D7000 battery grip. Is it real or a very good replica?

[brianhuangbh]

I finally decided to buy the Nikon battery grip. I found it for pretty cheap on eBay and it's new. This is the exact one I bought.
New MB-D11 Camera Battery Grip for NIKON D7000 EN-EL15 - eBay (item 200619281399 end time Jul-12-11 19:12:01 PDT)
He's selling it now for cheaper though.
I messaged him afterwards and asked him if it was the Genuine Nikon version. I even sent him a link to the genuine Nikon version on Amazon and asked him if they were identical, and he said yes.
I just received it today and I'm a bit worried about it. I was skeptical at first, him being a new user and based in China. (I'm Chinese myself, but I know for a fact that most of our products are knock-off's)

I read that the finish on the battery grip should be matching with the D7000 finish. I compared it and it's a bit off.
Also, people also mention that the front and rear dials should have the same feel as the camera. Same goes for the shutter release.

What I've found is that the rubber grips feel VERY different. The dials also feel very different. They're coated with rubber on my D7k but on the grip, they just feel like plastic.

The shutter button also feels off. They feel like the shutters on cheaper cameras, where they actually click. The shutter on the D7k doesn't actually 'click'. It's kinda squishy.

What worries me the most is that the aperture and shutter dials on the grip are reversed. Not physically reversed, but they do opposite of what they're supposed to.
For example: If you turn the shutter dial on the camera to the right, it will give me a faster shutter speed. On the grip. if I turn it to the right, it will give me a slower shutter speed.

I've called camera shops around me and they don't have the grip in stock, I just wanted to ask you guys.

I'm not worried of getting ripped off, because I can just return it (on their expense) or ask for a partial refund. If they refuse, buyer protection kicks in

Anyways, I'd love it if you could give me some feedback. If I find out anything, I can just talk to the seller immediately and work something out with him. Here are some pretty detailed shots of the grip and the paperwork that came with it. The last shot is the grip mounted on my camera, showing the difference in the finish. It'll be a little crappier quality cause I took it with my phone though.

Battery Grip. MB-D11 - a set on Flickr

Thanks a bunch guys!

 

[ghache]

if the wheels are inverted, its a fake. i bought mine directly from nikon and the wheels functions are the same as the camera

 

[Infinite_Day]

I have the 3rd party version and I know that one of my command dials is reverse. I think it's the aperture one but for some reason I can't recall exactly. On mine, the rubber on the grip is not perfectly cut and you can tell that it's all plastic. That's the main difference - you should be able to tell if it's metal. The Nikon grip is while the knock-off is not.

 

[brianhuangbh]

Hmm. Interesting. I'll ask the seller about the reversed dials then.
It does feel very plastikey.
I weighed it and this is what I got.
Without battery tray, grip by itself, naked - 5.7oz (161g)
With battery tray, no battery - 7.1oz (200g)
With battery tray and EN-EL15 - 10.2oz (288g)

Also, do battery grips from Nikon come with any warranty? Because mine doesn't.

 

[480sparky]

The word "For" in the title is a dead giveaway. It's not a genuine Nikon. Nikon does not call them a Battery Grip, but Multi Power Battery Pack.

The final nail in the coffin is the fact that it's from China.

The seller knows it's fake, is dancing around the issue and lying to you about it's authenticity.

For another reality check, look at the bottom. Around the mounting screw is a bunch of ribs, but towards the end with the dials there's a spot that's not ribbed. If it's flat, it's fake. If it says "Nikon" it may or may not be.

Edit to add: The listing says it holds 8 AA batteries. Hmm. What does this say?

 

[brianhuangbh]

The word "For" in the title is a dead giveaway. It's not a genuine Nikon.

The final nail in the coffin is the fact that it's from China.

The seller knows it's fake, and is dancing around the issue and lying to you about it's authenticity.

For another reality check, look at the bottom. Around the mounting screw is a bunch of ribs, but towards the end with the dials there's a spot that's not ribbed. If it's flat, it's fake. If it says "Nikon" it may or may not be.

Hmm I was very skeptical about it at first. So I asked him.

Hello, before sending payment, I just want to make sure. These battery grips are made by Nikon and is identical to this one, correct?
Amazon.com: Nikon MB-D11 Multi-Power Battery Pack for Nikon D7000 Digital SLR Camera (Retail Packaging): Camera & Photo

And he said

yes ,my friend,thanks

I'll just let eBay buyer protection deal with it then

 

[480sparky]

I'll just let eBay buyer protection deal with it then

Mount it to your D7000, and check to see if either the front or rear command dials work in reverse of the cameras.

By this, I mean, put the camera in Manual mode. Turn the front dial, and if you haven't changed it from the factory default, turning the front dial away from the lens should close the aperture, towards the lens should open it. Repeat the process for the grip..... "Up" towards to top of the camera should close the aperture, "Down" should open it.

Now do the rear dial. On the camera's dial, turning it towards the viewfinder should slow the shutter speed down, and the grip's dial "up" should be the same. If either one in 'reversed' it's a knock-off.

Mine is a known knock-off, and the rear dial is reversed. However, I do not know for sure whether the OEM does the same thing.

 

[brianhuangbh]

I'll just let eBay buyer protection deal with it then

Mount it to your D7000, and check to see if either the front or rear command dials work in reverse of the cameras.

By this, I mean, put the camera in Manual mode. Turn the front dial, and if you haven't changed it from the factory default, turning the front dial away from the lens should close the aperture, towards the lens should open it. Repeat the process for the grip..... "Up" towards to top of the camera should close the aperture, "Down" should open it.

Now do the rear dial. On the camera's dial, turning it towards the viewfinder should slow the shutter speed down, and the grip's dial "up" should be the same. If either one in 'reversed' it's a knock-off.

Mine is a known knock-off, and the rear dial is reversed. However, I do not know for sure whether the OEM does the same thing.

Yes, I have done that right out of the box, as the dials being reversed is a known issue of knock off grips.
Both the dials are reversed, compared to the camera's dials.
It's a very good fake, however. Maybe I'll just stick with a partial refund or something.

 

[480sparky]

If ebay/PayPal take your side, you'll likely be told to just return the item..... at your expense, of course.

If you're willing to live with a knock-off, there's plenty of them on ebay for far far less than $150. Mine was $60, and there's cheaper ones out there... just a quick check show one for $39.

 

[brianhuangbh]

If ebay/PayPal take your side, you'll likely be told to just return the item..... at your expense, of course.

If you're willing to live with a knock-off, there's plenty of them on ebay for far far less than $150. Mine was $60, and there's cheaper ones out there... just a quick check show one for $39.

In my experience, the person responsible pays return shipping. But I dunno. We'll see I guess.

 

[480sparky]

In my experience, the person responsible pays return shipping. But I dunno. We'll see I guess.

I think you still pay for the shipping, then ebay/PP adds the cost to the refunded amount. But I've only had that happen once, and it was several years ago, and my memory isn't what it used to be.

The package came back undeliverable, but I still got my money back. And, my memory isn't what it used to be.





Oh, and my memory isn't what it used to be.

 

[Vtec44]

I got my knocked off for $50 and it works fine. Both dials are reversed though.

 

[penfolderoldo]

It's the age old thing - if it looks too good to be true then it probably is! My gut feeling is its a wrong 'un, sadly.

 

[gingertwist]

brianhuangbh - just curious what transpired with this as I have the same grip and am questioning is authenticity.

Thanks,

 

[2WheelPhoto]

Keep the fake, it will work great.