keith_jackson3 Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 <p>I am in the process of buying a Nikon D90 with an add on battery grip and I have a question for those of you who have battery grips. Do you leave it on the camera all the time or put it on only when you will need it? The reason that I ask is that I hate the way you remove the battery cover from the D90 before putting the grip on. I am sure that with my less than perfect manual dexterity and repeated removal I will end up breaking the tab on the battery cover. Thanks.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danturcotte Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 <p>I have a battery grip for my canon. Since it makes the camera that much heavier and bulkier I tend to only use it when I know I'll need the extra juice; such as outdoors in winter where the cold has an effect on battery life. Otherwise I tend to leave it off.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vcakic Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 <p>I have it on my camera 99% of time, I personally prefer handling of the gripped camera. I take it off only when I need to, instead of putting it on when I need it. The battery cover looks sturdy enough, but I don't think you will take the grip on and off many times during the day. It's not a big deal, really.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
randallfarhy Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 <p>I have battery grips on both bodies. I like the feel and balance of the camera with them in place (Canon, also use handstraps). The Canon and off brand Canon copies offer storage slots for the battery door, which is nice. I feel taking the grips on and off would be time consuming and add to unecessary wear and tear, so they remain in place. I recommend these to anyone shooting events or in the field, the extended battery life is extremely convenient to have on hand. If you only shoot occasionally, IE family get togethers or parties then they might not be optimal as your batteries would tend not get cycled through properly, thus shortening their life.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derek_kennedy Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 <p>I leave it on all the time. With it loaded with two batteries - I can shoot til the cows come home. Plus, it just makes the camera look awesome (to other people). But yeah it can be heavy.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hjoseph7 Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 <p>"I am sure that with my less than perfect manual dexterity and repeated removal I will end up breaking the tab on the battery cover."</p> <p>Not only that you risk losing the battery cover alltogether.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patricklavoie Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 <p>i leave all the time.. i have big hand and i like the feeling of holding it. Also, it have another button to press while i shoot vertical.. like that. Extra juice is a good thing also. Install once, never remove it.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jay_poel Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 <p>I take it off when I plan on using a tripod and want a more solid setup for long exposures. I am pretty stong - I'm an auto mechanic, but still feel the grip isn't quite tight enough to the body to prevent any movement between the two. The other time is when I want a light setup - just the D90 and a 18-135mm or 18-200mm VR lens - like for a trip to Disney World with the kids soon.</p> <p>My kit is usually the D90 w/grip and either a 24-70mm f/2.8 or 70-200 f/2.8 VR. I use a BlackRapid R-Strap (to the grip when I have the 24-70 and on the tripod collar for the 70-200 with that lens mounted.) I don't mind the weight at all. I keep the battery door cover in the R-Strap memory card pouch so I almost always have it with the camera.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keith_jackson3 Posted March 14, 2011 Author Share Posted March 14, 2011 <p>Well, it seems like the general consensus is to leave it on. Thanks for all the input. I only have two problems now. First, hopefully it will fit in my bag with the grip on and second, since I now have a D80 and a D90 and only one grip, I need to figure out which body to put the grip on. I think that I will go with the D90 since I plan to eventually sell the D80 to cover a good bit of the cost of the D90.</p> <p> </p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmitchell Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 <p>I always leave mine on. The extended shooting time makes it worth it to me. I don't mind the weight of it but it is heavy. When I shoot a lot in one day, I feel the effects of arthritis in my hands when I use the grip but I'll use it until I can't use it anymore. I hate running out of juice at a critical time.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jay_poel Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 <p>Keith, I had a heck of a time finding a smaller sized bag the would work with a grip. Ended up with a small Kata backback that fits my D90 w/grip and 70-200mm VR attached - barely. It also holds my SB-600 and if I really want to make it a tight fit, I can squeeze in the 24-70mm but because of the large lens hoods, I know there would be damage if I dropped it more than a few inches. Without the 24-70, it's a nice size for hiking and taking with me to events where I don't want to bring my large bag with everything.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keith_jackson3 Posted March 14, 2011 Author Share Posted March 14, 2011 <p>I am currently using a Tamrac Velocity 7x, so I think that I may be in trouble. Time to start looking.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaydesi Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 <p>When I want a small bag, the Lowepro Slingshot 200 AW works great...holds a body with grip, flash, extra lens, small accessories like flash cards, batteries, etc, and it has another top pouch where you could stick a bottle of water, sandwich, or another body with no lens or a small one. With some finesse, I can get my 20D with grip in there, with a 28mm lens. Not bad at all for a very small bag.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marklcooper Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 <p>I have a D300 and keep the grip attached when using my 17-55 f/2.8 or 70 -200 f/2.8 VR. For me the grip helps balance the big lenses. When I use my Sigma 30/1.4 I take the grip off. For me, it's not about extra FPS or extra battery life, it's about balance. YMMV</p> <p>Mark</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim_j2 Posted March 15, 2011 Share Posted March 15, 2011 <p>Guess I'm just old fashioned, from the days of Power Winder's & Sport Grips. I've always used them. Have grips for all three of my current Canon bodies that remain attached along with the handstraps.<br> I have big hands, and the grips and handstraps help balance the overall feel of the Camera.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jay_poel Posted March 15, 2011 Share Posted March 15, 2011 <p>Jay, my main bag is the Slingshot 300 AW and they are a really good bag because I can keep my accessories (charger, filter, etc) in the top compartment.</p> <p>My small bag is this - <a href="http://www.kata-bags.com/productFRM2HS.asp?p_Id=437&Version=Photo">http://www.kata-bags.com/productFRM2HS.asp?p_Id=437&Version=Photo</a></p> <p>I have the D90 w/grip laying on it's side with the grip facing down. Fits real nice.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
randrew1 Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 <p>I recently purchased a cheap grip for my D200 from Butterfly Photo. The first one had a defective auxiliary shutter release so I sent it back. The replacement seemed to work OK so I've been using it for a couple weeks. Yesterday I found that it didn't work with flash shots. Apparently there is too much resistance in the connections to allow for proper flash performance. </p> <p>I bought it because when I shoot vertical basketball pictures, I frequently get them tilted. The grip helps with vertical shots. Since it works for that purpose I think I'll keep it, but I wouldn't recommend it. </p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patricklavoie Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 Ron, you don't recommend a cheap grip or any grip : ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marc_batters Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 <p>Buy a grip from the manufacturer of your camera, and leave the grip attached. About the only time I remove the grip is when I want to travel in a P&S mode, ie...small as possible with only one short prime attached.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigpjenkinsphotography Posted March 18, 2011 Share Posted March 18, 2011 <p>Mine stays on all the time unless I'm cleaning equipment, etc.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now