Received MB-D12

[Barry Clemmons Photography]

<p>I just received my MB-D12 battery grip for the D800, and in case anyone is wondering it is made in China. Also, unless there is some gold hidden inside I can't see what the additional $200 or so gets me. The build looks the same as Nikon's past battery grips.</p>

[ShunCheung]

<blockquote>

<p>I can't see what the additional $200 or so gets me.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>$200 gives you compatibility with the D800/D800E. :-)<br>

None of the earlier, cheaper Nikon grips works with those new cameras.</p>

[bill_brooks]

<p>Shun, I'll corroborate Barry's observations. I have the MB-D12 grip as well and the build quality is no different, as far as I can tell, from my MB-D11 grip. Just more expensive. As noted elsewhere, though, I'd rather pay the $200 premium for the grip than $3500 for the D800... </p>

[ShunCheung]

<p>Well, once again, prices are determined by supply and demand. As long as there are people who are willing to pay $400+ for the MB-D12, why shouldn't Nikon charge that much?</p>

<p>Wait 6 months for the clones to appear. The clones will likely be from $50 to $150. If people can identify which ones of those work, and Nikon is unable to move the MB-D12 at those high prices, it will come down.</p>

[Barry Clemmons Photography]

<p>Shun, I agree that all I'm getting is compatibility with my D800. I guess one way to look at it is that the D800 body was less than I thought it would be by several hundred dollars. I now have $3,450 in the body and grip. Nikon could easily have priced the body at $3,200 and grip at $250. I doubt that anyone would have blinked at paying $3,200 for the body. I wonder why Nikon has never had a bundle that included the grip at a slightly lower price than the two purchased separately? They do that all of the time with a body and lens. And you are correct in saying that the grip will probably come down later this year when the clones appear. A lot of people would pay $250 for a genuine Nikon grip over a cheaper clone, but not $450. It's worth it to me now for the extra battery capacity, plus it gives me the same feel and controls with each of my bodies.</p>

[ShunCheung]

<p>Barry, I had expected the D800 to be around $3500 to $4000, so the current $2999 price is indeed on the low side. However, I have my eyes on the D800E at this point.</p>

<p>I bought the MB-D10 at the same time with my D300 because it got me 8 frames/sec. I use the D7000 without a grip and have no plan to buy any MB-D12 myself, regardless of price.</p>

[Barry Clemmons Photography]

<p>I also have the D800E on order and am anxious to do a comparison of the two. I will use the D800 for weddings and portraits for the most part, while using the D800E for landscapes. If the difference between the two is only minimal on a landscape shot, then I will probably sell the D800E. Based on the little bit I've seen and read though, the difference will be enough to warrant keeping both.</p>

[dan_brown4]

<blockquote>

<p>Well, once again, prices are determined by supply and demand.</p>

 

</blockquote>

<p>Incorrect. Only applies for commodities where there is an elastic market.</p>

[shineofleo]

<p>I am looking forward to the grip, as someone mentioned in the forum, buy or not to buy grip would decide what kind of L-bracket we should get.</p>

<p>I think keep waiting would be the strategy, and price will drop eventually...</p>