Zeikos Vertical Grip Review

[pete_harlan1]

<p>Received the Zeikos Vertical grip today. As promised here is my short review of this product with a few photos of the actual product.</p>

<p>Made in China: Warranty one year.</p>

<p>1) <strong>Fit and Finish</strong><br>

<strong></strong><br>

The case appears to be made from either high strength ABS plastic or polycarbonate; probably the former. It seems well manufactured with no signs of future stress areas that I can see.It is rubberized in the right places to assure a good grasp. The rubberized areas are obviously glued on strips and appear to have good adhesion.How well the adhesive rubberized strips hold over time with sweaty hands and/or high humidity remains to be seen.</p>

<p>Electrical contacts are well aligned and mate perfectly with my D-300/D-700. This grip attaches easily in a matter of a few seconds with three or four turns of the mounting wheel.It holds solidly and and mates seamlessly following the contours of the camera. The battery chamber cover has no seals or gaskets, although the fit is tight enough to keep dirt, dust amd moisture at bay. It is doubtful it would keep out heavy rain if exposed too long.</p>

<p>The command and sub command dials are well placed for easy access when in the vertical shooting orientation. I felt very comfortable within moments with my thumb and fore finger finding these dials intuitively.</p>

<p>The "AF On" button on the grip as well as the "multi-selector" button are also easy to access w/o having to look. Nothing about the dials or buttons causes me to feel this is poorly made. Good solid feel all around.</p>

<p>I read a complaint about another brand concerning the tripod socket. I examined this area as closely as possible short of X-ray or cutting into it and found nothing that would lead me to believe there will be a problem. It appears well secured with a over sized washer securing it within the case.</p>

<p><strong>Function: </strong><br>

<strong></strong><br>

Flawless. I don't own the Nikon MB-D10. I can not see how the Nikon brand vertical grip would be any better in this regard.<br>

The command and sub command dials can be reversed the same as the camera.</p>

<p>I have little need for high frame rates, but it was kinda' cool hearing the D-300 fire at 8 FPS with 8 (AA) batteries installed.<br>

This seems obvious, but you can via the camera menu instruct which battery should be used first. If you select the on board camera battery first, you will <strong>NOT</strong> get 8 FPS. The grip battery must be given first priority to achieve 8 FPS.</p>

<p><strong>Overall Impression:</strong><br>

<strong></strong><br>

I'll give it a five out of 5...especially when one considers the Nikon brand grip costs about three times more!</p>

<p>I'm impressed, and that's saying a lot if you know me. I was expecting <strong><em>some</em></strong> flaws; I found none!<br>

It feels professional, looks cool, (<em>if I erase two zeros from my D-300 name plate, do I have a D3? LOL</em>)...and is invaluable when you shoot in the vertical orientation. The case weighs very little, but once you load up 8 (AA) batteries, mount a heavy lens on the camera; you do have a pretty good load on your hands, but the rubberized surfaces give a great solid grip. I did not feel fatiqued after 30 mins with it.</p>

<p><strong>Cons:</strong> </p>

<p>1) Too big for my camera bag with the grip attached.<br>

Problem? Well for me it is. I don't mind attaching and removing the grip, but the D-300/D700 has a little rubber plug that must be removed before attachiing the grip...That rubber plug will no doubt be lost in short order.<br>

There is also a small plastic protective cover that protects the electrical contacts of the grip..I can see losing this too. Oh well. :)</p>

<p>I'm not a writer, but I hope this serves as a first look at a alternative to the Nikon grip.<br>

If there are any specific questions about the Zeikos grip, I'd be happy to answer them if I can.</p>

[pete_harlan1]

<p>Grip Photos</p><div></div>

[pete_harlan1]

<p>Grip 2</p>

[pete_harlan1]

<p>grip 3</p>

[phil_burt]

<p>I have been thinking of getting one for my D 90. After reading your review I think I will. May I ask where you got it from? <br>

Thank You,<br>

phil b<br>

benton, ky</p>

[pete_harlan1]

<p><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.amazon.com/Zeikos-ZE-NBG300-Battery-Power-Nikon/dp/B001T9N0RQ/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1244583331&sr=8-5" target="_blank">http://www.amazon.com/Zeikos-ZE-NBG300-Battery-Power-Nikon/dp/B001T9N0RQ/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1244583331&sr=8-5</a></p>

[pete_harlan1]

<p>PS..Make sure you get the one for the D-90..Not the one in this link...They have the D-90 version as well.</p>

[peter_n1664876959]

