Phottix Battery grip for Nikon D40

[ving]

I know i told others with the same camera not to get a grip...

"the D40 is a sleek light weight pic machine" i said. Well it is. I have to say that in the 18 or so months i have had the D40 there have been few occasions i regretted getting it.
That said, as most of you know i tend to chase bugs a hell of alot and theres a picture of my macro rig floating around on the forum. Its got more glass than a skyscraper and probably weighs as much.
Seeing that the grip on the D40 is actually quite small and the weight of the macro gear heavy, after a few minutes of use my little finger (usually comfortably tucked under the camera) becomes quite sore and i thought extending the grip with the Phottix grip might be the go. I searched ebay and about $50 later had the company shipping the item off from HK... a week or so later it arrive at my front door.
see attached picture


Ripping open the packet impatiently i find it all there in one piece with an extra battery holder for AA sized bateries which you can use instead of the regular D40 battery. The EN_EL9 battery holder actually has room for 2 batteries probably doubling the already very long battery life of the D40 (bonus!).
Fitting: to fit the grip you need to take the D40's battery cover off by opening it to 30 degrees and gently pulling it out, then the grip just slides into the battery slot. there is a wheel to turn to tighen the grip in place rock solid... and thats how it feels in the hand.
the grip isnt made of the same plastic as the camera which is a shame but it looks to be the same shade of grey and both landscape and portrait modes are quite comfortable. there is a verticle shutter realease that is rather tricky to use. first you need to go to the LCD display on the back and change the shooting mode from single or multi shot to remote, then there is a tiny easy to use popup infra-red device on the grip itself (told you if was tricky). dont forget to change it back when finished...

overall i quite like it and wont remove it now because the camera still fits in my diminuative bag and because it is easy and comforable to use. it dies add bulk to the camera though and this should be noted if you have limited space, my 50mm now looks like a pimple on the d40. the finish is good and solid.


(picture above is a d60 not d40 but it looks the same)
(full photo credit to the owners of the photos)

[pgbphotographytas]

Thanks for that.
I have been thinking about getting a grip for my D40 but I think I will wait until I decide if I want to get a better body first.

Paul

[dh52726]

i was thinking of getting one as soon as ai got my d40, but now it seems i'm spending more and more money on a hobby i dont seem to get time to do.

Thats a good price though last time i was looking the grips with battary's cost about $70

Also heard a lot of poeple saying the grips were rather bad (cheap plastic and such) but its good to se there are some good ones floating round.

[ving]

sorry andrew, the one i got didnt have batteries. I yoinked the picture from the web. it does cost about $70 with batteries. it can run on just one battery tho without drawing extra power.

[e|dan]

i have just ordered mine a couple of days ago...is the seller eteforce? im looking forward for it to arrive >.< cant wait to add bulk to my d40x...

[MATT]

Etefore is a company HKSUpplies. I have purchased lots of equipment from them.

I grabbed teh one for the D300, it works fine. feels a little plasticy bu tothwise funtions well. I would not have grabbed a the mb d10 at $400 but this one was a steal.

MATT

[e|dan]

my batt grip arrive today...overall i was happy with it..makes the d40x feels alot alot better..but somehow im not impressed with the quality of the plastic, but oh well what can u ask for a $70 battery grip..but its money well spend no doubt for ppl like me that have problem holding the d40x..