Grip for Canon 5D mk2

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Rob
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Anybody using any of the aftermarket ones?

I know it sounds tight, but there is no way I'm paying £200+ for a grip!

What have you got and how do you get on with it?

Thanks

Rob
 
Yes I have one. Pretty much exactly the same as an original however the one I have seems to have a fault (I got a refund from the ebay seller). The finger dial works the SS/Ap in the opposite direction to the cameras dial.

Sounds like it's not a problem but when you are doing things intuatively like increase shutter or aperture then you switch the camera round, I then need to adjust the opposite way - Almost always I realise after a shot!

I think mine may be just an anomoly though and do keep meaning to buy another. Works well though apart from that.
 
Thanks for that Jim.

Don't suppose you have a link to the one you bought do you?

Thanks

Rob
 
but there is no way I'm paying £200+ for a grip!

No point me offering you my BNIB one ex- ARGOS then? :wave::naughty:

FWIW, I have a kneebay special one on my 5D and it works in completely the same way as the Canon one (I had a Canon one on a 40D previously) so I'd say try the aftermarket one.

And before you ask why I bought a Canon one for the 5DII it was an impulse buy at the hugely discounted offer price. Now, you sure you don't want it at full price?:clap::bonk::naughty:
 
No point me offering you my BNIB one ex- ARGOS then? :wave::naughty:

FWIW, I have a kneebay special one on my 5D and it works in completely the same way as the Canon one (I had a Canon one on a 40D previously) so I'd say try the aftermarket one.

And before you ask why I bought a Canon one for the 5DII it was an impulse buy at the hugely discounted offer price. Now, you sure you don't want it at full price?:clap::bonk::naughty:

No I don't want it at full price, but could probably make you a offer!

Rob
 
I have a Meike one on my 5d2, it has an alloy chassis just like the Canon one.
I had a Meike one on my origional 40D but now have a Canon one on my latest 40D bought off TP a few weeks ago.

Can't tell the difference
 
I have a Meike one on my 5d2, it has an alloy chassis just like the Canon one.
I had a Meike one on my origional 40D but now have a Canon one on my latest 40D bought off TP a few weeks ago.

Can't tell the difference

Cheers Chris, will look that one out!

Rob
 
Thanks for that Jim.

Don't suppose you have a link to the one you bought do you?

Thanks

Rob

Just checked and he no longer sells the grip. To be honest they all work (I've had 2. One for the 5D and another for my now sold 20D. Also have the original BG-E2 and to be honest there's no difference in quality - Only difference was Canon has the name on the front!
 
I got a cheapo one off ebay think it was £60 no brand name It was cheap, it felt cheap and thats why i sold it and bought the canon, for people that can't tell the difference then you either don't know quality or you just blinded by the price.

if you want a cheap one I think amazon sell one then atleast its easy to send back if its crap.

£1800 camera and you can't fork out another £200 for a grip :S
 
I got a cheapo one off ebay think it was £60 no brand name It was cheap, it felt cheap and thats why i sold it and bought the canon, for people that can't tell the difference then you either don't know quality or you just blinded by the price.

if you want a cheap one I think amazon sell one then atleast its easy to send back if its crap.

£1800 camera and you can't fork out another £200 for a grip :S

Thanks for tip Morgan.

PS I can fork out another £200...just not sure I'll like the grip on the 5D, so what's the point?

Did you get the 16-35 sorted in the end?
 
I used an ebay one - cost about £60 and can't fault it. why pay £200 for a bit of plastic when you can get it for almost 3/4 of the price
 
I used an ebay one - cost about £60 and can't fault it. why pay £200 for a bit of plastic when you can get it for almost 3/4 of the price

It's certainly looking that I go that way at present.

I love the feel of my 1D mkII, but never really been sure about gripped versions of the smaller bodies.

If a genuine Canon one doesn't come up at a good price this weekend, I think I'll order an eBay special and if I don't like it I can always sell it back on the 'bay again!

Rob
 
The cheapo ebay one I had was plastic. It didn't feel as good as the real deal and reported the batteries incorrectly. Mine was dead cheap (£40) and I ended up sending it back for a refund. Yes, I can tell the difference now the real one is on...
 