<p>I'm fairly sure that most of these 3rd party grips come off the same production lines in China as the OEM grips. I have a Fuji S5 (Nikon D200 with a Fujifilm sensor) and recently bought a Targus TG-BGD200 grip for it. Then I wanted to do some vertical shooting using my tripod and so I took a risk and bought the RRS Arca Swiss type L-plate for the Nikon MB-D200 grip. My hunch worked as the L-plate fits the Fuji S5/Targus grip perfectly. There are slight design variations among the grips but they are all dimensionally identical so my thinking is that they all come from the same place and we are paying 2x or more just for the Nikon name on the casing of the MB-D10 and other Nikon grips. Like your Zeikos, my Targus is also an excellent product with a much better battery-door design than the OEM grip so at ½ the price or less these grips are excellent choices.<br /> </p>

[nina_myers]

<p>see on the inside of the grip there? that L shaped groove? that's for the little rubber guard so you don't lose it :)</p>

<p>I attach and remove my grip a lot, and haven't lost it yet.</p>

[ShunCheung]

<p>Pete, thanks for the information.</p>

<blockquote>

<p>I'm fairly sure that most of these 3rd party grips come off the same production lines in China as the OEM grips.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>The genuine Nikon MB-D10 is made in Thailand, where Nikon has a huge manufacturing facility. The 3rd-party grip Pete Harlan purchased from Amazon is made in China; it looks very similar to the original, though.</p>

<p>I would imagine that Nikon spent a lot of money on R&D to come up with the MB-D10 design. When you don't need to spend that money up front and just copy someone else's result, your cost is certainly a lot lower, but I guess that is fair game. If these 3rd-party imitations are good, it should force Nikon to be more competitive with the MD-D10 prices:<br /><a href="http://imaging.nikon.com/products/imaging/technology/scene/21/">http://imaging.nikon.com/products/imaging/technology/scene/21/</a></p><div></div>

[oskar_ojala]

<blockquote>

<p>When you don't need to spend that money up front and just copy someone else's result, your cost is certainly a lot lower, but I guess that is fair game.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>While different sorts of intellectual property protection is weak in China, it is strong in the west. In the case of the battery grip, I would imagine that Nikon could try to use legal means to prevent the 3rd party offerings being sold in the US on the basis of copying the industrial design of the thing, assuming the design is registered (although I have to add IANAL). The electronics certainly wouldn't be worthy of a patent, but the actual shape of the device could in theory be protected.</p>

[mytake]

<p>Hi Pete, I'm the guy with the complaint, however the complaint was not about the tripod socket, if you go back to the other thread you will see pics I posted of the screw that goes into your camera tripod socket. I liked my grip & it worked well but it needs to have a connection to the camera that is one piece made entirely of metal. Otherwise it's only a matter of time before this connection fails. I've contacted Nikon parts & was told that there gear/screw combination is one solid piece made of metal. This may be alot to ask, but if you can check yours,(would have to remove about 10 small screw to get to it), you would be doing everyone here a tremendous service, especcially those that have already purchased a 3rd party grip. I'm looking for a new one & would like to save money as well.<br>

Thanks<br>

Dennis</p>

[pete_harlan1]

<blockquote>

<p>gear/screw combination is one solid piece made of metal</p>

 

</blockquote>

<p>Confirmed.<br>

The screw/gear are one piece in the Zeikos</p>

[mytake]

<p>Thanks Pete, I think I'll order one for myself, appreciate your time.<br>

Dennis</p>

[ShunCheung]

<p>Dennis, may I ask you to provide your comments also to this same thread when you receive your Zeikos?</p>

[mytake]

<p>Shun, when I order & recieve it, I will start a new thread & give you my thoughts on it. Based on Pete's confirmation, I'm sure it's a good deal, as I said, the one that I had purchased worked really well except for that one flaw.<br>

Dennis</p>

[pete_harlan1]

<p>Dennis,</p>

<p>I did NOT take the case apart. There seems to be just enough play in the screw to visually see if it is attached to a plastic sub gear.<br>

Unless there is a very large flange on the screw, I can not see any attachment to a plastic sub gear.<br>

My fear is removing the top cover is breaking any electrical connections accidently.</p>

[mytake]

<p>Pete,<br>

I completely understand your concerns with electronic connections, however you said that the screw & gear are one piece made of metal. There is no way you can determine that without removing the top piece, under the top plastic shell is a piece of metal, approx. 1x1 inch, which is secured with 4 screwes, under this plate is the actual base of the screw thread. Again, I understand your concerns over taking this apart but I think it's unfair of you to imply that you did, giving everyone false info. But I will say thank you for your last post, perhaps it is all metal, I,m trying to find out from the seller thru email, however as of yet, I've gotten no response.</p>

[ShunCheung]

<p>Pete Harlan did take it apart and confirmed that it is all metal.

