Review Meike MB-D10 battery grip

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I recently looked into purchasing the Nikon MB-D10 for my D300s but was put off by the price. After looking into it further I found out about the Meike version that had been highly spoken of. After deciding to send £45 out to Hong Kong in return for the grip I awaited delivery. I ordered via eBay from a seller called 'roxen' whom I highly recommend as communication was fantastic and my item arrived in about 6 days which I was pretty impressed with.

The grip itself feels sturdy in your hand and having never owned the Nikon original I cannot comment but I have held the MB-D10 and believe that the Meike grip feels equally as solid. The rubber material on the grip is near identical to that on the body of the camera, with only a slight difference in colour which I suspect is wear and tear from use on the body and in time the grip will catch up.

The plastic material of which it is constructed with feels sturdy and very similar to that of the body and the grip alone is weighty and very solid which is reassuring. The buttons and thumb wheels on the grip all feel very similar to that of the D300s its self with the only difference being the vertical shutter button which instead of having the soft touch to that of the D300s there is more of a click when pressed however this is very minimal and it was only through me trying to find faults that I settled with that.

The grip fits very well on the D300s body and adds a couple of inches to the height which if you have bigger hands like me, it gives you somewhere to rest your bottom 2 fingers. The camera recognises the grip as 'MB-D10' and displays battery information under that section, which with some other grips I have heard that anything other than the Nikon wont be recognised. The Meike grip comes with two insert trays, one which you can place the D300s EN-EL3e battery in, and another tray which takes 8 AA batteries for 'emergencies'.

In conclusion if you shoot portrait a lot or you have larger hands and want to have more to hold on to, or longer lenses that you want to make the camera more balanced then a battery grip is ideal. It also is an efficient way to extend battery life when shooting. The grip mounts effortlessly in moments without having to remove battery compartment covers etc. thus making it ideal for quick removal if you would rather not have a grip attached (perhaps for tripod shooting) I strongly recommend this grip to anyone who doesnt really want to spend the money on the Nikon grip but obviously you skip on the quality and assurance but when it comes to third party grips, then I believe that the Meike is the way to go.

(links to flickr for full sized images of the grip itself)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/wp-photography/4983252700/in/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wp-photography/4982657315/in/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wp-photography/4983260786/in/photostream/
 
Not having ever seen the meike grip - looking at the pic's you posted the only difference that I can see is that with the Nikon the "rubber" goes up to the rear "spin dial" where as yours doesn't....

Apart from that I would say that they're identical - but thats only going on the 3x pictures you've posted & looking at my Nikon MB-D10...

I would imagine that the other difference being would be whats on the base of the grip ie Nikon & serial number....
 
Interesting to know.. I shall try and get them side by side sometime but it certainly does for me for now
 
Interesting to know.. I shall try and get them side by side sometime but it certainly does for me for now

It was no way to "dis" your grip - it was just to say that that was the only difference that I could see...

Apart from that they seem/look identical... A few have said the same in the past that these are virtually the same grip but one has Nikon on it & the other one doesn't...
 
My Meike battery grip has packed up recently and I only bought it in January, so now I'm going to get the official one.

Think I was just unlucky, but there's a lot to be said for the phrase buy cheap buy twice.

Think the Nikon one will be noticeably better having seen one. Apparently made from the same magnesium alloy as the body, and it will have rubberised dials and a dampened vertical shutter button. Also hopefully the wheel that winds the thread into the body won't flap around too!
 
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My Meike battery grip has packed up recently and I only bought it in January, so now I'm going to get the official one.

Think I was just unlucky, but there's a lot to be said for the phrase buy cheap buy twice.

Think the Nikon one will be noticeably better having seen one. Apparently made from the same magnesium alloy as the body, and it will have rubberised dials and a dampened vertical shutter button. Also hopefully the wheel that winds the thread into the body won't flap around too!


Seems that you may have been... After reading Scottthehat's post...
 
Apologies for posting an already reviewed item.. when I searched high and low for information before buying I couldn't find a thing! :LOL:
 
Does this come with a wireless remote? That's a major issue with the D700 I think.... in fact the only one as far as I'm concerned.
 
My one did not come with a wireless remote, I use a cabled release if I need it that I got seperately
 
Does this come with a wireless remote? That's a major issue with the D700 I think.... in fact the only one as far as I'm concerned.


:thinking: What major issue is that then... :shrug:
 
I have 2 of these grips for my D300 & D700. There are no issues with either of them and they work just the same on both cameras. They feel like the Nikon ones. The only difference is that the Nikon ones are made from the same material as the camera.

What is this issue with the D700 that you talk of?
 
I have two. Both have seen some grimy environments including mud, snow and flying beer. Both have had tens of thousands of frames. They're both completely fine.
 
:) I don't mean an issue as such, it's just a nuisance that wireless remote technology is such a pain on the D700, I detest wired remotes.
 
:) I don't mean an issue as such, it's just a nuisance that wireless remote technology is such a pain on the D700, I detest wired remotes.

Why is it? It has the same Nikon remote socket that all their pro cameras have and the remote plugs in there!
 
Well you have to have the two piece kit ie a transmitter and receiver which is scandalously expensive when a D60 or similar lets you use a dirt cheap wireless remote.
 
Well you have to have the two piece kit ie a transmitter and receiver which is scandalously expensive when a D60 or similar lets you use a dirt cheap wireless remote.

Bonkers. Having one part built into the camera limits the transmission method. IR is useless over any distance especially outside! I can plug an RF602 radio receiver into the socket and fire the trigger from 100m away. Using a pair of triggers and receivers you can double that. You also don't need line of sight.

Edit: and a pair of RF602 RX/TX is about £30 !
 
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I have two Phottix ones - about £60 ea IIRC. One is on a D700, the other a D300s and was on a D300. Both have been hammered and perform faultlessly. I would have no hesitation recommending them. I guess these copies are the reason Nikon were giving their version away with a new D700 over the summer.
 
Yeah I have RF602's and they are great but it's just an untidy way of doing it, it might be nicer with proper wireless built into a battery grip... hmmmmmmm.....
 
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