Hi everyone
I thought I'd just do a review of the Vello battery grip for the D3100, as there doesn't seem to be any reviews for it. As far as I know, this grip is only available at BH Photo Video and many of you might cringe at it's $60 price tag. But let me just tell you right now, it is worth it.
Firstly, the design. The design of the BG-N5 is very sturdy, although not as sturdy as the camera of course. It feels very solid, and once two batteries are added it weighs about 500g (rough estimate). As with many of the other 3rd party grips, the texture matches the cameras texture. The wheel to lock the tripod screw in place is only on the front side, but I have found that to be better then on both sides. Now, reading the reviews of the Meike grip, many people say that the tightening wheel rattles, even when tightened and the battery compartment rattles too. This doesn't happen with the BG-N5. Neither one rattles, which made me very pleased.
You open the battery compartment on the BG-N5 differently to other grips. For many other grips, you turn a screw, well for the Vello grip, you just pull down a switch and it opens, So much easier! The grip on the bottom also has a little ridge for comfort when shooting portrait mode. Now this grip, like all others for the D3100 comes with a cable to plug into the GPS socket to use the portrait shutter button. I've heard of many people loosing theirs, so then they can't use it. Well the good thing about Vello is that you can buy another cable from BH Photo for about $5. The grip also, like all the others, has a two stage shutter release button on the bottom for shooting portrait modes. This is set back a little from the edge and at first i thought it was weird but it actually makes it easier to change the controls when shooting in portrait mode.
Ok so they're the positive things, now on to the negatives.
Firstly, this might only be on my grip, but in the battery compartment, my right hand battery comes loose on occasions. This doesn't affect the camera in any way, only when I open the door it slides out a bit. Not a big negative but still there. Another small negative is that the cover over the cable socket on the grip doesn't actually fit in. Not that it has actually bothered me...yet.
Another thing, although this is just me personally, is that I don't like keeping the cable connected to the camera if I'm not using it. It leaves the cover to the ports open on the camera, which could be very dangerous. But that is Nikon's fault for not making their own grip for this camera.
So yeah, not many negatives and stacks of positives about this grip. If you shoot with a D3100 and are looking for a grip, then I highly suggest this grip. It is well worth the price tag, as it feels like it will almost outlive any other grip in terms of build quality. A very worthwhile buy!
Buy the Grip: Vello BG-N5 Battery Grip for Nikon D3100 BG-N5 B&H Photo Video
Buy a spare cable: Vello Shutter Release Cable for BG-N9, BG-N6 and BG-N5 BG-N6RC
I thought I'd just do a review of the Vello battery grip for the D3100, as there doesn't seem to be any reviews for it. As far as I know, this grip is only available at BH Photo Video and many of you might cringe at it's $60 price tag. But let me just tell you right now, it is worth it.
Firstly, the design. The design of the BG-N5 is very sturdy, although not as sturdy as the camera of course. It feels very solid, and once two batteries are added it weighs about 500g (rough estimate). As with many of the other 3rd party grips, the texture matches the cameras texture. The wheel to lock the tripod screw in place is only on the front side, but I have found that to be better then on both sides. Now, reading the reviews of the Meike grip, many people say that the tightening wheel rattles, even when tightened and the battery compartment rattles too. This doesn't happen with the BG-N5. Neither one rattles, which made me very pleased.
You open the battery compartment on the BG-N5 differently to other grips. For many other grips, you turn a screw, well for the Vello grip, you just pull down a switch and it opens, So much easier! The grip on the bottom also has a little ridge for comfort when shooting portrait mode. Now this grip, like all others for the D3100 comes with a cable to plug into the GPS socket to use the portrait shutter button. I've heard of many people loosing theirs, so then they can't use it. Well the good thing about Vello is that you can buy another cable from BH Photo for about $5. The grip also, like all the others, has a two stage shutter release button on the bottom for shooting portrait modes. This is set back a little from the edge and at first i thought it was weird but it actually makes it easier to change the controls when shooting in portrait mode.
Ok so they're the positive things, now on to the negatives.
Firstly, this might only be on my grip, but in the battery compartment, my right hand battery comes loose on occasions. This doesn't affect the camera in any way, only when I open the door it slides out a bit. Not a big negative but still there. Another small negative is that the cover over the cable socket on the grip doesn't actually fit in. Not that it has actually bothered me...yet.
Another thing, although this is just me personally, is that I don't like keeping the cable connected to the camera if I'm not using it. It leaves the cover to the ports open on the camera, which could be very dangerous. But that is Nikon's fault for not making their own grip for this camera.
So yeah, not many negatives and stacks of positives about this grip. If you shoot with a D3100 and are looking for a grip, then I highly suggest this grip. It is well worth the price tag, as it feels like it will almost outlive any other grip in terms of build quality. A very worthwhile buy!
Buy the Grip: Vello BG-N5 Battery Grip for Nikon D3100 BG-N5 B&H Photo Video
Buy a spare cable: Vello Shutter Release Cable for BG-N9, BG-N6 and BG-N5 BG-N6RC