Thanks a lot Pete.</p>

<blockquote>

 

<p ><a href="http://www.photo.net/photodb/user?user_id=4873900">Pete Harlan</a> <a href="http://www.photo.net/member-status-icons"></a>, Jun 16, 2009; 08:13 a.m.</p>

 

<p>There has been a question regarding the Screw/Gear mechanism on the Zeikos which attaches to the camera's tripod socket.<br />I was hesitant to do as Dennis asked, so only did a visual inspection.<br>

Thanks to Dennis and a few emails, I <strong>DID</strong> summon the courage to open the top cover this morning to have a look.<br>

I'm happy to report the Screw/Gear <strong>IS</strong> ONE piece of metal. This piece mates with a brass gear via the main thumb wheel.<br />The Screw/Gear (One Piece) and the mounting wheel are held in place by a phenolic cover secured with several small screws and a few pop rivets.</p>

 

 

 

<p ><a href="http://www.photo.net/photodb/user?user_id=4873900">Pete Harlan</a> <a href="http://www.photo.net/member-status-icons"></a>, Jun 16, 2009; 08:15 a.m.</p>

 

<p>PS: Thanks Dennis for the alert. Although I don't mount my camera w/ grip on a tripod due to MY concern over bending moments (torque) I DO mount it to my flash bracket.</p>

 

 

<p>Pete</p>

</blockquote>

[joseph_leotta]

<p>Just ordereded one on Amazon. Theres a difference of $8.00 depending which amazon supplier you use. Look carefully.</p>

[ShunCheung]

<p>Joseph, Dennis and whoever buys this Zeikos grip: please also provide your experience with this grip to this thread so that hopefully others can benefit from it, just as we benefit from Pete's experience. I very much would like to keep all information on this grip within this thread so that it'll be easy to search for it in the future. I'll keep this as an "urgent" sticky thread for a few days.</p>

[bsd230]

<p>It is amazing how much it looks like the MB-D10. I might have bought the Zeikos if I had not already bought the Nikon. I have no complaints though, the MB-D10 is one of the best grips I've ever owned. My only complaint would be that the button is a little sensitive. It is a huge improvement over the MB-D200 grip which I sold right after I bought it.</p>

[peter_n1664876959]

<blockquote>

<p>It is amazing how much it looks like the MB-D10.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Yes, the various clone grips are identical in shape to the OEM, at least for the D-200 and I'm sure its the same for the D-300. But...</p>

<blockquote>

<p>The genuine Nikon MB-D10 is made in Thailand, where Nikon has a huge manufacturing facility. The 3rd-party grip Pete Harlan purchased from Amazon is made in China; it looks very similar to the original, though.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>blows my theory, and when I took the trouble to look at the label for the MB-D200, sure enough, its made in Thailand. So these Chinese grip bodies are reverse engineered as distinct from being formed out of a master tool. They do a good job too since the L-plate fits perfectly.</p><div></div>

[ShunCheung]

<p>I wonder whether there are any electronic chips inside the MB-D10; I would imagine there must be. Potentially Nikon can program their cameras to detect some code inside the MB-D10 so that they'll only function with genuine ones. In other words, potentially, future Nikon DSLRs that also use the MB-D10 might not work with the clones, very much like certain Sigma lenses cannot AF or even work with newer Canon or Nikon bodies, and you need to send those lenses back to Sigma for a chip replacement.</p>

<P>

I have mentioned before that several years ago, my wife bought a 3rd-party "smart" battery for her Sony camcorders. It worked fine until she bought a new Sony camcorder, which can detect whether the battery is a genuine Sony or not. That new camcorder would automatically shut off when it detects the clone battery.

</P>

<p>However, I have no idea whether Nikon will play that kind of tricks or not. Given that the Zeikos grip costs about 1/3 of the MB-D10, it seems to be worthwhile to take some risks.</p>

[roypanos]

<p>Cue weary groan.<br>

When I posted a question about 3rd party MB D10 equivalents quite recently there was a flurry of reponses which implied that I would be NUTS not to buy a Nikon (overpriced IMHO at about £260 in UK) original. Well, I admit I made up the "NUTS" bit... Anyway I bought an original at a very good price, all things considered, from a Dutch supplier @ Eu 170 + postage. I've got it and I still think it's a bit overpriced.<br>

And now for "Smart" batteries. I saw recently that Panasonic are up to this "safety" wheeze as well as Sony. It's hardly new that manufacturers (and retailers) crank up the margins on accessory items but batteries are an absolute scam. Maybe someone would also like to try to persuade me that my third party batteries are disproportionately inferior, price-wise, to Nikon's orginals, because after a couple of years I can't detect any difference in effective performance<br>

On the Zeikos grip socket thread issue; maybe take the battery grip off when using the tripod?</p>