Alternative accessories for DSLRs

[Tomasko]

I was looking at some original Canon accessories for my 500D, however, they are all quite expensive. So, I researched a bit and found some alternative vendors. One of the shops I'm considering is linkdelight.com, which I found to be supporting vendor here as well. They offer pretty much the same products as one of my local shops do, HOWEVER, for 1/2 or even 1/3 of the price here in Slovakia.
So, my question is pretty simple I guess.
Does anybody have any real experience with this shop?
Does anybody have any real experience with their products? How would you compare their quality to original Canon branded ones?

To be more specific, I'm looking for some battery grip for my 500D, macro flash and accessories like that, and I really can't afford 120euros for a original BG-E5 at the moment... Should I wait and earn some money for Canon branded ones or would these alternatives do good?

Thanks for any advice.

 

[penfolderoldo]

I've never used this company before, but their stuff does seem incredibly cheap, even by non-OEM standards. Third party grips can be fine, but if you can afford it i'd personally save up for the Canon one.

 

[Big Mike]

I have some first hand experience with them and I'll say that I've always got what I expected.

I bought a battery grip from them. They don't make it, they just carry these off-brand products. It's not quite as good as the Canon version, as far as I can tell, but the price was much cheaper and I have been satisfied with it.

 

[Tomasko]

That's exactly it... Original costs about 120 euro, while off-brand can be bought for about 25 euro. I don't feel very comfortable spending 120 for a slight upgrade of my "starting" camera, if there exists such a cheap alternative.
When talking about battery grips, what do you feel is your off-brand grip lacking comparing to the original Canon grip? Build quality? Or have any problems with it...?

penfolderoldo, that's exactly the reason why I'm asking here about these products The deal sounds too unbelievable for the price... I have money to afford original Canon grip, but I think it's too expensive for my needs. Either way, I've heard people complaining about Canon ones and saying, that alternative grips are even better. Don't know if it's true or not though.http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/members/97546.html

 

[Derrel]

See, it works like this: the factories where this cheap stuff is made are government-run factories, where the government owns the factories and the employees are modern-day slave labor; the laborers live in crappy apartments, dormitory buildings, or barracks; the workers pay their masters room and board, and are for all intents and purposes, indentured servants/slaves, with no collective bargaining rights, no health insurance, no job security, no NOTHING. When a young female worker gets pregnant because her supervisor boinked her, she leaves the company in shame and is sent home, and a new indentured servant is obtained from the hinterlands. THAT IS HOW a product that costs $120 or $100 Euro when made in Japan can be made "elsewhere" and sold for $20. Pretty simple really.

 

[penfolderoldo]

That's exactly it... Original costs about 120 euro, while off-brand can be bought for about 25 euro. I don't feel very comfortable spending 120 for a slight upgrade of my "starting" camera, if there exists such a cheap alternative.
When talking about battery grips, what do you feel is your off-brand grip lacking comparing to the original Canon grip? Build quality? Or have any problems with it...?

penfolderoldo, that's exactly the reason why I'm asking here about these products The deal sounds too unbelievable for the price... I have money to afford original Canon grip, but I think it's too expensive for my needs. Either way, I've heard people complaining about Canon ones and saying, that alternative grips are even better. Don't know if it's true or not though.

It's the age old dilemma i'm afraid - something's only a bargain if it FEELS like a bargain, and how much is too much? If you feel you can't justify spending $xxx on the Canon original then it makes sense to go for the cheaper option, but accept that by doing so you MAY have to fork out for a replacement sooner than with the original. I've personally never heard of 3rd party being better than Canon, but again it's horses for courses.

 

[KmH]

Another factor often overlooked is that there is a lively market for used camera gear, both for buyers and for sellers.

Consequently, you never know the true cost of a piece of gear untill you either use it up, or sell it.

I buy a lot of my camera gear used, and am often able to later sell it for nearly the same as paid for it, which also means I am sometimes able to sell for more than what I paid. Because as the price of new gear goes up, so can the price of the same gear in used condition.