Grips to avoid?

I am considering getting a grip for my XTi and have been searching Ebay mainly. Having had many great and NO bad experiences with Ebay I see that there are many different grips, in many different price ranges, that will work with my camera. Are there any makes or types of grips that I should avoid or I would probably will not be happy with? Thanks for any input!

Stick with the Canon brand. That way if you have any troubles canon will remedy the situation.

When i had my Xti I purchased an Opteka grip and it is identical to the Canon for a lot better price. I had absolutely no complaints about build or function quality. When I say identical I mean Identical get the Opteka and save some serious cash.
Oh and I would not get a grip from EBAY.

If you're looking for non oem I'd say Opteka since it seems to be what everyone uses. But I wouldn't recommend a third party grip unless you plan on treating it like glass.

My 40 and grip go on the tripod on a regular basis and I know if it fails Canon will honor the warranty. I've heard of third party grips coming apart when used on a tripod.

Opteka is crap IMO. I like to cut costs as much as the next person, but I stick with the Canon grips now. I buy em used to take out some of the "bite" on Canon's prices.

homersapien wrote in post #5868158
Opteka is crap IMO. I like to cut costs as much as the next person, but I stick with the Canon grips now. I buy em used to take out some of the "bite" on Canon's prices.

have you ever done a side by side comparison on the Canon XTI grip and the Opteka grip for the XTI.

I don't know why you would stay away from Ebay? I have bought just about everything I own in digital photography there and have saved hundreds without having to get away from any of the name brand stuff I desire. Everything I have gotten (both new and used) has been in 'like new' condition. I simply can't afford to pay store prices if I can avoid it. Thanks for the replies guys and keep 'em coming!

Get a Canon Brand none of those off-brand cheap stuff. They won't last you long.

Point-n-shoot-n wrote in post #5868806
I don't know why you would stay away from Ebay? I have bought just about everything I own in digital photography there and have saved hundreds without having to get away from any of the name brand stuff I desire. Everything I have gotten (both new and used) has been in 'like new' condition. I simply can't afford to pay store prices if I can avoid it. Thanks for the replies guys and keep 'em coming!

The main reason that I say that is there are a lot of people on ebay that get bid fever. I have seen 200 dollar lenses go for 325 and grips get bid on very often and aggressively. You can often end up paying much more on ebay than you would at online stores.

Also many stores have used sections that you may want to check out. bh photo and adaroma are a couple that i have used a couple times and saved a lot of money. Also do not forget to check this forum I have bought and sold here with no complaints.

I bought the opteka grip and I really like it. I was a little worried when hearing that it has poor build quality however it looks just like the canon grip. I would say just make sure that the grip is a vertical grip so that you get the shutter button for vertical shots. I believe that there are some grips that are just battery grips and nothing more.

I have the Targus brand grip for my 30D and it's been awesome so far. Well built and hasn't upset or failed me yet.

the BG-E2N Opteka appears to have two shutter buttons for both vertical orientations, i don't think the canon version does.... can anybody clarify?

I have a Canon BG-E2N purchased on ebay Aus. from Hong Kong warehouse has full international warranty (appears genuine - but who knows!)
To answer Cyrus question - I have FE Lock, AF point selection, Aperture/Exposure compensation buttons, main dial and one shutter button.

No, you don't have any aperture/exposure compensation button. That's on grips for smaller models, like the 400D.
The 40D uses the rear dial for that, regardless of how you hold it.

apersson850 sorry I'm confused, isn't this a thread on the grip for a XTi (400D). The BG-E2N is the grip for this model and mine does have a aperture/exposure comp. button - I'm looking at it! I don't know anything about grips for the 40D