Alternative MB-D12 Battery Grip for D800

Joeturner11

Joeturner11

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I'am interested in getting a Battery Grip for my D800 but the Nikon one is £296 on wex. Which I personally think is not worth the money at all. Does anyone have any experiences with a generic less expensive alternative you would recommend?

Joe
 
Yep, I have a cheapo Meike one on mine Joe,works fine.

I have had official grips for my D700 (came free with one of my D700s) and a copy, I simply will not pay the rip off prices for Nikon grips.
 
You have just answered your own query mate, the Nikon ones are simply not worth the premium. Some will disagree and say that only Nikon grips should be used.

The choice is yours.
 
Joeturner11 said:
I'am interested in getting a Battery Grip for my D800 but the Nikon one is £296 on wex. Which I personally think is not worth the money at all. Does anyone have any experiences with a generic less expensive alternative you would recommend?

Joe
Click to expand...

I've got the Nikon one, it was cheap compared to the camera body, lens and tripod head which it is screwed into. The Meike or Pixel brand are supposed to be the best of the third party grips.
 
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Another happy Meike user here Joe :)
 
Ok.. everyone's a Meike owner.. so allow me to break with that tradition, and say Pixel Vertax. Why? Because it looks identical to the Nikon one... the Meike doesn't.

Nikon front
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Nikon back
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Pixel front
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Pixel Back
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Meike front
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Meike back
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Nikon vs Meike Base
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Pixel Base
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Basically the rubber grip on the Meike only extends part way across, and has no rubberised grip on the back where your thumb sits. For me this is a deal breaker. Also, the base of the Meike has really thin material on the base where the tripod or tripod plate sits compared to thick rubber on the Nikon and Pixel grips.
 
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I had used third party grips with other Nikons with mixed results (one shorted causing the camera to act weird when it was installed). I went with the OEM grip even though it is more expensive... I won't say there's no plastic in it, but the mounting knob and housing are magnesium (I tested it because I couldn't tell). I figured I was going to keep the D800 for a while so might as well make sure the grip lasted as well.
 
sk66 said:
I had used third party grips with other Nikons with mixed results (one shorted causing the camera to act weird when it was installed). I went with the OEM grip even though it is more expensive... I won't say there's no plastic in it, but the mounting knob and housing are magnesium (I tested it because I couldn't tell). I figured I was going to keep the D800 for a while so might as well make sure the grip lasted as well.
Click to expand...

Fair enough, mite get myself the OEM Grip soon my Meike one died three weeks after I bought it so only use it sometimes now to add protection when needed as apart from that its just a plastic lump, just after three weeks suddenly stopped working all together and wouldn't connect...
 
Interestingly, I had a Meike grip when I first bought my D800e. Worked fine for a few weeks, then I started getting a flickering read out in the viewfinder and top screen.
After removing the grip and using the camera without, it was fine.
I ended up returning the grip to Amazon and buying a genuine one.
Bonus is, it now fits my D810 and takes the EN-EL18a battery to match my D4s.
 
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