5d3 - Would you recommend a grip?

My 5D3 is gripped about 80% of the time.
For me, I can still palm a basketball so size feels right when holding. When mounted on a tripod or automotive rig, it's gripless.

Ratjack wrote in post #15788327
Soooo I have been talking about getting a 6D with my wife, but after telling her the difference in the focus system she went online and purchased a 5d3 for us

With my 60D I always hated how small it felt and how my pinky kind of fell under the camera. Adding a grip helped a lot with that.

How is the 5D3 with this? Is it kind of the same where it is a little to small to fit a whole hand on it? Would you recommend a grip for it? I know with the 60D it added quite a bit of weight, I can imagine it will be more so with the 5d3. I will also be using a long lens on it (Canon 70-200 2.8L IS II).

Any help is appreciated!!!

the 5d3 is a bigger camera than the 60d, which is sized more like the 6d. i started out with the original rebel, bought a grip for it and have always used a gripped camera. the past five years i've used 1d bodies which of course have integrated grips.

bottom line is i got tired of lugging around huge cameras and i'm using my 5d3 sans grip and love it. i use an optech pro strap with long extensions that allow me to carry my camera with a shoulder through the strap. that way the camera rides nicely on my hip when not in use.

and if i put a short prime on the 5d3 it feels like a P&S compared to what i've been using the past few years.

so no grip for me !

i am in love with the grip, without it i feel naked.

javierz0509 wrote in post #15789047
i am in love with the grip, without it i feel naked.

What? You only wear a grip. That's hardcore and it begs the question how on earth you attach it - but some things are doubtless best left unsaid.

Ratjack wrote in post #15788327
Soooo I have been talking about getting a 6D with my wife, but after telling her the difference in the focus system she went online and purchased a 5d3 for us

With my 60D I always hated how small it felt and how my pinky kind of fell under the camera. Adding a grip helped a lot with that.

How is the 5D3 with this? Is it kind of the same where it is a little to small to fit a whole hand on it? Would you recommend a grip for it? I know with the 60D it added quite a bit of weight, I can imagine it will be more so with the 5d3. I will also be using a long lens on it (Canon 70-200 2.8L IS II).

Any help is appreciated!!!

Why don't you use it for a while as is. If you feel the need for a grip you can always get it later, but it will make for one heavy camera, depending on the lens. I have a grip for my 60D, but I find myself using it less and less. Unless your hands are very big, I think your pinky might stay on the 5D III

When I made the transition from a point and shoot Canon G-5 to a 30D, the used one I bought on ebay came with a grip and 4 batteries. I really liked the feel of it. I added a hand strap (G-2?) and was in heaven! The hand strap with the grip made it quite comfortable to hold & use with my larger-sized hands.

So, when I upgraded to a 60D, I went with a grip. And now, with the 5D3...gripped. There's no way I'd be happy without the grip and hand strap.

As mentioned above, the weight gets a bit heavy...noticably heavier (and bigger) than the gripped 60D. Add on a Kirk L bracket, RRS wedding bracket, and a 580EX II, and the weight is very noticable. When it gets too heavy for me, I click on my OptTech shoulder strap as well, but still keep my hand in the grip.

A grip is great for portrait orientation; in fact, I can't think of shooting without one.

If you don't shoot a lot of portraits it comes to personal choice and how big your hands are.

I love my griped 5D3 and wouldn't shoot without it.

As for weight, you have to think about a large lens like the 70-200 f/2.8 and a flash...a grip is barely noticeable compared to the whole package.

Grips help a lot with field sports shooting too, which is largely portrait orientation.

After using 1 series cameras from Canon for several years,, I developed tendinitis on my Rt hand so i decided that i was not going to use a grip on my 5D3.... after about 2 weeks I purchased one. The tendinitis got better because i quit lugging around the 70-200 on a brackets with a flash attached for 8 hrs a day. Once you get used to shooting with a gripped camera,, its hard to go back. I like the 5D3 grip set up because i can take it off and go small when im traveling and want a decent camera for my personal needs

yup,, I recommend a grip big time. My pictures are usually crooked as hell w/o one

...thanks for this thread. My two Canon DLSRs are both gripped; I have ordered a 5D Mark III. There are 3rd-party grips on ebay (and, actually, a couple of USA sites I've ordered from before) with prices less than fifty dollars...the grip for my 40D is not Canon-branded, was bought on ebay, and is the equal of the Canon grip for my Rebel.

So for those of you who have purchased grips for your 5D...are they Canon-branded? Comments on third-party grips? Thanks.

It's funny... my 7D lived with the grip on it. I never took it off... The 5D3 however doesn't get much grip use.... I put it on when I'm shooting sports/autocross with the 70-200 (and sometimes 2XTC) to help even out the weight... but when I'm just using the 35mm or 50mm... I don't tend to bother with it.

I use a 5d3 and 70-200 combo all day at car races
No need for a grip I find

josephandrews222 wrote in post #15789691
...thanks for this thread. My two Canon DLSRs are both gripped; I have ordered a 5D Mark III. There are 3rd-party grips on ebay (and, actually, a couple of USA sites I've ordered from before) with prices less than fifty dollars...the grip for my 40D is not Canon-branded, was bought on ebay, and is the equal of the Canon grip for my Rebel.

So for those of you who have purchased grips for your 5D...are they Canon-branded? Comments on third-party grips? Thanks.

Hmm! You've spent $3000 or more on a camera body and you're planning to add a cheap $50+ 3rd party grip that has to operate electrically and mechanically with it? I know some third party grips seem to work well and are praised by their owners as just as good as Canon's, but some are not and there have been many documented mechanical and electrical issues over the years. If I could afford to make that sort of investment, I would get the real deal. If I couldn't afford the Canon grip right away, I'd wait until I could. I'm sure many here will disagree, but when I'm in a position to buy top of the line anything I never buy bargain basement accessories to go with it. By the way, I believe one of the reasons the Canon grip is so expensive is that its made of magnesium like the body.

Personally I think they're a waste of money and there's many who use them that really don't need them. I would only get a battery grip if I had very, very large hands and it was physically uncomfortable to use a DSLR without a large grip (but I don't). Or if I was planning on handholding a "Great White" supertele (which may not be a good idea anyway).

I love the grip I got as an afterthought, specifically for shooting movies. aside from making it big/bulky and heavier in my hand, one thing that hasn't been mentioned is the battery life you get from having not just two LP-e6 batteries but also the cartridge that comes with it has slots for 6 aa batteries.

so I feel like it quadrupled my battery life.

be careful for video though: one thing I forgot is that I had to buy a bigger camera cage, an extender for my follow focus, and now the hot shoe mount isn't really accessible. I don't have to worry about running out of battery during a scene though.