Looking for a grip....

[RebeccaAPhotography]

Well I have plenty of extra batteries (5 to be percise lol!) and my sister is in town and we took my 2 yr old son to the aquarium. Granted these were all snapshots I was after I just wanted to capture a happy time. I had known I had this battery in for quite some time. Turned the camera on to double check said full. Half way thru our trip DEADER THEN DEAD!

A friend of mine said "Beck, buy a grip and problem solved." Yea yea yea! So I was looking around and noticed the prices different by quite a bit. I have the canon t2i.

What are yal thinking?

 

[Rephargotohp]

Truth is the same thing could happen with a Grip, The transition between a well used set of batteries that read full to dead is quite quick (as opposed to fully charged_) especially if you are using Flash

The battery meters...are well not great to go by. This is why you HAVE extra batteries.

That said, The Opteka Brand of Grips are really good if you don't want to go full Canon Price

 

[RebeccaAPhotography]

Is there really a difference between full canon grips and the knock offs? I don't mind paying for something good. Yea the whole camera bag was at home. I still think a grip would be nice tho. Yea I know it can happen but if I had the grip I would've had the battery.

It's way too cold out here now to keep batteries in the car but I really should throw an extra battery in my purse from now on and a memory card. I swear to god it's either one or the other! rofl!

 

[cgipson1]

hahah.. I read the title of your thread.. and I just KNEW that you "had lost your grip!" ;P

 

[RebeccaAPhotography]

HAHAHAHA I LOST IT ALL lol.... including my mind

 

[Rephargotohp]

The basic moudlings are fine ( there is rumor the Chinese rip off the moulds from Canon at the factories that mould for Canon) The biggest differnces seem to be in The second Shutter button, Soame are more or less sensitive than the canon ones on the camera or on Canon Grips

 

[Overread19 7]

I've no experience of the 3rd party offerings, though I've read some good reports of them in general - though there does appear to be some division in the 3rd party between good options and bad ones.

Personally though, with a canon brand grip I use them on both my 400D and 7D and can't imagine not wanting them - a great addition for holding (esp with the rebels where even if you don't have big hands your pinky finger on the right hand is often half falling off the bottom of the camera. Couple it with a wrist strap (canon E1 is the one I use) and you've a great setup.

 

[Josh66]

I've only used the Canon ones, but some of the 3rd party ones have some nice features. Like an intervalometer. As far as batteries go - I've had no problems with the 3rd party ones.

(canon E1 is the one I use)

How do you like that? I was going to get one, but some of the reviews I read said it felt cheap...

 

[Overread19 7]

I've honestly never understood why Camera bodies (at least Canon ones) don't have a built in intervalometer - silly software limits!

As for the E1, I suspect like a lot of accessories its somewhat overpriced compared to the regular market (rather like their extension tubes, remotes and various other additional items can be), but I've honestly had no problems with it at all and its not given out on me in the least. Hunting around the market might present some similarly featured and cheaper priced options of course (and if you're in the USA you might have yet a few more options still), but otherwise no complaints about design nor build quality.

 

[Josh66]

The EOS 10s (film) has one. That's the only one I know of...

 

[pharmakon]

Wife got me a Vello brand grip (B&H sells them) for my 50D for christmas. Haven't used it much yet but my first impression was the the build quality seems pretty good. It feels solid and the plastics are molded well. The rubber pads feel and look very much like the OEM. Haven't noticed a big difference in the shutter button but the dial/wheel feels significantly different. Not a big deal to me though. Was only like 60 bucks.

 

[Overread19 7]

One big tip (and this stands for 3rd party and own brand) with battery grips is to never overtighten the screw lock. If you do you can run the risk that the cogs might slip and you'll have the grip perminantly attached to the camera. Not a problem of course if you want it on all the time, but something to keep in mind.

Also (and again this is the same for own brand and 3rd party) sometimes a grip can make a poor connection to the camera, so you just remove and reseat it on the camera to correct the problem.