Third Party Battery Grip Any suggestions?

Saberjohn

New member
In about 5 months, I am going out on a shoot, where I know electricity, is not readily available. Granted I do have a few extra EN-EL14 batteries kicking around, but I do not have a place to recharge. So I was looking into purchasing a battery grip, but I keep seeing mixed reviews on Amazon and other sites. Anyone have any suggestions as to what one I should look into?
 

fotojack

Senior Member
In about 5 months, I am going out on a shoot, where I know electricity, is not readily available. Granted I do have a few extra EN-EL14 batteries kicking around, but I do not have a place to recharge. So I was looking into purchasing a battery grip, but I keep seeing mixed reviews on Amazon and other sites. Anyone have any suggestions as to what one I should look into?

Yup. Hang on just a second and I'll send you the link.

Go there and scroll through till you find your model camera. Excellent company to deal with. I've dealt with them for years, and always have excellent service from them. their prices are awesome, too! :)

http://www.linkdelight.com/Battery-Grips.html
 
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skene

Senior Member
Just a word on aftermarket batteries. You will most likely have issues using them in the grip with your Nikon as the software is made to only work within a voltage value of the stock Nikon batteries and does not easily recognize A/M batteries.
So if you are purchasing a grip, just make sure that it does not come with any batteries to save yourself the headache.

You can get your Nikon to work with A/M batteries if you are willing to hack the software, but like all things when using hacked programs there may be reliability issues if you do it incorrectly.
 

Bill16

Senior Member
Battery grips can be handy in my opinion, if you like the feel of it as you use it. I use them onall my Nikon's and it's one of the first things I buy after getting a new Nikon. But if you like the way your camera feels without a battery grip and prefer your Nikon to be as lite as possible, then all you need to get is just plenty of batteries. You can carry them in you bag or pocket and swap out as needed, without the extra weight and size.

That being said, I love mine and to me it balances the feel of the Nikon and makes it feel more secure in my hands! I don't use the alternate shutter button on my D3100 and D5100 because I hate having to use the jump wire that comes with the grip.

I have some after market batteries, and the Nikon's can get fussy and I have to use a Nikon brand battery with an after market battery to get the Nikon to use the after market battery sometimes. So I highly suggest getting Nikon brand batteries to save yourself some hassles!

Anyway welcome to nikonites! I hope you'll have a blast with us, and I hope you'll let us know how things turn out! :D
 

Saberjohn

New member
In response to the help in charging and all. I know it will not help recharge ect, but hopefully it will prolong my shot time so that I can only use those two batteries, instead of the four; hopefully by using the two it will prolong the life on both batteries. Or at least that is my logic there. I can, and probably am wrong, but still that is my thought.

And yes I do have more than one battery, but at that same time, I am will be doing some vertical shots, and I think it would help out there a bit as well.

As weird as it sounds, I did find a few aftermarket en-en14 batteries that work just fine, no hacking needed.

However I am debating it myself still. I mean I would like the larger feel size in my hand, and the double battery capacity, however I am worried about the potential for damage to my system. Though I will admit I do have other questions about what my future shoot will be.

Granted I am shooting a festival next year, to resell the photos the year after.
 
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Bill16

Senior Member
I think a battery grip does help stretch out the time a little bit, in comparison to just using 2 batteries. But this is just my opinion since I never tested my guess out.
The portrait shutter button will work fine and if you do a lot of portraits it's very handy.
But I would recommend covering up the unused ports while using the jump wire, so you make sure to keep out any dirt, dust, or moisture.

That being said, I hope you'll love the grip if you decide to get one! :D

In response to the help in charging and all. I know it will not help recharge ect, but hopefully it will prolong my shot time so that I can only use those two batteries, instead of the four; hopefully by using the two it will prolong the life on both batteries. Or at least that is my logic there. I can, and probably am wrong, but still that is my thought.

And yes I do have more than one battery, but at that same time, I am will be doing some vertical shots, and I think it would help out there a bit as well.

As weird as it sounds, I did find a few aftermarket en-en14 batteries that work just fine, no hacking needed.
 

480sparky

Senior Member
There's plenty of ways to charge the batteries without line-voltage available.

I've used a small 12VDC-120VAC inverter. Just plugs into the ciggy lighter, and I plug the charger into that. $25 or so.
 

carguy

Senior Member
I've never used a grip myself. Unless there is some technology in them that uses the batteries more efficiently, I don't see how they can help prolong battery life. If there is technology to do that, someone speak up.

The juice in the battery is the same :)
I can see a grip helping in the feel and reducing the need to switch batteries out. But I don't see the camera using the power differently.
 
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Jonathan

Senior Member
I've never used a grip myself. Unless there is some technology in them that uses the batteries more efficiently, I don't see how they can help prolong battery life. If there is technology to do that, someone speak up.

The juice in the battery is the same :)
I can see a grip helping in the feel and reducing the need to switch batteries out. But I don't see the camera using the power differently.

You can get two (or more, I guess, depending on the grip) batteries in play at the same time. It's like carrying a spare without having to change out the dud. plus the added stability. Plus that they come with handy control buttons that give you access to things when the camera is side on, like the shutter button on top (via the grip's button).
 

carguy

Senior Member
You can get two (or more, I guess, depending on the grip) batteries in play at the same time. It's like carrying a spare without having to change out the dud. plus the added stability. Plus that they come with handy control buttons that give you access to things when the camera is side on, like the shutter button on top (via the grip's button).


Echo Echo Echo :)
 
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