agent-Jon wrote:
for those that are buying this 3rd party grip (or any other), please report back afterwards.
+1 I have heard of horror stories of both canon and nikon trying to remove stuck non oem batteries and grips and voiding the warranty and charging for a non-warranty repair
I don't wanna spend allot for a grip also, but this is one area I wouldn't try to save 300% over a original nikon
Why would you spend $400 on the Nikon grip instead of $100 for the same grip by a third party and then just use Nikon batteries in the $100 grip?
The internet only attracts the reports of a failure or a breakdown of something, all the thousands upon thousands of people who have no problem with a third party grip do not take time to just write that "hey my grip is fine, just informing the world of strangers on the internet here real quick"....so just because a few reports exist of a fried this or a fried that does not debase the quality of these third party price-fairly products. Vast overwhelming majority are fine and cause no problems.
Besides...if you have nice gear...it's really foolish to spend chunks of money on gear and not spend a little on a good insurance policy. It's as vital as the right lens in many cases, as if your gear goes missing or broken, you're not "getting the shot" until you get your gear replaced. Insurance does the same thing a lens does in that concept. Insurance would pay for your gear if you happened to be one of the minuscule fractions of people who fried something accidentally.
Personally I do third party grips every time for many years, multiple grips, family members and friends too, and have never had an issue.
Lastly, you can always use the third party grip without putting a battery in it. The D800 shoots with the in-camera battery remaining in camera. Perfectly fine way to shoot for the majority of people that frequent this forum I think, except for wedding photographers, although even then it's totally doable.
Just hate to see you guys deceive yourself into thinking you have to spend $400 as if you're really getting something extra for the $300 more that's being blown over a third party grip.
Use some of that $300 savings if you're really that concerned, to buy insurance that covers ALL your gear, and you'd still have money left over I'd imagine.
Love these companies that don't increasingly gouge out of greed.
Matt OHarver wrote:
I'm always surprised(shouldn't be) that people are willing to risk a $3000 camera body to an aftermarket cheap device that supplies power to their camera. Might as well toss some DX consumer glass on it as well from a third party....
from personal expeireince have successfully used 3rd party grip on d700 and 2 d300 with big/small batteries = ZERO problems.
Sean Hoffman wrote:
I bought the MB-D10 for $250 and I'd pay about the same for the MB-D12. I will not be paying $400+ for essentially the same product. Nikon is going to lose a lot of $$$ on this ridiculous markup strategy because they went just a little too far this time.
I have bought the nikon grip. My thinking is that the third party grips are worth little used while the nikon grip will depreciate little so it may well be cheaper in the long term and I get to use a better quality grip in the meantime. These days outright price means little because in 3-4 years I will have a new camera anyway, its essentially renting.
Mark_L wrote:
I have bought the nikon grip. My thinking is that the third party grips are worth little used while the nikon grip will depreciate little so it may well be cheaper in the long term and I get to use a better quality grip in the meantime. These days outright price means little because in 3-4 years I will have a new camera anyway, its essentially renting.
Yes third party may worth little in the long run because they cost little to begin with. In fact I am not even sure that they depreciate. To me buying Nikon grip is a total waste of money.
Mark_L wrote:
I have bought the nikon grip. My thinking is that the third party grips are worth little used while the nikon grip will depreciate little so it may well be cheaper in the long term and I get to use a better quality grip in the meantime. These days outright price means little because in 3-4 years I will have a new camera anyway, its essentially renting.
hmm don't have the mb d12. but do recall the mb d10 is running about $250 new at BH. there are several used on the buy/sell forum running for about $120. Damn, that's $130 lost in value
a new zeikos I bought for the d700/d300 was $80...hmmm...
I bought the zeikos as well for my D300 and have been using and abusing it for a couple of years. The build quality was excellent as was the fit. It also came with accessories such as the AA battery adapter, the regular battery tray and the battery cover for the en-el4. I've used them all without a problem.
I do agree that batteries are a crap shoot. I pretty much stay name brand, meaning non-ebay. I will say that your peace of mind is worth more than anything. If the risk is going to bother you, then by all means, get the name brand, it's worth every cent.
My parting comment is that now is the time to try a third party if you bought your camera with a credit card offering a "no fault" warranty. Some only last 90 days to qualify for a replacement, but if your going to smoke a piece of electronics, that's plenty of time to test it
"I will say that your peace of mind is worth more than anything. If the risk is going to bother you, then by all means, get the name brand, it's worth every cent. "
Another way to have peace of mind is to change your mind on how you're perceiving. Then you have peace of mind and you save the $300. A Nikon grip at almost double the price of any previous grip is abuse of it's customer base.
Stand up to this nonsense....the bully only stops bullying when you show him you won't accept it.
The depreciation argument makes no sense I'm afraid..and I say that with no intent to insult whatsoever...but a $400 grip is worth at best $300 typically once it's used...and that's when there are no third party grips to compete....now that grips are coming out at the $100 mark, why would someone want a $300 grip used with no warranty, no peace of mind on what's been done to it (did it take a fall in a river? did it drop? does it have an intermittent problem that might show up later and that's why they're selling it?), orrrr...someone can buy a brand new and equal product for $100, and still have $200 for a lens...the next camera...the next iPad mini...whatever...
