Battery grips for NIKON

<p>Hi all Nikon users,<br>

i have a D600 and wish to purchase a grip for it as i need to steady my hand after my 70-200 vr11 purchase. As you can imagine, after buying this lens, i have NO MORE MONEY !! HAHAHAH<br>

Should I save for a genuine NIKON grip or does it make much difference if I were to buy a cheaper brand ? if so are there any you would recommend?<br>

all my kit so far is nikon and it worries me to step outside this a bit....but I know there are some great manufacturers out there for grips and lens's so i should really look into this ?<br>

what do you think ? or is the nikon grip the best and should i simply just save for one.</p>

<p>thanks</p>

<p>Considering a Nikon grip is in the $250 range and you can get a 3rd party grip for about $40 (Zeikos grip on Amazon is extremely highly recommended by purchasers of it) , and the fact that you are out of money, the choice seems obvious.</p>

<p>Typically Nikon grips are better built and stronger. But I wouldn't suggest you spend money you don't have getting one when there seems to be a viable alternative. </p>

<p>My first Pixel Vertax didn't work properly. Replaced it with a second one, which also died after nearly a year. Got a refund before warranty ended. Then purchased the Nikon brand nearly a year ago, which has been working perfectly since.</p>

<p>If it's a grip for a grip, rather than a power supply, I'd happily go off brand.</p>

<p>I had problems with a couple of clone MB-D10's for my D300 & D700 that would disappear occasionally. Some people are lucky, some are not. I got a genuine one and have never had a single problem. <br>

Sometimes I suspect it's a deliberate Nikon software thing that the 'cloners' don't always get EXACTLY right when they reverse engineer them....mind you the D300 and D700 had a few firmware power issues as-well.</p>

<p>As people say, buying cheap ends up costing you more money.</p>

<p>If you are going to use the grip just as a vertical handle, without putting any battery inside, perhaps it doesn't matter much. Otherwise, there are reasons that something is cheap.</p>

<p>If money is tight, I would suggest using the D600 without a grip for a while and see whether you really need one.</p>

<p>Hi Sam,</p>

<p>I have a d7000 and I realize that between you and me, all things will not be equal. However, I have two points for you to consider.<br>

1 - I had the opportunity a few weeks back to play with the 70-200 vrII on my d7000. I had a much easier time with it once I removed the tripod foot from the lens, and removed the grip from the body. To me (this is the part where things probably won't be the same for you and me), NOT having the grip on the body while using this lens made a HUGE difference in handling for me. My hands are small, even for a woman, so trying to hand-hold this combination and do things like change ISO were very difficult for me with the grip attached.</p>

<p>2 - That being said, I do have a grip for my d7000 (obviously) and really like using it. I would suggest you do what I did and get a used one. I got my grip last year for about half the price of a new one. It is a Nikon grip, and really, you can't tell it was used unless you look closely at the locking wheel - there's one tooth that has a small nick in it. Otherwise, it is perfect. Now that the d600 has been out a while and its upgrade is available, grips surely can be had used.</p>

<p>I tried an after market grip for my D300 some years ago. I moved to the Nikon grip when I could. I agree with Mike and Shun. The electronics are going to be the issue. You could get a cheaper one in the meantime but in the long haul the Nikon will serve you much better. </p>

<p>If you out of money don't buy the grip! It's not necessary!</p>

<p>I have also had good feedback on the Zeikos grips but have always bought Nikon products for Nikon products. A grip has always given mr more control of the camera and I would always suggest having one. Like I said, I have heard good things about the Zeikos products.</p>

<p>Just as a serious consideration: why does your hand needs stabilising? If you have to squeeze the grip of the camera too much to keep things stable, consider how you're holding your gear.<br>

For me, with large lenses the trick is really holding the lens (indeed, you may want to remove the tripod collar), elbow on the chest, stand steady - and that can already get things quite stable. Your right hand holding the camera doesn't have to clamp the body to keep things stable - instead it should be free to move and operate buttons gently. I know, it's not really an answer to your question, but it's free, and it can do the trick.</p>

<p>You could get a monopod/tripod to support your glass....you'll get more stability this way than using a batt grip.</p>

<p>Les</p>

<p>I bought a Ziekos grip for D7000, the open-close tab broke shortly thereafter. I replaced it with a Nikon grip, on which the 20-pin connector failed after a year or so - cost me $135 to repair. For my D610, I bought the Vello grip from B&H, and it seems identical to the Nikon product. It this connector fails, I can replace it for less than the cost of a Nikon. In fact, I can buy three or four Vellos for the price of the Nikon.</p>

