Battery Grips- Yes, No & Why

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Permalink Reply by Peter Salas on July 20, 2010 at 10:36am

I use a battery grip for my Canon 7D. Besides the extra battery life you get, for some, it's more ergonomic especially if you have larger hands. The other reason why I sometimes use a battery grip is that when you have a heavier lens, it really helps to have a counter balance and larger grip area so that you can hold your camera (1) more steadily, and (2) ergonomics again.

For Nikon cameras, I know that having a battery grip can increase your shutter speed. That's not always the case and I'm not sure if other manufacturers have this feature.

The reasons for not installing a battery grip would be that it adds extra weight and even more attention to yourself in a crowd.

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Permalink Reply by Steve Barr on July 20, 2010 at 12:40pm

Gregory, I use a battery grip on a 5D/II, not only is the extra battery power useful but the grip has an additional shutter button which comes in very handy if you do a lot of photography in portrait format as opposed to landscape format. It also helps balance the camera when heavier lenses are attached also, as mentioned elsewhere here. Steve.

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Permalink Reply by CameraClicker on July 20, 2010 at 5:04pm

I have 2 Canon bodies that can accept a grip, one has it, the other does not. The grip makes the package larger and heavier, it makes portrait shots slightly easier because it duplicates several controls and since it holds a second battery it means 3000 shots between charges instead of 1500. Of course it also means charging two batteries at a time instead of just one when exhausted. It does draw additional attention. It came with a piece that allows using half a dozen AA cells instead of the regular batteries but because you can take a couple of hundred photos once you have no bars on the battery indicator, I have never actually used AA cells.

The one without the grip was purchased to be smaller and lighter so having the grip would go against the plan. It only gets a few hundred pictures per charge so I have a couple of spare batteries in my bag and just replace an exhausted one with a fresh one as needed.

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Permalink Reply by Alan Ang on July 21, 2010 at 9:11am

It is good to have if you are shooting long hours outdoor because you are able to use the AA batteries incase you run of batt.
yes, it will be more stable if you have long lens but it 's gonna add more weight to your cam.
I probably going to get one for my 5d soon.

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Permalink Reply by Jagdish Singh on July 22, 2010 at 2:03pm

Yes I totally agree with every body, that using a battery grip makes a comfortable shoot plus it increase the beauty of the camera. I recentally purchased a battery grip for my Nikon D 200 camera & I enjoyed very much by using it.
One help I need in this matter, which is, when I use AA cells, it shows no power, although I used fresh one[ both alkaline & NiMH ].can any one suggest me why this happens.

Jagdish

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Permalink Reply by Matt Needham on July 29, 2010 at 7:30am

I'll be the nay-sayer. :) The only time I use a battery grip is with my largest, heaviest zoom lenses. With a camera or two around my neck all day lighter and smaller is better for me. Changing a battery every 700 to 900 shots isn't much of an inconvenience to worry about, IMO.

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Permalink Reply by xuan-anh on August 13, 2010 at 4:44pm

Well, Peter Salas says it all.
I always have battery grip on my Nikon D300, for heavy works. Not on the Canon 7D, to reduce the weight on walk around photo hunts, but always have some fully charged batteries in the bag. And for the laziest day, just the Lumix G2, with no... string attached - you feel like carrying nothing, and no one even pay attention to the tiny toy in your hand, but still you can get incredibly sharp photos and not a bad feeling when clicking the button :)

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Permalink Reply by Biff LaRue on August 27, 2010 at 4:46pm

No, I don't use a battery grip although my hands are very large my camera is on a tripod more often than not and I have never had a problem with batteries lasting the day ( I have 2 spare batteries). Also, I don't have the spare bucks to throw at one and given the penchant manufacturers have at not continuing compatibility from one model to the next, I'll at least wait for the next model release.

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