Review Linkdelight / Meike D300 / D700 grip and BL-3

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Just some quick pictures and thoughts on the linkdelight D300 / 700 grip...

you get all the gubbins that you need, the grip, the AA holder, the EN-EL3e holder, and a BL-3 in a seperate box. Nikon charge £30 for a BL-3 on its own, though it does (bizarrely) come with a posh fabric bag.

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With the respective batteries in:

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The modules simply slide in to the holder, a much better system than the D200 grip which had fiddly plastic catches that had a tendancy to break.

With the EN-EL4(a) battery held in by the BL-3, or 8*AAs in the holder, the D300 can on CH shoot happily at 8fps.

To install the grip, just pull off this piece of rubber from the bottom of your D300 (it's replaceable)

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put it in the recess in the grip designed to hold it. You can put the original EN-EL3 battery inside the camera, as well as the one in the grip, if you want, but to change it you do need to remove the grip.

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Screwed onto the camera, and you can see the inside of the grip - lots of reinforcements, it's not the magnesium build of the MB-D10, but it's damn strong. There's a big plate of metal along the bottom where the tripod screw is, and the door closing on the battery inserts is a million times better than the closure on the D200 grips.

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Controls wise, it has a D pad, rear aperature wheel and AF-ON. The D pad is great, I prefer it to the one on the D300 body!

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It's got a decent half stage shutter release button that feels the same to use as the D300's, and a lock switch around it that can disable all the controls on the grip. It has a shutter speed wheel on the front too - it's basically the same controls as the body.

The wheels give slightly more resistance than the D300 ones to turn, but not much. The af-on button is hard, unlike the slightly rubberised ones of previous grips.

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The grip fits flush to the camera, no wobble or anything whatsoever.

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For less than £50 posted, I'm very happy with them (once the first arrived and I was happy, I ordered another), they come with all the accessories, 8fps is amazing for the times when you need to use it, and I certainly won't fuss too much over them in the rain or in terms of how I treat them, they're well built and a great alternative to the MB-D10 if you're feeling the strain - it would've been an extra £300 odd for me to use the official ones so it was a 'this or nothing' scenario.

Watch out for the 'non pro' versions that are a bit cheaper, but have built in battery chargers and junk like that but no aperture wheels etc...
 
Nice review mate, do you mind adding the link to the seller..?
 
Nice review (y)

I have to say, I've dealt with LinkDelight a number of times, and they're a top notch business to deal with.
 
http://stores.shop.ebay.co.uk/LinkDelight-Photography-Shop__W0QQ_armrsZ1

their store on ebay is here... their prices on their site appear lower, but with postage included they're usually absolutely identical, maybe +/1 $1.

Their site's worth a browse, if only for the chinglish mind... 'shoot freely and funny'...

I've worked with someone who bought one of their 'pro'-er flash heads too for the times that they needed to be able to bust out a 1000ws head iirc, he was amazed that the build quality for a pretty reasonable price... so yeah, they seem to come pretty widely recommended really :)
 
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Is the battery included..?

Marco
 
Marco, no, although they do sell packs that also include two imitation EN-EL3e batteries at a fairly reasonable price.

The EN-EL4a (D3 batteries) are separate altogether.
 
Sorry to revive this, but seriously considering one of these and would need it in a couple of weeks. Was just wondering if itsdavedotnet or anyone else could tell me how long it took to arrive ordering from Link Delight on eBay? Obviously delivery times vary, but a rough idea would be a help.

Cheers,
 
HMMM... can't remember exactly, but I seem to remember all 4 grips that I've bought from linkdelight taking about 2 weeks, give or take a bit...better than most hong kong sellers but still hardly 'with you tomorrow'.
 
Mine definitely took 14 - 18 days. I remember being very frustrated by this!

That said, it's a decent grip and for the price and is worth the wait.
 
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Thanks for that guys. (y) I need it for the 19th, so its a bit of a gamble if it'll come in time.

Think I'll order one now anyway, as it seems like a really good grip for the money, certainly compared to the price of an official Nikon one!
 
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Oh, and did I mention that it likes snow?

edit: yeah, saw that cowsaki, hope it gets sorted out fast for you, sure it will, linkdelight seem like some of the rare good guys.
 
Oh, and did I mention that it likes snow?

edit: yeah, saw that cowsaki, hope it gets sorted out fast for you, sure it will, linkdelight seem like some of the rare good guys.

Oh I know, its only a grip. I am sure it will be sorted. The weather protection on that D300 is good :)
 
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itsdavedotnet
now that you have had the grip for over a month, how does it fair
 
Mine arrived today :)

See this thread :( LINK

It doesn't work.....

Sorry to hear its faulty, hope mine works ok! I think you might have just been unlucky, most people seem quite pleased with theirs.

However, it seems their delivery was pretty quick, 9 days from Hong Kong isn't bad! :clap:
 
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Mine arrived yesterday, only took 10 days, well pleased its here in time for my trip up to shoot some low fly in the Mach loop next week! :cool:

Very pleased with it for the money! Alright, it is plastic (opposed to magnesium alloy), but its strong and well made and matches the finish on the camera quite well, as does the rubberised grip. The buttons and dials feel a bit on the cheap side, they're not dampened like the camera, and the shutter and aperture aren't rubber like the camera, but that doesn't bother me! 8 fps works like a dream, and thats the main reason I got it to be honest! (y)

Just need to get 8 Sayno Eneloop AAs and I'm sorted!

