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- Name
- Edward Bray
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As I was getting desperate for some form of back up battery for my 5DMk2 and being unable to source a sensibly priced and in stock Canon battery, I decided to buy a cheap grip for my 5DMk2 to enable the use of eneloops to get me through should I require further battery power.
I ordered the grip from ebay seller etefore and including shipping, cost just over £70 (Canon version circa £200). I was not expecting too much really but as it was a similar price to an unavailable Canon battery I thought I would give it a go, not knowing that I would be purchasing an additional Canon battery two days later when Amazon had them available.
It arrived yesterday in a blister pack within a jiffy bag (8 days from placing the order) and there was nothing extra to pay in the form of duty or taxes.
First impressions are very good, with the build and feel of the grip very similar to the two previous Canon grips I had (for my 5D and 30D), no rough edges, the door opens and closes nicely and feels robust and the white latches at either side to hold the batteries in are identical to that within the Camera body. The buttons seem of a similar quality to those used on the 5DMk2 and in actual fact I prefer the slightly rubber feel of the front wheel of the grip to that of the wheel on the Camera and the shutter button on the grip has a distict 2 stage operation, soft touch to halfway and a slight microswitch type click to take the shot (very impressed with that), the On/Off switch is nicely recessed and only turns the grip buttons off/on. I was also very pleased to see the inclusion of the AF-ON button as I only use either this or manual to focus.
On attaching the grip to the camera it fits well and seems very secure with no movement at all once attached. On the battery info screen it shows that a BGM-E6 is attached and shows in what positions within the grip the batteries have been placed (I suspect this is no different to how the Canon original grip shows within the menu system).
I tried the camera/grip combination with one Canon battery, two Canon batteries and a set of 6 brand new Eneloops in the supplied AA holder. All showed a full battery charge on the Battery Info screen although the eneloops were unable to be registered to show the number of shots taken. A nice touch (and unexpected) was that when the grip's battery door was unlatched the camera turned off and was unusable until the door was relatched.
So, in conclusion, Great piece of kit for approximately 1/3 of the price of the Canon original version. Only time will tell if it will have the longevity that would be expected from an original Canon item, but my first impressions of build quality, ergonimics and practical use are good, I would recommend this item.
I ordered the grip from ebay seller etefore and including shipping, cost just over £70 (Canon version circa £200). I was not expecting too much really but as it was a similar price to an unavailable Canon battery I thought I would give it a go, not knowing that I would be purchasing an additional Canon battery two days later when Amazon had them available.
It arrived yesterday in a blister pack within a jiffy bag (8 days from placing the order) and there was nothing extra to pay in the form of duty or taxes.
First impressions are very good, with the build and feel of the grip very similar to the two previous Canon grips I had (for my 5D and 30D), no rough edges, the door opens and closes nicely and feels robust and the white latches at either side to hold the batteries in are identical to that within the Camera body. The buttons seem of a similar quality to those used on the 5DMk2 and in actual fact I prefer the slightly rubber feel of the front wheel of the grip to that of the wheel on the Camera and the shutter button on the grip has a distict 2 stage operation, soft touch to halfway and a slight microswitch type click to take the shot (very impressed with that), the On/Off switch is nicely recessed and only turns the grip buttons off/on. I was also very pleased to see the inclusion of the AF-ON button as I only use either this or manual to focus.
On attaching the grip to the camera it fits well and seems very secure with no movement at all once attached. On the battery info screen it shows that a BGM-E6 is attached and shows in what positions within the grip the batteries have been placed (I suspect this is no different to how the Canon original grip shows within the menu system).
I tried the camera/grip combination with one Canon battery, two Canon batteries and a set of 6 brand new Eneloops in the supplied AA holder. All showed a full battery charge on the Battery Info screen although the eneloops were unable to be registered to show the number of shots taken. A nice touch (and unexpected) was that when the grip's battery door was unlatched the camera turned off and was unusable until the door was relatched.
So, in conclusion, Great piece of kit for approximately 1/3 of the price of the Canon original version. Only time will tell if it will have the longevity that would be expected from an original Canon item, but my first impressions of build quality, ergonimics and practical use are good, I would recommend this item.
