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Does anybody have long term experience with this? Is the grip fully composite plastic? I have tried it on the 40D and it does feel like all around plastic, and couldn't find any other information on it saying it's a metal chassis or anything.

Would like to know your thoughts if you've had experience with it, like pros and cons. Thanks.

I use it on my 20D and personally I wouldn't be without it.. I think you're right the whole grip might be plastic but its certainly solid enough...

The only con I can think of is that it adds weight to the camera... but I manage okay with it so it cant be that bad..

I use this when I know I want my camera to look bigger and intimidating

Pros: Better handling/balance of the camera and a lot more comfortable when shooting vertically
Cons: Slap two batteries in there and you start to feel the weight as the day goes by.

Build quality didn't concern me as it felt tough enough. FYI the 5D version is better. It actually has a leather like material on the battery compartment.

I've never thought that the BG-E2 is all that well built for the price, but it functions perfectly on my 30D, and is almost always on my camera. It's a must to balance out the larger lens.

Ozi

Well I'm not concerned about the weight, as I use D300s with battery grip which is heavier because it's magnesium alloy and 8 AAs in it, so yeah, no problem for me.

I really do want the grip though.

You are right - the material is not that great. Compared to my friend's D300 battery grip, the BG-E2N feels very plastic and hard like a toy...

Nonetheless, it's very handy to have. Portrait shots feel much more natural with it.

I had an earlier version of one of this on my 10D. When I bought a 30D I never got around to buying one but geez it felt weird not having the grip to "balance the camera". I got a 40D last year and purchased a grip to boot - I really like it. As for wear and tear I shoot all sorts of motor sports and this is always tough on cameras and lenses but both of the above have been up to the task. As for the weight - I haven't held a D3 yet but the 40D body and grip to me felt a lot lighter than most Nikon bodies I've ever picked up.

I have noticed and seen photos of poon's generic battery grip for the 20/30/40Ds and it looks pretty good, although I think it's a bit bigger than the original Canon one, and it's $91.

I just got one of the third party ones from Poon but purchased through ebay for $62.

lkgrainger wrote:I just got one of the third party ones from Poon but purchased through ebay for $62.

What's your opinion of it so far?

Well all the buttons work as they should! I don't have a Canon one to sit it beside and see the size difference (If any), it certainly makes the camera look the part.
The batteries go in from the end on mine and not the front like the Canon one.
Over all I'm happy with the purchase and only took a week to get here.

Leigh

lkgrainger wrote:Well all the buttons work as they should! I don't have a Canon one to sit it beside and see the size difference (If any), it certainly makes the camera look the part.
The batteries go in from the end on mine and not the front like the Canon one.
Over all I'm happy with the purchase and only took a week to get here.

Leigh

That is good, I don't mind paying the extra dollars because I dislike dealing with ebay, although the ironic thing is that I have never dealt with them before and just the bidding, constant watching over the items and just plain nasty navigation puts me off.

But yes, I thought that 3rd party generic one was a good run for the money.

I didn't bid on any items bought, they were purchase now items. (set price) and it was HK supplies.

Leigh

Even better then!