Weatherproof vertical battery grip for 7D

<p>I'm about to pull the trigger on a new Canon 7D body. I've become very fond of the 3rd party vertical battery grip on my 400D, and will likely get one for the 7D as well. I have a couple questions, though.</p>

<p>Is the Canon BG-E7 vertical grip weatherproof like the rest of the 7D body?</p>

<p>Is the Flashpoint vertical grip from Adorama weatherproof? http://www.adorama.com/ICABGE7AP.html#ReviewHeader</p>

<p>Other than making all the nameplates match, is there a compelling reason to spend $100 more on the Canon grip? I do make some money with my camera, but not much. I'm mostly an advanced amateur (for now, anyway).</p>

<p>"Other than making all the nameplates match, is there a compelling reason to spend $100 more on the Canon grip?"<br>

Other than voiding the manufacturers warranty and getting help from canon customer service when or if something goes wrong, then the extra $100 is not warranted. </p>

<p>Ben, you and I are in a similar place except that I just bought my 7D. However, I would recommend one thing. The 7D without the battery grip is heavier and almost as large as the XTi with the battery grip (I've had a battery grip on my XTi for a some time). Also, battery charge doesn't seem to be a problem with my 7D--I took over 400 pictures over an entire day and never saw the battery meter drop--others have reported well over 1000 pics before needing to change batteries. My recommendation is to try the 7D for a while without the battery grip. Unless you really want the extra control buttons for vertical shooting, you may find that you don't even need it. </p>

<p>If you do decide to go for it, I would recommend the Canon for the very reason that Harry mentioned. If something goes wrong, Canon Service can't blame it on the off-brand grip.</p>

<p>The 7D's warranty will not be affected by the use of a 3rd-party grip, so that's a non-issue. I'm probably going to get a factory refurb 7D anyway, which has a reduced warranty to start with. I've had very good luck with Canon refurbs in the past and it'll save me $200 off the 7D.</p>

<p>Mark, you make a good point about the size of the 7D. That's actually something I was wondering about last night. I wasn't aware that the batteries lasted that much longer, but that's another strike against getting the grip right off the bat. Maybe I should save the $140 that I'd spend on the grip and two batteries (of four total) until I'm sure I need them. I may be able to make due with the standard body & two batteries.</p>

<p>But all this does is postpone my need for an answer to my original question: what's the weatherproofing status of those two grips? I do occasionally subject my camera to adverse weather conditions.</p>

<p>Ben</p>

<p>The Flashpoint grip you mentioned above isn't weatherproof. I think you would find that anything that was, whoever the manufacturer, it would be noted by the retailer.</p>

<p>Hope this helps.<br>

<strong>Helen Oster<br /> Adorama Camera Customer Service Ambassador</strong><br>

<a href="mailto:HelenO@adorama.com">HelenO@adorama.com</a></p>

 

<p>Thanks, Helen. Does your comment mean that the Canon BG-E7 is not weatherproof, either? Adorama's description doesn't mention it, and I can't even find a page for the BG-E7 on Canon's web site.</p>

<p>Ben - try the camera without a grip and decide if you want to add one later. My 7D is essentially replacing a 1DIIN and I thought I might need to add the grip. I have not done so well over 10,000 shots later. I find that I can get well over 1000 JPEGs shot in a day without changing battery (I always carry a fully charged spare battery but I have never had a single day where I have had to switch battery - except when I used a fairly old one from my 5DII. I have shot 500+ images outside with the 7D in -25 to -30C without battery issues so unless you want the AA backup or like the vertical release you probably don't need a grip.</p>

<p>Ben</p>

<p>Apologies for the delay - I was awaiting a response from the purchasing department.</p>

<p>They don't have that info on file so I've asked if they can speak to the Canon rep. I'll come back to you asap</p>

<p>Helen</p>

<p>I finally got a couple responses on this issue. Canon support wrote:</p>

<p>"While the weather resistance of the EOS 7D is high, the weather resistance of the BG-E7 is not. The BG-E7 does not have the same level of sealing that the EOS 7D has."</p>

<p>In a separate conversion, B&H support replied:</p>

<p>"The Canon BG-E7 has as light amount of weather sealing, nothing along the lines of the 7d's though - off-brand ones are more than likely going to have either none or extremely limited. With that said I've used the Zeikos brand one in many weather conditions and have had no problems."</p>