Is a Grip Helpfull

[davwhite]

My thoughts on a grip.
Wanna look like a Pro? get one.
Want to make it easier to shoot verticals? get one.

Apart from that a spare battery will do the same thing.
I bought a cheap imitation grip from you know where and from a well known company. Had all sorts of problems with it.
They eventually agreed for me to send it back and I paid the difference and got the real thing.
When I switched from my 1D to the 5D I did notice it was harder to do the verticals but what the heck it was only a minor adjustment.

So in summary, if you feel you need one get a genuine one with genuine batteries.
Otherwise put the money into better glass.

[jdreamer]

Tried my friend's camera with grip.. just love the feel. Much more comfortable.

[Seesee]

I have the grip on my D300, I use it so as not to disappoint the person who bought it as a gift for me, but..........

to be honest I find it a pain, good for pose material to make people take notice of you, but adds much too much weight to the camera and makes it harder to hold steady due to the weight. I find it very clumsy and bulky and a pain having to remove it to access the main camera battery for charging.

I personally find the second shutter button is a PITA for portrait shots as once the camera is rotated one has to then locate the button and extra controls. I find it so much easier to keep ones finger on the main shutter button and rotate the camera while keeping in full control of the shutter etc.

Battery grips....good for poser material, look at me.... look at me....but can happily live without one for easier use.

[Goldie]

After recently picking up one for my camera cheap, I can I prefer to use it than to go without. Portrait shooting is a lot more comfortable.

The only downside is that it adds a little bit of weight, which is only a problem if I'm shooting with my 50mm f/1.8 because the weight adds a bit of shudder when shooting at low shutter speeds.

[Slide]

...Biggest reason to have extra juice on hand: low temperatures. Even two freshly loaded batteries won't last for much longer than an hour in sub-zero temperatures...

Isn't it better to keep the spare battery in your inside pocket so it stays warm?

[TOM]

iv'e owned som double brick cameras such as the nikon f5, d2x and the d3 as well as a d200 with a mb-d200 grip. i have to say that i much prefer the smaller size camera and find that it draws alot less attention. shooting with the vertical grip is nice though.....what to do.

[TEITZY]

I only use mine for sports and I shoot a lot of vertical stuff these days so it's a life saver for sure. Also gives me extra fps on the D300.

Cheers
Leigh

[jev]

Isn't it better to keep the spare battery in your inside pocket so it stays warm?

Hmm... somebody dug up an old thread .

Anyway, yes, spare batteries in inside pocket will last longer. A little (depending on the pocket ).

But.... you can't rely on spare batteries alone; you'ld miss most shots if you had to insert and remove the batteries for each photo you plan on taking. Besides, when it's cold, removing gloves to dug up the battery, open battery doors etc. is not my idea of fun (especially when temps hit the -25*C mark or below).

[davwhite]

Battery life is an issue with some models but even more in combination with certain lenses and other peripherals. Image stabilization, lots of focussing (especially in low light when hunting happens), USB peripherals, they all take power. Biggest reason to have extra juice on hand: low temperatures. Even two freshly loaded batteries won't last for much longer than an hour in sub-zero temperatures...

I don't' know where you get your info from but I spent 10 days inside the Arctic Circle in Finland where the highest temperature was -25c and the lowest -40c.
I took my camera out on snowmobile trips for 6 hours, shot over 100 shots and still had half juice.
The newer the camera the better the batteries are these days.
And forget cheap batteries.

[jev]

I don't' know where you get your info from but I spent 10 days inside the Arctic Circle in Finland where the highest temperature was -25c and the lowest -40c.

My own experience differs. Couple of weeks in millitary training in Norway, temperatures well below -25 and batteries having a lifespan of hours tops. Similar conditions in the Swiss Alps.

And it's a very, very bad idea to remove your gloves to just take a picture in those temperatures as one of my mates found out...

[Seesee]

Apart from my previous post stating I'm not fond of grips...except pose material to show off .....grips also make it near impossible to place the camera on a wall, rail or similar for extra stability or timer shots when tripod is not available, with grip on the camera will fall forwards so cant be left hands free, I have found this to be quite often an annoyance.