Don't follow the herd....the herd only follows others who are followers......think for yourself and lead your money according to good critical thinking.....once spent it's not coming back to you.
Matt OHarver wrote:
I'm always surprised(shouldn't be) that people are willing to risk a $3000 camera body to an aftermarket cheap device that supplies power to their camera. Might as well toss some DX consumer glass on it as well from a third party....
You must be the type of guy that sends his car to the dealership to pay 10x the amount for what they tell you are "genuine" parts and what is supposed to be more reliable and honest service when in reality, you can get the exact same part and the same type of service elsewhere.
Must be nice having a hole burning in your pocket. Yeah, if you're a wealthy amateur/hobbyist, spending a cool $400 is no biggie, but personally, I wouldn't even call the 3rd party one cheap. It's still $100. It is after all, like you mentioned, a grip that holds extra batteries and has a few buttons... nothing more, nothing less.
I own a D3s, D800e, and a whole lot of top shelf Nikon and Zeiss glass. I'm not mentioning to toot my own horn, but because I'm letting you know I'm more than willing to spend money on quality components if they're worth the money. At $400, this battery grip is highway robbery.
Most 3rd party grips are not weather sealed AFAIK. I assume the Nikon one is?
I bought a $53 grip for one of my K-5's and whilst it did the job:
1: The textured surface material and decal paint became smooth and rubbed off.
2: One of the connector pins retracted into its body and I lost ISO control from the grip.
3: The DOF preview lever surrounding the shutter button felt really flimsy too and this was probably the best 'knock-off' grip available.
4: The locking latch for the battery compartment snapped off - too weak.
Re' the textured surface material: Chinese manufacturers have been known to use lead paint in children's toys and toxic materials in clothing so maybe it's not worth the risk buying a 'rip-off' even though they may actually be made in the same factory.
I'd be more inclined to buy a 'genuine' grip in this case seeing as my D800E cost 4k (Australia).
i had the nikon grip . it was pretty shabby the buttons, controllers felt cheap being this is my 3rd or 4th grip i should know. I sent it back. will try them or zeikkos later. A point to consider, if you keep your camera 8 to 10 years buy a nikon grip and have service available
jamach wrote:
+1
also sounds like if you don't buy the Nikon brand then you are not a true Nikon, and your pictures will not be as good. Thus to be a real pro, then you must use Nikon.
I confess I have also been looking at those 3d party grips, what Nikon charges is robbery and because of a false emotion some users have. Not sure if they are elitist or just plain Nikoned.
Joe
Far from it, but I do use my cameras in the rain, and will not risk third party grip shorting out because I tried to save a couple hundred dollars.
Sean Hoffman wrote:
I bought the MB-D10 for $250 and I'd pay about the same for the MB-D12. I will not be paying $400+ for essentially the same product. Nikon is going to lose a lot of $$$ on this ridiculous markup strategy because they went just a little too far this time.
Has anyone considered the fact that Nikon may have deliberately priced this grip at a premium?
Seriously...why not charge an absolute premium for these grips while a) the have one of the hottest and most popular camera on the market 2) they can take advantage of a period of time prior to the release of aftermarket products.
Combine those two factors together, and Nikon understands they have a brief window of opportunity to maximize profits. Some folks call that highway robbery, other folks claim they are ripping off their product base. To each their own...I call it making a profit.
I would not be surprised that Nikon does lower the price of their grip, and they will tell everyone publicly that "we listened to our customers, and decided the right thing to do is lower the price of the MB-D12". Behind closed door Nikon execs will be laughing, fist pumping, and high fiving one another as the count the smack for each MB-D12 sold during this brief window.
All I'm saying is I would not be surprised if this is a calculated business strategy on Nikon's part. Just my opinion......
Well, I did go with original grip this time.
I had some bad experiences with 3rd party grip on my D7000 in the past. It was working fine (no reverse dial issue etc) and occasionally I had problem with connectors I believe, it would make camera freeze or couldn't use grip shutter release.
Fix was easy..: Remove it and install it again but it happened couple of times in the middle of an important shoot. So I lost those shots and decided pay more and .... be more comfortable.
Zero
M. Magallon wrote:
You must be the type of guy that sends his car to the dealership to pay 10x the amount for what they tell you are "genuine" parts and what is supposed to be more reliable and honest service when in reality, you can get the exact same part and the same type of service elsewhere.
Must be nice having a hole burning in your pocket. Yeah, if you're a wealthy amateur/hobbyist, spending a cool $400 is no biggie, but personally, I wouldn't even call the 3rd party one cheap. It's still $100. It is after all, like you mentioned, a grip that holds extra batteries and has a few buttons... nothing more, nothing less.
I own a D3s, D800e, and a whole lot of top shelf Nikon and Zeiss glass. I'm not mentioning to toot my own horn, but because I'm letting you know I'm more than willing to spend money on quality components if they're worth the money. At $400, this battery grip is highway robbery....Show more →
Yeah, I agree, It is pricey this time.
It looks like you are a pro-photographer so you make money by using your gear. Isn't having a reliable gear more important than its price since you paid hefty amount of money on your gear anyways. ($300 extra is not even a dent what you paid to your gear).
Because I usually read a lot of reliability issues with 3rd party grips... not even mentioning initial problematic ones. Which is a waste of time for a pro photographer and time is money...
Zero
