next frame without me having to move the little lever ... OOPS! My dSLR doesn't use film, sorry!

Went 4 years without one and wish now I had it every one of those days for 4 years. I've kind of gotten into the habit of always taking shots in landscape mode and follow it with a shot, as close as possible, in portrait mode ... To many times I've had one printed and wished I'd have the same shot in portrait for framing.

The grip makes it much easier to handle the camera. Better balance and handling does it for me. The extra battery is just an added plus!

Oh and everyone thinks I have a new PRO camera now too!!!

[elysium]

I bought my grip to balance out my camera. My hands are too big for the camera without it. When my camera is mounted with my flash and lens, its just too unbalanced without it. Gives me a nice grip for portraits also.

[Steve Parr]

I like it for the vertical controls, the added weight, and the added size...

[Rick_the_Uneducated]

I got mine for the extra size because I have big hands, but I have found the extra battery usefull (I often do 2 or 3 trips without recharging) and vertical shooting helps a lot too

[JWright]

Camera manufacturers seem to think smaller is better yet humans aren't getting smaller... I can't hold the current crop of cameras well without the grip...

[Mcary]

Originally Posted by Richard Lincoln

I always used to have motorwinds in the good old days of filum cameras. Even my ME Super had a motorwind, that was my first "proper" camera. Putting a battery grip on a digital just replicates that feel, its what I'm used to and comfortable with. Having the portrait shutter there doesn't matter to me, I'm so used to not having it that I never use it anyway!

Same here pretty much, Picked up a used F3MD4 when I was in Germany in 84 and since then I just prefer the feel of a camera with a MD or Grip


Mike

[gregkendallball]

I bought one because I'm a wannabe that wants to look like a pro!

Actually, it's just like everyone else said: the ability to shoot portraits with ease.

And, it helps balance out the 24-70mm f/2.8 L, which I learned is referred to as "The Brick" by some. It certainly fits the description, and the grip attached to the 40D makes it much more balanced.

[midget]

mainly for vertical controls.

[amfoto1]

Heck, I've used film cameras with winders and motor drives attached for so long, I think I'd feel buck naked without battery grips on my D-SLRs!

Also, some days I'll shoot 1000-1500 images, more on occasion.

With IS lenses and lots of re-focusing, panning, etc. my 10D nearly always needed both batteries changed midday. But my 30Ds will usually go a full day, if I remember to charge up the batteries. Battery capacity has increased at the same time as camera power demands have been reduced.

Still, I'd rather not have to change batteries at all during the shooting day, if possible. I know if I used a single battery in a 30D, it wouldn't make it all day.

I virtually never use the built-in flashes in any of my cameras... But anyone who does knows they are another big drainer of batteries.

Yes, too, to all the points about better balance with larger lenses and better ergonomics when using the camera vertically.

I've always felt a heavier camera was easier to hold nice and steady, too. That is, up to a point, of course. I don't really want to carry around a boat anchor, either.

I'd much rather have a camera with a removable batt grip, so that size and weight can be easily reduced, if and when situations call for it.

With Canon's, their hand strap only works with Power Boosters/Battery Grips. It's nice to have a second means of holding the camera. (And a hand strap was practically essential on EOS-3 I used for a long time, with their spring loaded access door on the side that irritatingly snaps open and closed, when carrying the camera without a hand strap installed to protect that door.)

Canon's record hasn't been perfect... They made some dumb battery grips/winders, too.

The Winder A made for AE-1 and A1 protruded rearward for some reason. So, it didn't give a good grip and the camera tended to always flop forward onto the nose of the lens, when set down on a table. The Winder A2 was a big improvement.

The Motor Drive MA for A1 and AE-1 Program is quite a nice piece of equipment, very well thought out with some features that they should consider for today's camera grips (convenient switches that shift the camera from single shot to high speed momentarily, for example).

And the battery grip for the Elan 7s/EOS30s had to be removed from the bottom of the camera to install fresh AA batteries... it has no external door or removable battery carrier.

Some other drives/winders had their own personalities, too. Winder AR for Konica T4 was noisy, and only good for 2 frames per second. I'd often shut it off to keep from scaring people, but still use it for the extra mass, vertical grip and hand strap provided with it.

The noise from that didn't compare to the Nikon MD11/12, though, which is affectionately known as the "AK47 of Motor Drives".

Motor Drive A for Pentax Super Program is a beast. The alternative, the slower Winder ME II was much nicer to hold and handle. But there probably isn't a single one of those still in existence that has a working battery compartment latch. Bring your duct tape!

[Richard Lincoln]

I've got a winder ME1 infront of me right now ... battery latch works just fine.

I think I bought it to replace the winder ME2 that broke its battery latch ........



Hat, coat, door. I know the drill.

[Toobs421]

Some times i feel like im going to drop my 20d with out the grip, I like the grip for the grip part. However it makes it heavy, can you shoot with a grip and only 1 battery in it

[AperturePriority]

Reasons I use a vertical grip:

• Ability to shoot vertical (portrait orientation) with ease
• Easier for me to carry my camera. My hand holds the right side of the camera and all fingers are on the body
• I can sit my camera either traditionally (bottom down), or sideways (on left side)
• Can balance my 300mm lens better due to a taller body (the grip rests against the pad/palm of my hand)
• I no longer have to charge batteries every week--I can go month or about 2500 shots between charges

.

[SOT]

I like the extra battery, I like the feel, the ease of shooting vertical, and for use with "bigger" lenses it changes where the center of gravity is.