Will shoot about 16 frames in a 8 fps burst before filling the buffer, thinking of getting a Extreme IV card which has a higher write speed than the IIIs which might give me more frames?
 
Jim, don't get extreme 4's, that range has been phased out now really. What is a good buy is the 8gb 'Extreme' card, 60mbps write speed :)... it's £45 on play, don't know about anywhere else.
 
I am just about to order one of these from link delight, just wondering, are the 2 batteries they sell in one of the kits, that work out at about £10 each seem ok? They seem too cheap.


thanks for the indepth review too btw
 
I am just about to order one of these from link delight, just wondering, are the 2 batteries they sell in one of the kits, that work out at about £10 each seem ok? They seem too cheap.


thanks for the indepth review too btw

Yes, they were the only thing that worked in my order :)

Just waiting for a replacement but they haven't received the faulty one back yet!
 
I take it your still waiting Darren? really interested to hear what happens... trying to justify a £200 spend over a £45, and i think your result will help me make that decision.
Fingers crossed its all sorted out when you get the replacement.
 
I take it your still waiting Darren? really interested to hear what happens... trying to justify a £200 spend over a £45, and i think your result will help me make that decision.
Fingers crossed its all sorted out when you get the replacement.

On Monday I am putting in a paypal dispute ! They still haven't received it but I sent it the way that they asked !!
 
Mine arrived yesterday, only took 10 days, well pleased its here in time for my trip up to shoot some low fly in the Mach loop next week! :cool:

Very pleased with it for the money! Alright, it is plastic (opposed to magnesium alloy), but its strong and well made and matches the finish on the camera quite well, as does the rubberised grip. The buttons and dials feel a bit on the cheap side, they're not dampened like the camera, and the shutter and aperture aren't rubber like the camera, but that doesn't bother me! 8 fps works like a dream, and thats the main reason I got it to be honest! (y)

Just need to get 8 Sayno Eneloop AAs and I'm sorted!

Will shoot about 16 frames in a 8 fps burst before filling the buffer, thinking of getting a Extreme IV card which has a higher write speed than the IIIs which might give me more frames?

I agree with all the above.

It also makes the camera look fantastic, which realy anoys the misses.
 
Well I've filed a dispute against link delight! I was really happy with the delivery time, the fell of the item (although the joystick was not up to Nikon standard) etc etc BUT if it goes wrong well they don't exactly fall over themselves to get it sorted quickly.
 
Well I've filed a dispute against link delight! I was really happy with the delivery time, the fell of the item (although the joystick was not up to Nikon standard) etc etc BUT if it goes wrong well they don't exactly fall over themselves to get it sorted quickly.

Sorry to hear about your predicament with them; I've used them on a number of occasions and they were exceptional with their service, every time.

There was a one incident when the GSS screen protectors (for my D700) arrived damaged. I emailed them, next day reply they asked me to post them a photo of the damage, did that and they promptly sent me a replacement without any delay!
 
hong kong post can take a few weeks sadly, certainly with items coming this way :/ I'm sure the paypal dispute will make them sort it immediately mind :)
 
Ordered one a couple of days ago, so looking forward to seeing how it compares to the genuine article.

Will be be nice getting the additional 2fps for the BTCC at Thruxton. :)

Paul C
 
How long can they take to arrive from Link Direct? I assume 9 days from now would be pushing it yes?

edit: reading the thread properly i've got no chance! will have to wait a bit to get one haha
 
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Also to get the 7fps with the D700 I assume you need the d3 equivalent battery which then means you need a charger for it, correct? How much is it for all of that together shipped?
 
Also to get the 7fps with the D700 I assume you need the d3 equivalent battery which then means you need a charger for it, correct? How much is it for all of that together shipped?


it's 8fps iirc.

And yes, you do need the D3 equivalent battery.

Offbrand, on ebay, you can get a charger and a battery for about £40 total, or the official ones at the very cheapest prices will be roughly £225 for a charger and a battery.

You can also get 8fps by using AA batteries :)
 
Ah, AA looks like a much cheaper way! Do you use the eneloop rechargeables? What's it like for how long they last and weight?
 
How long can they take to arrive from Link Direct? I assume 9 days from now would be pushing it yes?

edit: reading the thread properly i've got no chance! will have to wait a bit to get one haha

Mine took 9 days. It didn't work mind ! Ordered Christmas day and still waiting for the replacement to even be dispatched from China :thumbsdown:
 
Mine arrived this morning, well packaged and if I'm honest, it surprised me how solidly it is built.

Definitely on par if not slightly better than the Nikon MB-D80 I had for my D80.

Highly recommended bit of kit at a cracking price. :)

Paul C
 
Got mine today and echo what everyone else has said - highly recommended.

Does anyone know why it reads as low battery when the battery in the grip is low but the one in the body is full, surely it uses both still?
 
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