Enquiry: Battery grip for 500D

Hi, I am currently looking at purchase this particular grip.

http://cgi.ebay.com.au …ories?hash=item​20b06bedb3

I have done the search on the forum and seems most of the guy vouch for the Opteka for the aftermarket one.

Does anyone has experience on this? This grip's timer function seems very useful as I like to do a bit of time lapse works soon. But I am also a heavy duty user (and crappy amature) as my 500D having it's 8300 shutter click after just above 3 months. So I still prefer something is durable. (then purchase the timer remote seperate, or simply use the EOS utility to remote control the camera with a laptop)

Any opinion and experience shared would be apperciated

the reason people recommend the opteka is because it feels just like the camera, I have the opteka grip for my XSI and loved it, but now i moved on to a 7D and haven't bought one for the 7D yet

as for the grip in the link, i guess the functions would be cool, but i much rather have the separate remote

I've got an ebay no name grip on my 450D, was under or just about £40 with two batteries. It's not an opteka one but I can't fault it anyway, chances are there all pretty much the same.

I have a Travor battery grip for my T1i that I bought from this eBay seller: http://stores.ebay.com …_trksidZp4634Q2​ec0Q2em322

The quality compares favorably with the Canon brand grip that I had for my 300D. The grip in the OP would be far more useful if the IR sensor was in the rear of the grip so it would complement the cameras IR sensor.

Thanks for the comment guys.

I guess I will give the one with timer a try.... only $100 I will report my review after I got it and used it extensively.

andylo wrote in post #10021372
Thanks for the comment guys.

I guess I will give the one with timer a try.... only $100 I will report my review after I got it and used it extensively.

I would go for the grip without the timer, its a bit of gimick, IMHO all the extra buttons and LCD screen get in the way when using the grip vertically, also there is more things to go wrong.

Ah, good thinking too! Thanks.

Just the moment before I bid on one of those timer grip, one of the guy in the Australia forum selling the BG-5E with a Canon battery for AUD$100. I see if I can get that 1st before I make my decision on the 3rd party items.

aaron.adley wrote in post #10028633
Is this grip from Canon and are you using Canon Li-ion batteries ... if so, you are under warranty and Canon can repair it. Your description would indicate some kind of short in your grip

You batteries should last weeks without any loss in power and with the two in the grip, you should be able to produce over 600 images before you need to worry about charging them.

he's trying to buy a grip. i don't think he has one that went bad.

OP, if they're the same price, i'd definitely get a Canon one over the one with the timer. OTOH, the third party ones may be just as good for half the price.