3rd Party Grips - Worth it?

[NeilA1975]

Having recently acquired a D800E I've noticed that the battery is eaten rather quickly compared to my previous camera, a D610 (and before anyone says check your battery, I have, all 3 of them and they're all fairly new)
So the solution for me would be a 3rd party battery grip given the Nikon official product is extremely expensive, so wondered if anyone has any suggestions?

Thanks

 

[chrism_scotland]

I had trouble with a couple of 3rd party grips on my D800 (Meike and Pixel Vertax) but this was around the time there had been a firmware upgrade, I'm not sure if those issues have now been resolved since.
Are you using Liveview a lot?

 

[badboy1984]

I would prefer to use a original battery grip if I'm using camera body like the D800. Is not a cheap body so you might as well invest on the nikon one. 2x battery together should be plenty enough.

Not sure do the D800 battery grip will allow you to use D4 battery. I know on my D700 battery grip I can use my D3 battery with the BL-3 accessories.

 

[NeilA1975]

I had trouble with a couple of 3rd party grips on my D800 (Meike and Pixel Vertax) but this was around the time there had been a firmware upgrade, I'm not sure if those issues have now been resolved since.
Are you using Liveview a lot?

Thanks Chris.

Yep - using live view most of the time - had also heard of firmware locking our 3rd part grips - my D800E has the latest update.

 

[Stu Meech]

Live view doesn't half eat the battery - personally I think it's easier to carry some spares battery rather than the bulk/added weight of the grip.

 

[NeilA1975]

Live view doesn't half eat the battery......

Indeed, but the D800 sucks it dry much quicker than the D610!