Battery Grip for 20D is huge!

Just got the BG-E2 battery grip for my 20D. It is very large. I have

a battery grip for my Elan 7 and it is about half the size of the

BG-E2. I also had the grip for the DReb and while I think it was

larger than the Elan's grip, it wasn't nearly as large as BG-E2. My

initial impression is that it is almost too large for me to hold

comfortably. I guess the large size is to accomodate the use of AA

batteries but I would rather have a smaller grip such as the Elan 7

grip.

 

Anyway. Just want to gripe and give anyone else a heads up on this.

I guess that depends on how large your hands are. I have large hands and like the feel of the 20D battery grip.

 

Todd Klassy

The 20D grip is exactly one millimeter larger in each dimension than the 10D grip.

I find the camera balances a lot better with the grip, esp. with heavier lenses.

"I find the camera balances a lot better with the grip, esp. with heavier lenses"

I agree. I have large hands, and it balances nicely with the 70-200 2.8 I also have the elan 7 with the grip. You are right, it dwarfs the elan grip. For me the larger BG-E2 is much more comfortable...I love it.

 

Mike

I've read reports that the BG-E2 doesn't attach firmly to the 20D and that to get a good fit you need to add a shim here or there. Have I been misinformed?

I have had an Elan 7E with grip before, too and now i am using a 350D with grip.

 

The new grip is huge compared to the camera itself and also rather "feels like a 20D" than a grip for the DRebel. Also the grip area itself is rectangular in contrast to the old grip.

 

The 350D definetely handles better with the grip, but the 20D handles a lot better by itself than the 350D.

damn...and my wife told me size didn't matter! Seriously though, I feel like I'm holding a professional camera when my grip is installed...not to mention the fact I NEVER run low on battery power anymore.

"...would rather have a smaller grip such as the Elan 7..."

 

So true. I'd LOVE to have an Elan-7-sized grip on my 20d!

 

Why, why not, dear Canon? AA rechargeables is all you need...

I agree with Erik somewhat... I had a 10D with the BigEd before the 20D with the BG-E2. Though I never had both at the same time, it's my perception that the BG-E2 is <i>thicker</i> than the BG-ED. I have average size hands and though I liked the way the camera handles with the grip, I always thought it too "fat" for my liking. I think it's due to the ability to accomodate the AA battery tray. Has anyone ever used the AA tray? I never did.

The 20d grip isn't that bad, it's certainly smaller than the PB-E2 is, and that can be put on an EOS 3.

 

But Canon's recent grips are a little large. But if you want to stuff 2 LiOn rechagables in it and have each individually removable, you're going to need a large grip.

 

Perhaps Canon needs to sell 2 grips, one for AA's only and one for dual LiOns?

I find the enormous grip adds to the "My what a large camera you have" comments I get by about 20%. Makes it look like a bigger more scary professional camera, the layman doesn't know it's just batteries after all...just like they don't know that the Big White Lens actually has a shorter focal length than their $160 Quantarray 75-300mm and I can't actually photograph craters on the moon with it.

 

I've got big hands, I like the feel of it although it is a bit harder to fit into the space I had in my bag for the body alone.

 

The only thing I don't like is that the AA frame feels so flimsy that I never bring it with me for fear of crushing it, unless I am carrying my rather heavy complete gear bag along.

Brian McCall...http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00Ei9x

The issues have been taken care of on new battery grips. check this link.

 

Mike

The 20D grip has an issue with flexing that has NOT been officially acknowledged by Canon, nor has it been officially fixed, although Canon USA is practicing a workaround with grips returned to them.

 

The flex problem with the 20D grip (compared to the 10D grip) is that Canon changed the position of the screws that tie the top plate of the grip to the grip body. In doing so, they left about 5.6cm of unsecured top plate surrounding the attachment screw (comnpared to 4.6cm of unsecured top plate on the 10D grip).

 

It's right at the attachment screw that the top plate flexes when sufficient torque is applied to the grip. The flex is very tiny at the attachment screw, but its angle of motion grows to a full millimeter at the right end, where it unloads the "door open" microswitch in the camera battery chamber. When that happens, the camera cuts main power, which dumps any images not yet written to the CF card.

 

This is not going to happen to everyone all the time--it's a matter of how you use and handle the camera. This happens very frequently to wedding photographers who shoot with heavy flash brackets screwed to the bottom of the grip. It can also happen if a heavy lens is mounted on the camera and the camera is handled single-handedly (as a sports photographer might do when changing position). It will also happen if the camera is mounted vertically on a tripod and one rests a hand on the camera body.

 

Users have worked around this by "pre-loading" the left side of the grip--generally sticking something like business-card-thick material between the grip and the camera on the left side. Canon USA's fix is similar--they put thin metal washer shims under the top plate screws on the left side.

 

I suspect there won't be a true fix for this until the 20D is replaced with a new model...maybe next month.

For me,The 20D's battery grip really balances things out,especially with a large lens like the 70-200 2.8 IS. The extra battery power is nice, but the vertical hold capabilities and the vertical controls are the best features for me.I understand that the early versions had a problem with fit and flex but mine has been added only recently and I'm very happy with the fit and build. Good Luck.