I got a cheapo one off ebay think it was £60 no brand name It was cheap, it felt cheap and thats why i sold it and bought the canon, for people that can't tell the difference then you either don't know quality or you just blinded by the price.

if you want a cheap one I think amazon sell one then atleast its easy to send back if its crap.

£1800 camera and you can't fork out another £200 for a grip :S

Perhaps you just got a poor one - I'm a stickler for quality. When I got my first dSLR (the 20D) I bought the BG-E2 and when I then upgraded to the 40D I thought why buy another grip because the 20D was reduced to back up - that's why I bought the cheaper grip - really just to see.... I was mightily impressed. It was almost identical - apart from the way the batteries went into the side rather than the front - and to be honest I liked it that way better.

So when I bought the 5D2 I thought I'd try the cheapo grip first and as far as build quality goes it'a almost the same as the BG-E2 but with a rubbery feel to the grip which again feels better than the canon grip! I do have the issue with the dial and may buy a different one but from reading others stories mine could be a one off!

My review is it's cheap, but it does not feel any cheaper than canon's grip - it's probably made in the ame factory! Why pay just for a name - cause that's all you're doing.

For many forking out £1600 for the camera is a lot of cash and £200 goes a long way to buying other things. I can certainly afford to spend £200 but I just don't see the point wasting my money.
 
yes but also I'm not going to pay £200 for a bit of plastic just because it comes from canon.

Exactly! £200 for a name!
 
Exactly! £200 for a name!
The Canon grips for the 5Dmk2 appear better than the cheaper ebay ones (I haven't had a Meike in my hands to know if it is the same or not). You can get an original Canon for ~£175 new or buy second hand. Yes, it's overpriced for what it is, but it is certainly better than the cheapo on I got from ebay....

This may not hold for grips for other Canon cameras, but don't assume the £200 is just to put the Canon name on it ;)
 
The fleabay grip I have is built every bit as good as the Canon BG-E2 I have. I'd not imagine the 5DII grip to be much different.
 
Are the cheap ones made with an alloy shell like the canons? This is for the 5DII grip.
 
My MeiKe grip weighs in at exactly the same weight as a Canon one to the gramm, we checked it on some accurate scales.

So I'd say it's more than likely a yes.

If it where solid plastic it would weigh much less.
 
The functionality of the battery reporting was different on my fleabay one too (didn't report correctly when 2 batteries were in).
 
arad85 said:
The Canon grips for the 5Dmk2 appear better than the cheaper ebay ones (I haven't had a Meike in my hands to know if it is the same or not). You can get an original Canon for ~£175 new or buy second hand. Yes, it's overpriced for what it is, but it is certainly better than the cheapo on I got from ebay....

This may not hold for grips for other Canon cameras, but don't assume the £200 is just to put the Canon name on it ;)

unless the grip does not work can't see how it can be better since they do the same functions. only way would be if the grip did not feel nice but I can't tell any difference between an OE one and my 3rd party one.
 
arad85 said:
The functionality of the battery reporting was different on my fleabay one too (didn't report correctly when 2 batteries were in).

if you put 3rd party batteries in you have to put a canon one in first. if the reporting was wrong then there is more than likely a problem and it should be returned.

I know some 3rd party grips seem to let the camera think it is using AA batteries so you could not do a manual sensor clean with the grip on.
 
I've got a Phottix battery grip for my 5DII. Only put it on the camera twice (I've got a 1D and wanted the 5D for smaller, more portable kit) but it feels great quality.

I've modified it slightly to fit the Canon AA battery tray and it also reports battery states on two genuine LP-E6's plus also on a set of AA's.

May end up selling it though as it just doesn't get used and it's sat gathering dust.

DB
 
unless the grip does not work can't see how it can be better since they do the same functions. only way would be if the grip did not feel nice but I can't tell any difference between an OE one and my 3rd party one.
The cheaper one flexed and battery information was not returned correctly see here: http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=268724

As I said, it was a cheap (£40) one. I'm happy with the Canon one now - got it second hand here and didn't want the hassle of finding that another 3rd party one was problematic. YMMV of course ;) :)
 
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