Nikon D90 battery grip

[rocdoc]

Hi everyone,
I am looking to purchase the Zeikos grip (it's the 3rd party alternative to the Nikon grip, for a lot less money with great reviews). Now I do not need the extra battery etc., the only reason I want it is to stabilize the camera and give me a bit of extra grip surface. I love my D90, except it is too small and my hand starts to hurt after contorting my fingers on it during a shooting outing.
Does anyone have experience with using the grip for this purpose? Has it made it better for just gripping/stabilizing the camera? Or is it not worth it? Or can it make matters worse, such as more difficulty fitting it into the bag? I have a Tamrac sling bag I like, right now it fits in with room to spare.
Any thoughts or experiences with a view to the ergonomics specifically (again, I don't have much need for the additional battery in it) would be much appreciated.
Thank you

 

[Vicelord John]

I too am going to get a battery grip for the D90 in the next week or so, but seeing as the Nikon unit is only $175, I don't see the need to buy third party. There is an old saying you get what you pay for.

 

[rocdoc]

thanks. Actually this is reviewed as being quite reliable, and since I am not sure it would really make a big difference for me, I'd rather risk less money for the experiment. Your point is well taken, I do agree with buying the trusted brand as a general rule, this would be an exception for me. I am mostly interested in the general impression of others in terms of a benefit for ergonomics. If it gives me additional stabilization and better grip for carrying it around, it would be good. The battery thing or using AA's is not really my thing.
I should also say, if anyone is using the Nikon version, I think that fully apply to my question, so please share your experience.
Thank you

 

[Eco]

After reading the reviews on Amazon.com about several of the off brands I knew I would wait around for a deal on the Nikon grip. The other day I bought one in the buy & sell section of this site and it works great!

To be honest, the extra weight and the increase in body size takes some getting use to. Lol, assuming you have picked up your camera 100's or 1000's of times it will seem foreign until you get use to it with the extra bulk. I'm still in the fumbling stage of getting use to being able to use my camera sideways without being all twisted.

If you go with the off brand be sure to post a review on here since the subject seems to come up at least once a week.

 

[rocdoc]

Well, I actually just ordered it. I should have it by Tuesday, I will let you guys know about it.
Actually the reviews on Amazon for this one are a full 5/5 average, with quite a few of them. Ditto on B&H. Searching it on dpreview.com I found no complaints and a couple of people who said it actually worked more reliably than the Nikon one, which may have a contact issue when mounted. So, I decided to go against my opposition of principle to off-brands (again, I'm with you guys on that topic in general).
Cheers - stay warm!

 

[rocdoc]

It's here! It does fit, look and work great. Not the huge ergonomic improvement I hoped for just yet, since I have to get used to it and I have to figure out a way to configure my bag (Lowepro Slingshot 200AW) so that it would fit in with the grip attached... Anyone have any experience with that? Otherwise as mentioned, a great fit and good functionality.

 

[PhotoXopher]

I ordered the Zeikos for my D300s, how are the command dials on yours compared to the ones on the camera?

 

[burnws6]

I have the zeikos and its awesome. Great build quality and great feel. Buy it, and for those who haven't...do so.

 

[rocdoc]

I ordered the Zeikos for my D300s, how are the command dials on yours compared to the ones on the camera?

They feel just a bit looser. I did not get to use it much yet, so it's hard to tell. I'm also a bit concerned since the box looked like it had definitely been opened that it may have been used or displayed at some point, although I bought it new - maybe that's why the different feel? I'm not sure, and I don't want to go all paranoid. Otherwise the size is great for my hand, I find myself preferring to shoot vertical all of a sudden...

 

[chip]

Buy the Nikon grip and you'll be happier

 

[burnws6]

Buy the Nikon grip and you'll be happier

your wallet wont lol

 

[rocdoc]

Just travelled with it for the holidays, managed to still fit it in my camera bag (although not snugly). It does feel better. The only problem is that now with my walk-around Tammy lens I can't properly set it on a surface, it tips on its nose (without the grip the camera bottom and lens hood came to the same level so it sat nicely). Still, once you get used to it it does feel better in the hand. Liking it more and more. No compatibility or function problem at all, overall I'm very happy with it.
I do believe the Nikon brand one would likely be better (although I can't really see what it would have to do that this one doesn't), but as you can tell it was a minor improvement I was after, had I paid the almost three times higher price on it I would have had serious buyer remorse by now. I recommend it to anyone looking for just the ergonomic factor, given the affordable price.