5D mk3 Battery Grip, see no point lol.

To each his own. I use the Grip on my 7D2 because I tend to use bigger lenses with it and I like the way it hangs on the strap better. I do also use in portrait orientation quite often. But I also like taking off the grip and putting on the plastic kit lens that came with the 7D2, feels like a point and shoot to me like that. My Primary is a 1DX, no choice but to live with the grip there.

ocabj wrote in post #17694809
A heavier camera will actually be more 'stable' in terms of camera shake induced by the shooter. It will sway slower.

Granted, in the context of photography, probably not much of an advantage.

I sway a LOT more when I'm shooting with a 500mm f/4l IS hand held than I do with for example, a 100-400mm, so no, your premise is not universal.

ocabj wrote in post #17694809
A heavier camera will actually be more 'stable' in terms of camera shake induced by the shooter. It will sway slower.

I see people on here saying this a lot but never understood the logic personally. People seem to think that because it's heavier it will be more planted in the hands and therefore more stable and that a light camera will somehow be shaking about all over the place as it doesn't have that weight.

I think the opposite is true. A lighter camera is more stable as you are not fighting the weight like you are with a heavier camera. I know I can hold my small mirror less camera more stable than I could with the 5D3 and 100-400 attached.

I think in general, they are misspeaking. I think they really mean that a larger camera is just easier to hold, if the have larger hands. The byproduct of this can be a more stable platform. This is what I find to be the case, for myself. The grip adds area to the body, giving me somewhere to put my fingers. This in turn, allows me have a better hand position, providing a more stable grip, reducing movement.

At least, that's what my butt dyno tells me.

For me, a gripped body disperses the weight better and is more balanced. Also a body alone will rest in a spot on my palm that causes discomfort in my hand.
So for me a Grip is essential as stated above along with portrait orientation and prolonged battery life.

I personally love the grip.

It is much more comfortable for me, I had none on my 40D, and I really missed it, then got one for the 5DII, and I will never go out without one again.

I can grip the camera better, its much more comfortable to hold.

Different strokes for different folks. When I got a 5Dc (when it was new), I didn't have a grip. I later decided to get one to have an extra battery. I wound up liking it because I also liked the counterweight with longer lenses. Now with the 5D3 grip, I've never taken it off. I also have a nice plate system (CAMS) that lets me quickly mount to tripod/ have comfortable portrait grip. For shorter lenses, my left hand's palm will be resting on the grip with fingers on lens (and my right hand will be in a hand grip). With longer lenses, CAMS also makes a nice lens plate that makes nestling the tripod ring foot in the palm of the hand more comfortable. Still like the grip for having a place to rest my right hand pinkie and does add a little extra weight.

The weight distribution for me is only noticeable when I'm using the 100-400 MK I at 400. In this configuration the center of gravity (CG) is extended away from the camera body. To maintain a stable hold my left hand tended to follow the CG further out in order to maintain the front-to-back balance of the camera and lens.

When I added my grip, which shifts the CG back towards the camera body, my left hand comes back in with it. The end results, for me, is that I find my left arm lasts longer before fatigue sets in as it does less work closer to my body.

When I had two identical camera bodies, I would keep a grip on one of them. I always found that I reached for the body without a grip. I only have one 6D now, but sold the grip a few months ago as it sat unused.

Threw the 6D grip back on yesterday for a session. I was shooting a lot in portrait and what I noticed was I had many more keepers with the 135L. YMMV

I use the grip because in portrait mode, all the buttons I would need to adjust, I can adjust naturally without having to take my eye from the viewfinder. Its a little bit harder to do that while in portrait orientation without the grip.

xpfloyd wrote in post #17695181
A lighter camera is more stable as you are not fighting the weight like you are with a heavier camera.

Basic physics state that a=F/m, i.e. that acceleration is equivalent to force divided by mass. Thus a twice as heavy camera will shake half as much when exposed to the same vibration-inducing force.

apersson850 wrote in post #17753164
Basic physics state that a=F/m, i.e. that acceleration is equivalent to force divided by mass. Thus a twice as heavy camera will shake half as much when exposed to the same vibration-inducing force.

Camera shake (and any vibration effect) is more complicated than F/m. Frequency, damping, rotational momentum, and the photographer's stance (at least) need to be taken into account. That would be a lot of figuring. Instead of doing math, why not look at the results of experience?

- Our hands can shake when holding up more weight, especially for a long time.

- If more weight was really effective for steadying a camera, people would be attaching bricks to them.

- P&S cameras and phones have tiny mass, but give pretty sharp pics.

So more mass might help in some situations, but the benefit is hard to pin down, and overall, the advantages of lighter gear might outweigh that of heavier gear.

I personally use a filter.

Oh, sorry. Wrong thread.

Never saw the point of the grip. Want to look like a pro, OK (but the vast majority of them that I know who work in the field don't use a grip or a 1 series body). Want to have extra battery life, OK, but you can carry an extra battery in your pocket. Want to avoid having to go to Gold's Gym for a workout, OK. Are you really so concerned with having another button for portraits?, OK.

But if you want to avoid the weight and bulk, stick with shoving another Lp-E6 in your pocket. If you want all that size, get a 1 model and at least have a weatherproof and rapid fps body.