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just received my grip for the D300 (http://stores.ebay.com.au/LinkDelight-Photography-Aus-Shop)
A tad under A$150 incl postage.
It looks and feels exactly the same as the genuine NIkon article and works nicely. Tight smooth fit onto the camera body. FPS boost with 8 AA's
However, it also came with some (non-genuine) En-El3a batteries, which dont seem to work with the D300.

Certainly for me a viable alternative to the Nikon product. Though I will be buying genuine batteries, if only I could justify the ridiculous price for the El-En4a and charger !!!

additional: i just discovered http://dslrusers.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=34012&p=367978&hilit=batteries#p367978 doing a search...

scott s wrote:just received my grip for the D300 (http://stores.ebay.com.au/LinkDelight-Photography-Aus-Shop)
A tad under A$150 incl postage.

The bad news, though, is that the Phottix brand is owned by Poon. HK Supplies, with whom this forum enjoys a long, close and personal relationship. As it happens, Poon is currently in Paris, taking a couple of days' break post-Photokina before returning to HKG.

Buying as you have done has simply cost you about PP50 more for this item than it should have. Even though you don't yet qualify for forum purchases (check the FAQ), a direct purchase from Poon would, no doubt, have still saved you many $$$$$.

However, it also came with some (non-genuine) En-El3a batteries, which dont seem to work with the D300.

Do they not work in the camera? On the grip?

Given that you're in SYD, why not come to one of our meets, and bring the batteries and grip along. We can then directly assess any issues that you may be seeing, and see how they may best be addressed.

thx for the tip Gary. I might try and get along one day.
I ordered this about a week before i read the post about the Hk supplies item, although there is only $4 difference at the end of the day.
the battery problem is that they wont charge in the nikon charger. maybe theyre just dead...
scott

scott s wrote:although there is only $4 difference at the end of the day.

Not compared with the forum price. Nearly the forum price is less than PP110!

the battery problem is that they wont charge in the nikon charger. maybe theyre just dead...

That would not be likely. We have no issues charging our TP batteries in the Nikon charger ... dd your grip include a charger as well?

no charger unfortunately, but lets keep this repartee' going. gotta get those 50 posts !
anyway its only money !

i'm kicking myself for not ordering some RRS gear that I am after a month or two ago, when the US and A$ were nearly even !!
now i'm just figuring out how to order it without my wife seeing the visa statement !! hehe

First and foremost unless you already own the D2Hs or D3 series cameras forget totally about the EN4 series batteries as, as you have stated, they are really expensive and the necessary battery holder (optional - unless supplied) costs approx $60A.

You mention the EN-EL3a batteries but the MB-D10 takes EN-EL3e batteries maybe that’s the problem.

scott s wrote:no charger unfortunately, but lets keep this repartee' going. gotta get those 50 posts !

Don't try too hard. The admins (hey, that would be me ) don't look to highly upon those who make posts just for the sake of making posts. I know you're not doing that here - openb and active discussion is what we are about, and that's exactly what we're doing in this thread, so it's all good.

And we do look very favourably upon attendance at our meets.

i'm kicking myself for not ordering some RRS gear that I am after a month or two ago, when the US and A$ were nearly even !!
now i'm just figuring out how to order it without my wife seeing the visa statement !! hehe

Quite apart from the forum facilities, we frequently have members get together and arrange a group buy of stuff from RRS. There's probably one every couple of months, so just hang around, and it'll all happen.

sirhc55 wrote:First and foremost unless you already own the D2Hs or D3 series cameras forget totally about the EN4 series batteries

Good point, Chris.

You mention the EN-EL3a batteries but the MB-D10 takes EN-EL3e batteries maybe that’s the problem.

Would that have any effect in the charger though? The newer charger shouldn't care about the older batteries, but Scott is saying that the batteries aren't charging.

i think maybe i made a typo about the batteries. theyre 'e's'
and i just tried to charge one again, and whadda ya know, the charge indicator light is still flashing after 1 minute. Maybe that murphy guy has left due to the rain...

the next big question is which L plate to get ? I suspect one designed to go with the genuine battery grip will work..... maybe !
then again, maybe the tripod mount, being into a plastic add-on, isnt as sturdy as the one into the metal camera body. i reckon i will end up going with the body only L-plate. it will be a hassle at times to change, but for landscape and panorama's, I can cope.

The Phottix grip I ordered from Poon arrived on Friday - $107 delivered.

It's the first time I've used a grip, it cartainly changes the feel of the D300 but I think I'll love it, once I get used to it. At this stage I've not done too much with it other than to put it on the camera and take a few shots. It worked perfectly and intuitively without me having to read the doco, so I see that as a good thing. I'll do a *proper* review of it at the end of the week.

... Obsolete ...

I ordered a Phottix grip (plus some other accessories) from Poon via his ebay shop (had Paypal $$ to use up) and received it last week and it is suburb.
For $31 + $20 postage (for Canon 400D) how could you go wrong

Link Delight Oz want $68 + $25 postage for exactly the same thing.

scott s wrote:i'm kicking myself for not ordering some RRS gear that I am after a month or two ago, when the US and A$ were nearly even !!
now i'm just figuring out how to order it without my wife seeing the visa statement !! hehe

Take cash, go buy pre-paid visa card? Or get a special Visa card with statements sent to work? I knew a bloke who did the latter (and more)..... (he used to get his pay put into 2 bank accounts - the joint a/c and the secret a/c )

On the batteries - I have some of the generic Nikon batteries and they charge fine in my Nikon charger. As for fast shutter - can you use AA instead in that grip - a much cheaper way to achieve the same end result. Just buy some rechargeables and a good charger - I'd suggest Maha - http://www.servaas.com.au - you can also arrange a forum deal with that firm.

if you do want to go the EN-EL4a route there is this post:

http://dslrusers.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=34012

I am tempted to try, but really should not buy anything else atm.

who wrote:On the batteries - I have some of the generic Nikon batteries and they charge fine in my Nikon charger. As for fast shutter - can you use AA instead in that grip - a much cheaper way to achieve the same end result. Just buy some rechargeables and a good charger - I'd suggest Maha - http://www.servaas.com.au - you can also arrange a forum deal with that firm.

Yes, just let me know if you want to use AA's and I'll work out a package for you. The upside of AA's is the universal application so you can redeploy them to other needs such as SB800s etc. Once you have rechargeable AA's around its amazing how many different devices you find them going into.
- Jeff