Which battery grip for 350Xt?

I'm currently aware of 3. Targus, Canon, and Opteka. I have an Opteka grip. I

must say, I really like the feel of the Xt with the grip attached. In fact, until I got

this battery grip, I almost thought about down-grading cameras back to the 300D

that I had just before the Xt. I liked the feeling of the 300D that much.

Anyway, I got the Opteka grip used as a "toss in" part of another deal. It does

have a problem in that the vertical shutter button is so sensitive that I can not 1/2

press to prefocus. It's all or nothing. That's fine, as long as the image stays right

at the focus point; which it often doesn't. Anyway, are the Targus grips any

good? I see that our local Wal-Mart has them. I'd rather not spring for the Canon

brand grip if I could get by with a 3rd party grip. Your comments before I go out

and maybe purchase one? Thanks.

I've got an Opteka grip for a 20D and a Targus one for an XTi - both seem equally good, or bad, in that they even copied the problems of the original Canon items! However, all has been made good. I find the 20D to be too large and heavy with the grip, but I prefer the XTi with one-gives it some heft.

JDM,

 

In what ways do you find them "equally bad"? Or maybe I should ask, what can be the difference between a top-notch grip, and a not so top-notch one?

 

Bob

I put a Canon grip on my 400D and it has improved my life 110%!

I'm beginning to think that in the case of a battery grip, and making a choice between getting a name-brand vs. a 3rd-party grip, that the name-brand is merely a peace-of-mind decision. I've read nothing here(not in this post, anyway), nor anywhere else, explaining any pros or cons to either brand of grip; other the 3rd-party grips are significantly less expensive. I can get a Targus grip for $70 with easy return if I feel that's necessary. So why not. Right? Thanks for the remarks.

The problems I had were ones that came from copying the original so closely that the problems of the original Canon equipment were duplicated. Heck, for all I know, the things look so much alike that they may be made in the same factory?

 

In any case, I had some problems with the tiny screws stripping out with the first model of the XTi grip, but this was completely fixed in a later replacement. On the 20D grip, the tripod screw that is used to mount the grip is off to one side, so if the thing is not screwed in _really_ firmly, the grip tends to pull away and break the connection. When I discovered this, I Googled around and found the same complaints about the Canon grip too.

 

In short, I think that the knock-offs are OK and that one is not likely to get a superior product or better vendor support than I have had with mine.