Zeikos grip for 7D

Just got my Zeikos battery grip for the 7D.

First impressions: Not so great...

I know it's been reviewed on this board favourably, but I just can't agree after trying it now.
A few things that stuck out right away:

- The grip is really "square" and bulky. I used to have a grip off eBay for my XSi and it was much more contoured and easier to hold. I got very big hands, but this Zeikos grip is a strain to grab (so far).

- There is some textured rubber glued around the grip area and the glue seems to be a bit uneven. There are small parts of the grip that seem to "move" when you grip it.

- I know many people have complained about the shutter button on the Canon battery grip being to "squishy", but in contrast, the shutter button on the Zeikos grip just feels "cheap". It doesn't seem to actuate all that smoothly and certainly doesn't feel like the button on the camera at all.

- The grip on the XSi had a place to store the battery door from the camera. This grip doesn't seem to have it. Not sure if the official Canon grip does.
Update: I'm not sure if it's meant for it, but there is an area on the connector stalk where you can in fact put the battery door.

- The AA battery tray doesn't slide in & out very easily.

I'll certainly give it more of a chance to prove itself, but so far I'm less than impressed.

And my wrist hurts

actually most canon grips are squared. My 50D grip is square too and its canon. My girl friends sister has a gripped xsi and the grip feels 10x better.

int2str wrote in post #9592257
Just got my Zeikos battery grip for the 7D.

First impressions: Not so great...

I know it's been reviewed on this board favourably, but I just can't agree after trying it now.
A few things that stuck out right away:

- The grip is really "square" and bulky. I used to have a grip off eBay for my XSi and it was much more contoured and easier to hold. I got very big hands, but this Zeikos grip is a strain to grab (so far).

- There is some textured rubber glued around the grip area and the glue seems to be a bit uneven. There are small parts of the grip that seem to "move" when you grip it.

- I know many people have complained about the shutter button on the Canon battery grip being to "squishy", but in contrast, the shutter button on the Zeikos grip just feels "cheap". It doesn't seem to actuate all that smoothly and certainly doesn't feel like the button on the camera at all.

- The grip on the XSi had a place to store the battery door from the camera. This grip doesn't seem to have it. Not sure if the official Canon grip does.

- The AA battery tray doesn't slide in & out very easily.

I'll certainly give it more of a chance to prove itself, but so far I'm less than impressed.

And my wrist hurts

Thanks for the "truthful" review. The grip does look kinda cheap and nasty compared to the Canon.

Yikes... thanks for the honest review. You know, I'm not surprised. I bought their 5DII version and locked up the main camera controls. Ditched it and went OEM.

int2str > Have you tried th Canon one? From pictures, the Zeikos looks more comfortable than the canon ones does to me. I would live a review of the Canon one from you so we have a point of reference.

themadman wrote in post #9597425
int2str > Have you tried th Canon one? From pictures, the Zeikos looks more comfortable than the canon ones does to me. I would live a review of the Canon one from you so we have a point of reference.

Sorry, I don't have the Canon one. But at this point I think the Canon one would need spikes embedded in the hand-grip to be less comfortable than the Zeikos . I'll still stick with this grip and see if I can make it work over the soccer season this year.

I agree, went to bandh and got the Zeiko's this thing is TRUCK.. a BEAST..... HUGE... is the Canon one a bit smaller? i'm taking it back and trading for the canon... damn... SUCKS!

The official canon one DOES have a compartment for the battery door. pretty cool.

Just a quick update:
I did actually find a place to store the battery door on the Zeikos grip. Not sure if it was meant for it, but it works.

I've used the grip at a soccer game now and still not sure I like it much. Wish I would have bought Canon to be honest...

The flashpoint grip from adaroma has pretty good reviews, i dont have one but did read all the reviews.

Randy

Phottix grips are very good alternatives as well. Sometimes I have spares available for POTN members, but you can go to ebay and buy them from HK directly.

The LP-E6 battery battery is pretty tall and it's inserted width-wise. I can't see how the grip could have been made more rounded without increasing the width.

I have not seen or touched the Canon version, but I think the size is similar judging by the pics.

For half the price of the Canon, I think it's well worth it considering that it works without issues.

int2str > You can always sell the Zeikos one and get a Canon one =) then you can finish the review as you will have a Canon one for comparison =)

randys1a wrote in post #9674765
The flashpoint grip from adaroma has pretty good reviews, i dont have one but did read all the reviews.

Randy

I just ordered one today for my 7D. I'm going to try it out and see how it goes. I saw some good reviews on it, and figured hey for 80.00 bucks let see what happens. I used the Canon one, lets see what the flashpoint on is all about. Hopefully its not crappy. But you never know.

Has anyone else bought the Flashpoint one since this thread has been made ?

I got a flashpoint one last week and it is big and bulky too. I really loved the grip that I had for the XT, but I realize that was a smaller camera so the grip could be smaller as well.

The shutter button on the flashpoint is really touchy. You barely have to press it to fire off shots. I'd prefer the squishy button, I think.

I too will keep using this one since I'm not paying for a Canon one and I can't see it being any better.