battery grip

roumor has it that opteka and canon are one in the same... made by the same MFG.. dont really think its true because why would there only be the one for the XT and not the 20/30D? they are identical thought, youd be hardpressed to tell the diff between the two!

Accentor wrote in post #2234142
Well said rhys - if its cheaper, its worse quality. Applies to everything in life.

I hope you're kidding.

Opteka does not make a grip for the 20D or do they?

I want a grip for my new 20D I ordered and am having a hard time finding one if they make them..

landoawd wrote in post #2234294
I hope you're kidding.

Broadly speaking, it's absolutely true. A Rolls Royce is made to higher standards than a Fiat Cinquicento. A Leica M4P is made to higher standards than a Fed 4. A roll of Andrex is better than a roll of store brand. A Gucci bag is better than a no-name bag.

There might be minor exceptions but broadly speaking you get what you pay for with quality. Look at cameras: The 1D series is much better than the XT/XTi for a whole variety of reasons.

I have an XT. I bought it because it works and because it's cheap. I didn't buy it expecting 1D performance. I know I have to work around the issues the XT has - issues that don't exist in a superior body. Similarly I have Tamron lenses which are infereor to Canon L glass.

The point is that you buy the quality you can afford. I cannot see why anybody cannot afford the extra few dollars that the BGE3 costs over some no-name off-brand version that might or might not perform adequately. If you're talking the kind of price difference between that pair of grips then it's absolutely not worth buying off-brand.

If you look at the price difference between the 1D and XT then I can see arguments for getting the XT and keeping it until you can afford a 1D. The point is though that the XT will always be infereor to the 1D just as most P&S cameras are infereor to the XT.

rhys wrote in post #2234428
The point is that you buy the quality you can afford ... If you're talking the kind of price difference between that pair of grips then it's absolutely not worth buying off-brand.

These two snippets are contraditory in nature. Perhaps you make xxx,xxx dollars a year and 70 bucks is a drop in the bucket (more for the overseas bunch), but suppose I make xx,xxx and it isn't so easily absorbed by my paycheck. To which standard am I held here?

As far as the other examples, if the Rolls is in the shop because some twit that was hand building it put a freeze plug in wrong and the Fiat is on the raod getting you to your job, which really is better?

Value is subjective. VERY subjective. I enjoy high end electronics, but the 1000 price point difference from a Klipsch receiver to my "lowly" Yamaha is negated by the fact that my "untrained" ears can't pick up on the subtleties in sound quality that are supposed to put it head and shoulers above. Is this a problem with my ears? Maybe, but it makes the value a subjective argument.

People have had plenty of good experiences with Opteka, does their succes mean nothing since they went the cheap route? I'd argue that it still holds weight.

I see your point, but only when painted with a VERY broad brush stroke.

O.K. guys, I hear you, but I personally would always go for OEM kit (I like the fact that my grip and my extra battery have the Canon logo on them for one thing!). I am fortunate that I am not strapped for cash and saving a few bucks does not influence my buying options. But there are lots of posts on other forums about alternative grips and batteries which are a fraction of the Canon price actually being poor value in the long run. I also know that firms who manufacture after-market alternatives also make almost identical accessories for the original branded manufacturer - BUT the quality is often (maybe not always) lower.

As a parallel, I run a Land Rover Defender 90 TD5 jeep for which there are probably more after-market accessories than any other vehicle on the road. Without mentioning actual brand names I can say that I have bought loads of "add ons" and have always found that Land Rover OEM parts are better even though they are made by firms who are independently selling the same or similar items at sometimes half the price. I guess it is just a question of trimming down to lower the cost which can (in my opinion) result in an inferior product.

Colin

Regarding 47:th Street Photo and the Opteka grip for the XT:

I bought the Opteka grip like six months ago and I have been happy with it. But even though i have been extremely careful with my gear and only opened the battery tray about six times to charge the batteries, last time I opened the tray, the latch broke into two pieces.

Luckily I could force the pieces together and seal the tray in place with duct tape.

I called 47:th Street Photo and was greeted by the most unpleasant person I have talked to in a long time. Any question or concern I politely tried to convey, was interrupted by "I do this all day!" He promised to ship me a new tray right away.

That was over two weeks ago.

After one week i sent them an e-mail (trying to avoid the guy I talked to last time

Still, no tray.

I'm calling them again today.

I'll post my progress.

There you go !!!

I've had the Opteka grip for over a year and it works like a charm. Right now the Canon grip is $188 and the Opteka is $70 (excluding shipping). It may not say Canon on it but it works great. That extra $118 could go toward a lens or a tripod. If the Canon logo has value to you then by all means buy the Canon grip. Just remember that logo is costing you $118.

spicolli1976 wrote in post #2230586
I just bought a Rebel XTI and I want to buy a battery grip, and am curious as to which ones fit my camera (i.e. are there different models of the BG-E2 and BG-E3 for each specific camera?) Which is the best one? Also if anybody knows of someone who is selling one in good condition for my camera, I am interested. Thanks.

https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=136966

guitarman3 wrote in post #2235345
I've had the Opteka grip for over a year and it works like a charm. Right now the Canon grip is $188 and the Opteka is $70 (excluding shipping). It may not say Canon on it but it works great. That extra $118 could go toward a lens or a tripod. If the Canon logo has value to you then by all means buy the Canon grip. Just remember that logo is costing you $118.

Sweet Jesus! Where did you find a BG-E3 selling for SUCH A HIGH PRICE!? I bought mine brand new from BHPhotoVideo for $120!

infinite012 wrote in post #2235861
Sweet Jesus! Where did you find a BG-E3 selling for SUCH A HIGH PRICE!? I bought mine brand new from BHPhotoVideo for $120!

Here's one of the places.
http://www.walmart.com …uct.do?product_​id=3932496
I see it's easy to find for in the $130's but that's still a lot.

Brand name items normally mean higher prices, not always better quality. The Opteka battery grip was made with the Canon mold.

Accentor wrote in post #2234091
You get what you pay for in this world - who would buy a Ferrari and put Skoda accessories on it?

In the case of buying anything but the best camera, its obvious we are tied in what we CAN buy. So, when I buy my Honda, I dont care if the accesories are by Nissan . If I could get a Ferrari, I would probably be fussy about accesories....

Plus I attribute a lot of the cost savings to 'specialization'. Canon spends too much money making and managing the process of distributing the accesories compared to, for example, the Opteka guys.

I'm happier with my Canon grip than I would be with the Opteka, the guys with the Opteka seem happier than they would be with the more expensive Canon grip, so everything is hunky dory.