Canon 30D BG-E2 battery grip/ Off Brand Battery Grip?

New here. First post I hope this is the right place for my question

I have a Canon 30D and really need a boost on battery life.
I'm considering a Canon grip street value is about $180 The Off Brand Grip is about $80.

I'd like to know th pros and cons on these two??

Please help!!!!!!!

Thanks Marvin[/B]

Which third-party grip are you looking at? Do you have a link?


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From what I heard, the aftermarket ones seem to be very fine, but not as durable as the Canon ones. I would suggest getting the Canon one for that reason. See whether you can find a good condition used one for a good price.

here is the one i purchased:

http://www.amazon.com …ics&qid=1192967​858&sr=8-3

it works like a champ, and the batteries are as good as the official canon ones....

Yeah, I got a non-Canon one, works fine now, hope it lasts...But I could get 3 of them for the price of a Canon one.

Are you sure you just want it for additional power? Or also for holding your camera vertically? If power is the main reason, I would suggest you just pick up another battery. On my 30D, I can easily get 400 shots. This is a conservative estimate. I'm sure if I tried, it could last much longer.

How many shots are you getting? It might just be time to get a new battery if you are not getting 400-500 shots out of a charge.

Personally, I got the Canon grip simply for the feel of the camera and the vertical release. Battery power is never an issue. I charge about once a month and can shoot over 1000 shots.

I always stick with OEM accessories, but that's just me.

I am going to try the ones (Sterling) that are sold here on a thread. They have more capacity then the Canon BP-511 and I have not heard anything bad bout them. They are also a lot cheaper. As far as the grip I went with the BG-E2 as I had one prior and had good luck with it. It does help to hld the camera in my opinion.

I bought an opteka grip for my rebel xt and it works "fine." Although it seems to use up battery power actually faster than when I was shooting without it. But I cannot use my rebel without it, as the body is just too small by itself. So the potential of something like that happening is something you have to consider--that's why I'm just going to stick with canon from now on.