Battery grip or just a 2nd battery?

melb.photography · Feb 26, 2014

Hey all! I own a Nikon D5100, and do a lot of event photography (mainly local music and art shows). Should I buy a battery grip for my camera, or just buy a 2nd battery and have it charged and with me? Thanks! :blushing:

astroNikon · Feb 26, 2014

How many times do you find yourself doing a portrait shot - camera sideways ?

The battery grip will allow you easier portrait shots, in addition to using a 2nd battery at the same time.

Both my cameras has battery grips for vertical shooting. I remove the grips when I'm doing inside stuff on a tripod.

EIngerson · Feb 26, 2014

Lots of people, myself included, like the battery grip for the ergonomics. It's nice when shooting in portrait orientation. I use Canon, but as far as power goes, I've had very few times where I needed to replace a battery because it didn't last me a full day.

robbins.photo · Feb 26, 2014

melb.photography said:
Hey all! I own a Nikon D5100, and do a lot of event photography (mainly local music and art shows). Should I buy a battery grip for my camera, or just buy a 2nd battery and have it charged and with me? Thanks! :blushing:

I loved the battery grip myself, never had to worry about forgetting the spare battery and on the D5100 two batteries will last pretty much all day and often more than that. It's nice to have for the vertical release button, and really on the D5100/D5200 the ones that are available are pretty cheap so it's not a huge investement by any means. So I'd say get the grip - I kept mine from the D5100 when I went to the D5200, like someone else mentioned in addition to all it's other advantages I really liked having the grip on the camera particuarly with a heavier zoom lens, gave the whole thing alot better balance.

melb.photography · Feb 26, 2014

What brand did you purchase?

EIngerson · Feb 27, 2014

melb.photography said:
What brand did you purchase?

I use third party. (off brands) I haven't had a problem with one yet. Do your homework and read the reviews and you should be fine. I don't like a ton of additional "gadgets" on my grips either. Just the shutter release and scroll wheel.It keeps it simple.

weepete · Feb 27, 2014

I got a cheap one last month from eBay but I'm pretty ambivilent about it. I got it for the times I expect to shoot in portrait mode often and I do find it useful for shooting panoramas, and the battery cage is useful as another backup.

Theere are a couple of things that bug me about it though. I'm quite a tactile person and the cheap one does feel different, less solid and a bit more blocky than the grip on my 7D, the scroll wheel is a bit more clicky too and it puts the thumb wheel in a different place than. I'm used to which can be annoying if I'm trying to quickly adjust settings as I'm finding I hit the wrong button quite a bit (I use bbf too). Normally if I'm out with the camera I use a hand strap, and that doesn't really work with the new grip on, it gets in the way a lot. Also I've a C clamp to use for OCF which won't fit when the grip is on either. If I'm wanting to travel light it'll be ditched too.

Saying that I'm pretty happy with it, it works well with the camera and at £30 it was cheap as chips and does the stuff I want it to do, even if I have to change how I shoot slightly.

robbins.photo · Feb 27, 2014

melb.photography said:
What brand did you purchase?

If I remember correctly I think the brand name is meike or something along those lines.

Sent from my LG-LG730 using Tapatalk

TWright33 · Feb 27, 2014

Just be aware that the cheap $25-$50 are worth exactly what you pay.

Also if the 5100 is like my 3200 I had one for, you have to have a wire that connects the grip to the camera. Which looks bad and the wire isn't very sturdy.

Also the actual grip itself seems chunky and "hollow". Doesn't seem solid.

Does it make portrait shots convenient? Absolutely.

Does it seem like a substantial product? Not really.

I have what I remember to be the Kodak or Polaroid "brand"

robbins.photo · Feb 27, 2014

TWright33 said:
Just be aware that the cheap $25-$50 are worth exactly what you pay.

Also if the 5100 is like my 3200 I had one for, you have to have a wire that connects the grip to the camera. Which looks bad and the wire isn't very sturdy.

Also the actual grip itself seems chunky and "hollow". Doesn't seem solid.

Does it make portrait shots convenient? Absolutely.

Does it seem like a substantial product? Not really.

I have what I remember to be the Kodak or Polaroid "brand"

Well for the D5100/D5200 I wasn't really able to find anything more expensive than what I paid that wasn't just the same off-brand cheaply made version at a higher price. But if you have a source for a high quality version I'm all ears...

TWright33 · Feb 27, 2014

robbins.photo said:
But if you have a source for a high quality version I'm all ears...

Nope. Didn't say I had a source. Just making sure they new that these grips aren't exactly high quality.

TheLost · Feb 27, 2014

If it was me.... and i did a lot of event photography.. i'd REALLY think hard about upgrading to a D7000 (or even a D7100, D600.. etc).

The battery life on the lower priced bodies (d3x00,d5x00) is about half of what you get on the D90/D7x000's.

D3x00 CIPA battery rating = ~500 shots per charge
D5100/D5300 CIPA battery rating = ~600 shots per charge
D5200 CIPA battery rating = ~500 shots per charge
D7000 CIPA battery rating = ~1,050 shots per charge
D7100 CIPA battery rating = ~950 shots per charge
D600 CIPA battery rating = ~900 shots per charge

See what i'm saying?

astroNikon · Feb 27, 2014

TheLost said:
If it was me.... and i did a lot of event photography.. i'd REALLY think hard about upgrading to a D7000 (or even a D7100, D600.. etc).

The battery life on the lower priced bodies (d3x00,d5x00) is about half of what you get on the D90/D7x000's.

D3x00 CIPA battery rating = ~500 shots per charge
D5100/D5300 CIPA battery rating = ~600 shots per charge
D5200 CIPA battery rating = ~500 shots per charge
D7000 CIPA battery rating = ~1,050 shots per charge
D7100 CIPA battery rating = ~950 shots per charge
D600 CIPA battery rating = ~900 shots per charge

See what i'm saying?

and I love the dual battery life on my d7000 and d600
but the OP may not have the funds for such an upgrade compared to a battery grip/battery.
After all, even with the d7000, d7100, d600 etc you still have to buy the vertical battery grip and another battery (except the d3/4 series)

TheLost · Feb 28, 2014

astroNikon said:
and I love the dual battery life on my d7000 and d600
but the OP may not have the funds for such an upgrade compared to a battery grip/battery.
After all, even with the d7000, d7100, d600 etc you still have to buy the vertical battery grip and another battery (except the d3/4 series)

It was just something to think about.... my point was you don't need a grip on the D7x00 (or up) cameras to get double the battery life of the D3x00/D5x00 cameras.

I normally get 2 full football games on one battery charge with my D7100 (shooting 800+ images).

SnappingShark · Feb 28, 2014

I use a battery grip on my D7100 and absolutely love it for the ergonomics, like somebody has already mentioned.

The only downside it that you do eventually have to take it off to get the body's battery out to recharge it. A slight design flaw, I'd like to have seen a slot it could drop through!

But yeah, try a cheap one, if you like it, use it til you think you would prefer the Nikon made one.