<p>All depends on how you use it. Mine is often connected to a rotating bracket, which puts a lot more stress on the connection between battery and camera than using it without the swivel. So for me, it's a mater of when it's going to fail, not if. So I take the less-expensive route.</p>

<p>Aftermarket products have been hit or miss for me and I've heard too many stories on grips. I've stuck to Nikon units and had no problems.<br>

<br />Rick H.</p>

<p>L-BRACKET FIT WITH A THIRD PARTY VERTICAL GRIP?<br /><br />Do you use an Arca Swiss compatible tripod mount? Or thinking of going this way? If so, I urge you to use an L-bracket so that when you go to a vertical composition, the camera body stays over the center of the tripod head, rather than being flopped to the side and off balance. Really Right Stuff and Kirk make the industry leading L-brackets, and they are custom fit a specific camera body, or body and grip combo. They are machined to the curves in the body and grip so it doesn't rotate. So, if you get a third party grip, will the curves match and an L-bracket fit on it? Does the bracket provide clearance for the battery door? I have asked these questions many times in this forum and others, and nobody has ever answered. So, in this lack of info, I'd save and spend my money on the Nikon grip that I know will work with good L-brackets.<br /><br />REMOVING THE TRIPOD FOOT?<br /><br />Regarding removing the tripod foot on a lens, consider rotating it to a particular place out of the way instead. That way, it is quickly ready next time you wish to mount the lens on a tripod. I find that when I'm holding the camera for a horizontal composition, with my eye to the viewfinder, the tripod foot is most out of the way if I've rotated and locked it at the 2:30 position. It's clear of my left hand. When I rotate the camera counterclockwise to shoot a vertical, right hand now on the duplicate grip controls, the lens foot is now at the 10:30 position, still out of the way of my left hand under the lens.<br /><br />And I agree, the weight of the body and lens combo is supported by your left hand under the lens, palm toward your face. (If your palm is away from your face, or you are reaching over the lens, you are not as steady.) In this position, your right hand is not supporting weight.</p>

<p>I have the D7000 w/Nikon grip. When I first got the camera, I balked at the $250 price tag for the Nikon grip, and went with an aftermarket one from B&H instead. I can't say for certain, but I think it was made by Velo and it had good reviews on the B&H website. It was $79 IIRC. Once I got it, I mounted it and fooled around with it for a bit, but when I realized how cheaply made the locking tab on the battery tray was (plastic only, no metal) I knew it wouldn't last long and once the locking tab broke, the grip was basically unusable. I returned it, and ponied up the money for the Nikon one. I will add that while in this instance the aftermarket one lost out, I have made many other aftermarket purchases (lenses, batteries, LCD viewfinder, GPS, shutter control, etc) that all worked out great and were priced significantly less than the Nikon offering. The bottom line is that some aftermarket stuff works great and saves you a ton of money, and some doesn't.</p>

<p>Each of my two digital SLR bodies has a battery grip. One is a Nikon MB-D200 and the other is a Jenis ND200P. I bought the Nikon first and later bought the Jenis because it had more features and cost less money. Both work well as providers of extra battery power to the camera body.</p>

<p>If I were forced to choose only one, it would be a hard choice because both have features I need.</p>

<p> </div>

<p>Brilliant answers thanks guys - I thank you guys ever so much xx</p>

<p>I recently had this 'problem' in relation to my D700/D300. I opted for a used genuine one with a six month warranty from a respected dealer. It was still slightly more than twice the price of a pattern version.</p>

<p>However, I was fortunate. It came with two genuine Nikon batteries that seem to be A1. I have considered buying another grip for the 'other' body. I think I would still go for a really good used one rather than a pattern.</p>

<p>I bought a Zeikos for my D700. Works great, but I'm sure the Nikon brand would have been even higher quality though I personally can't tell. It nice in that it takes AA's or a spare Camera battery as an alternate source of power via two trays that were included with the D700 version. It also has place to store the rubber gaskit that comes off your camera (in between the camera and grip). Well thought out, probably taken from the Nikon grips. :-)</p>

<p>I'm generally very gentile on equipment and I only use the grip occasionally and have had no problems. If I were going to leave it on full time, I would probably go with Nikon, but not due to any major issues I have encountered. One thing I "think" I might see is that the grip even when the camera is turned off draws a small amount of power. I would buy another Zeikos again.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>I have used the Vello Chinese grip for the Canon 5DII. Basically exactly the same functionality as the Canon original at 1/3rd the price. The battery door is looser than on the OEM, but it does not affect anything. If you cannot afford the Nikon, don't hesitate to get a Vello.</p>