3rd party grips?

Nuroppo wrote in post #12402008
I bought one for my 5DMII a little while ago from B&H, can't remember the brand atm, but it works fine for me. All the buttons work, fits, well I also saved just about $200 so I am happy with the purchase.

The Canon BG-E6 grip is made of magnesium which is why it costs quite a bit more than the plastic aftermarket grips.

i got the grip through on Friday and used it over the weekend for a sporting event.

ill run through everything from an 'opening the box' point of view...

first impressions were great. good packaging gives me a sense of quality! i got 2 Opteka batteries with the grip and they went straight on charge. they held up well over the weekend and seemed to be very similar in performance to the Canon ones.

The grip fits well on my 50D and feels pretty sturdy. i can imagine the metal Canon one feeling a bit more robust. the shutter button seems fine to me. only slightly differnt to the one on the camera. the small wheel near the shutter button is a bit more 'clunky' in operation than the one on the camera itself. this isnt a problem really. just meant i had to be slightly firmer when changing shutter speeds. it caught me out at first while trying change settings quick at the Athletics event, but i soon got used to it.

it comes with a little plastic cage that hold some AA batteries. the performance spec for the AA batteries isnt very good, but in an emergancy it would help.

also comes with a little infra-red remote. this seemed a bit odd in operation as it doesnt offer the half way down/full way down button we are used to.
so when the button is pressed, the camera auto focuses and then takes the shot. meaning there is a slight delay. i found an odd operation when the camera was in high speed burst mode (and Servo focus) i pressed the remote button once and the camera wouldnt stop taking pics! left me with a lot of photos of my living room door! (all in focus though! )

anyway, as i didnt want it for the remote as i already have a shutter release cable, im not too bothered.

i like this grip. following some mixed reviews i found on the internet i would give it the thumbs up!

if you are still reading all my waffle then i guess you are interested in buying this grip... if so... go for it!

(i havnt ever used a canon grip so can compare weight or feel etc.)

Also,there is a little slot in the grip to hold the battery door of the camera


any other questions, please feel free to ask!

cheers

Tom

j-dogg wrote in post #12390721
3rd that I had one on my rebel XTi, no issues. I have a canon grip now on my 5d, there is a difference but it's mostly the feel.

4th that Zeikos on my 7D and rebel and no issue so far at a quarter of the price.

tommayor wrote in post #12418172
Also,there is a little slot in the grip to hold the battery door of the camera

any other questions, please feel free to ask!

cheers

Tom

Nice review but THIS is often times overlooked.

im suprised it gets overlook as it mentions the battery door holder in the instructions...but then im a 'read all the instructions' kind of man!

i come from the angle of 'iv paid for something, so i want to use it and all of its features to its max!'

so i wont be loosing my battery door anytime soon!

tommayor wrote in post #12419462
im suprised it gets overlook as it mentions the battery door holder in the instructions...but then im a 'read all the instructions' kind of man!

i come from the angle of 'iv paid for something, so i want to use it and all of its features to its max!'

so i wont be loosing my battery door anytime soon!

It stems from NOT reading the instructions (probably a lot of us don't at some point or another ). They'd take the door out or even "force" the grip in with the door still on or something. Then toss the door in a box or lose it and go years not realizing it could be stored on the grip.

I have three third party grips, they all work fine.

Is it Ok to use 3rd party grips w/ 3rd party batteries ? i'll be buying the Meike grip (found it on ebay for around 58 Canadian $) for my 550d and was thinking to get an additional 3rd party battery , any thing i should worry about ?

Mitch.A wrote in post #12423449
Is it Ok to use 3rd party grips w/ 3rd party batteries ? i'll be buying the Meike grip (found it on ebay for around 58 Canadian $) for my 550d and was thinking to get an additional 3rd party battery , any thing i should worry about ?

Sometimes those ebay grips come with two batteries as a combo. Check to see that the batteries are "chipped" so that the camera battery meter reads the charge accurately.

Blurr Cube wrote in post #12423642
Sometimes those ebay grips come with two batteries as a combo. Check to see that the batteries are "chipped" so that the camera battery meter reads the charge accurately.

Nope , doesn't come with any batteries
That's the item link : Meike Grip (ebay)

I thought about buying something like the Pearstone LP-E8 Lithium-Ion Battery Pack (7.4 VDC, 1100 mAh)(BH Link) or any other third party batteries , any recommendations on "Chipped" ones ?

Thanks and i apologize for the OP if i'm hijacking his thread .

zeikos for my 5d2...Perfect grip, it's not as nice as the 5d2 body but for 70 bucks as opposed to 250. You bet I jumped for it, no regrets.

I have a zeikos grip en route. Glad to hear most people have had pretty good experiences with them.

I got the Meike and i couldn't be happier one of the best 58$ i've ever spent .

I got a Zeikos grip on my 40D and it has performed flawlessly so far. Yes mine is made out of plastic and the OEM ones are made out of magnesium, but in terms of performance, my 3rd party grip has worked flawlessly with my 3rd party batteries.

GrassJelly wrote in post #12390677
Ditto and I also purchased it through Amazon. I am very happy with my Zeikos grip.

Ditto as well!