I am an aftermarket battery grip, buying fool!

[shadowlands]

Back in the days I would only purchase Nikon brand battery grips for my cameras.
I sold my D300 & D700 to fund a D800 purchase.
Suddenly I was faced with the HUGE cost of a Nikon brand battery grip for the D800.
The price is ugly! Must be made of gold and diamonds.
So I bought an Adorama/Flashpoint Magnesium battery grip for my D800 for $82.00.
It’s honestly awesome. Built like a tank and everything works like a charm.
So the other day I noticed a Smatree battery grip for the D800 on eBay for $9.99 total shipped.
I already have one, but thought at that price, I’ll check it out. It arrived last night. It’s nice.
Everything works also. It’s not magnesium alloy, however, but still built well.
So I now have two aftermarket battery grips for my D800.
I recently purchased a D300 for I missed mine. I missed the 8 fps, anyway.
What did I do? I ordered an Opteka battery grip for it for $14.99. It’s built solid but doesn’t come with AA tray to achieve 8 fps.
The Opteka is cool for it looks odd.
It was only $14.99 though. So I then ordered a Neewer D300 grip for $32.00 and it allows me to shoot 8fps.
Nice… so I have four aftermarket battery grips, at a grand total of $138.
I like all of them, and so far, they all work great.

 

[astroNikon]

Get Grip on yourself man !!

camera accessory buying can be expensive !!

 

[shadowlands]

Indeed!!! Ha... my wife asked me last night "why did you buy the plastic Smatree D800 grip for $9.99 when you already owned the magnesium alloy Flashpoint grip for it?"
I said "because it was $9.99".

 

[astroNikon]

inquisitive minds wanted to know if the $9.99 was as good as the $14.99 one which was as good as the $400 one.

you should see my bicycle purchase stuff lately ... another expensive hobby.

 

[shadowlands]

Well, the best built of my four aftermarket grips is the Adorama/Flashpoint magnesium alloy version for my D800.
I paid $82.00 total shipped when it was on sale. Today it’s $109.00 I believe. It’s pretty darn close to the Nikon version.
The next well built would be the $14.99 Opteka for the D300. It’s odd looking. It’s not a copy/knock off, per say.
They created something kinda weird, but it works and it’s built well.
The $32.00 Neewer for the D300 and $9.99 Smatree for the D800 are copies/knock-offs, but built well, though not as tough as the two above.

 

[bribrius]

you are giving me encouragement to get one. i don't have a grip, i didn't feel i had the need to buy one. But at those prices i am asking myself why not buy one anyway.

 

[snerd]

I'm an OEM snob.

 

[bribrius]

I'm an OEM snob.

thats okay, i almost just bought one then remembered, my general theory is to make my cameras get smaller and more portable not bigger. Looking at them thinking of pulling the trigger but in reality it would probably just sit on a shelf and never get used. I already carry too much "stuff" in my camera bag to be really mobile why add to it.

 

[shadowlands]

I am an OEM snob also, when it comes to glass, flashes, etc... But I just couldn't see why the D800's grip was something insane like over $300.00.
I'm grateful to adorama for making a magnesium alloy version for a fourth of the price.

 

[astroNikon]

I'm an OEM snob.

thats okay, i almost just bought one then remembered, my general theory is to make my cameras get smaller and more portable not bigger. Looking at them thinking of pulling the trigger but in reality it would probably just sit on a shelf and never get used. I already carry too much "stuff" in my camera bag to be really mobile why add to it.

I like my grips. They are on most of the time.
But, for school field trips and stuff where I want to be light, I take it off.
It is so handy for portraits and if you use a long lens it helps balance the lens better. For the price, you can always resell it for $1.99 which is still 20% of the new price.

 

[shadowlands]

I spoke to soon!!! Ha, my Opteka grip for the D300 is dead. Sending it back, postage paid, for a full refund... loves me some amazon...

 

[astroNikon]

I spoke to soon!!! Ha, my Opteka grip for the D300 is dead. Sending it back, postage paid, for a full refund... loves me some amazon...

Oh no ...... at least it was only a $14.99 test, and refunded !!

 

[shadowlands]

I spoke to soon!!! Ha, my Opteka grip for the D300 is dead. Sending it back, postage paid, for a full refund... loves me some amazon...

Oh no ...... at least it was only a $14.99 test, and refunded !!

I know.. they're paying the postage also... nice... it's all good. I have the $9.99 total Smatree grip on my D800 today to shoot an indoor basketball game.
We shall see... it's working with the eneloops so far, giving me the 6fps on the D800, as expected.

 

[snerd]

One word........ OEM. Is that a word? Quality is better to me than cheapness. Perfect example.

 

[shadowlands]

One word........ OEM. Is that a word? Quality is better to me than cheapness. Perfect example.

I hear ya... and normally that's how I roll, but over $300.00 for a battery grip is just utterly insane. Especially when the Adorama magnesium grip rivals it.
I'd go $150.00 for the OEM, but not $300.00.