Help! Advice on a battery grip

[acorean]

I want to get a battery grip for my Canon XTi. Should I buy the BG-E3 grip (~$140), or go third party and buy the Opteka Grip for about $70-80, or some other kind I don't know about.:???:

I'm relatively new to dSLR's and so far have only bought original Canon equipment and bought everything new. Since I have a long "wish list" and do not yet make any money on my photos (hobby for now) I want to be realistic.... (i.e. the more I spend on any given item, the less money I have for other items....). I am all about VALUE and am always looking for that balance of cost and quality.

[nickybegood1998]

I don't have any experience with a third party battery grip but I can tell you that I'm certainly happy with my Canon battery grip. I haven't had any contact issues or error99 issues or anything with it. I'm sure lots of people have an Opteka and hopefully they will comment for you.

Karman

[crn3371]

For the price, I've been happy with my Opteka grip. There is a slight differance in the feel of the shutter button, but not enough to fret over. Do a search. There's been a ton of threads on this subject, with even a couple of head to head comparisons.

[Richard_Miami]

I had the Opteka on my XT for almost a year. Used the heck out of it and it still was shiny new when I sold it. Worked perfecty all the time. I see no need for the word Canon on a battery grip - which is the only difference I know of other than price.

[Strayz]

I have to say I like my no named brand Grip, works like a champ 2 weeks now. So 70$ well spent to me. :)

[Nanboh]

Opteka was my choice and it's worked just fine and adds the proper heft/weight to the XT. I generally buy Canon stuff, but this was a good choice for the grip.

[b1gdaddy]

Don't buy the Targus grip!!

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=312578

[ed.]

I bought my XTi/400D grip from Link-Delight on ebay with 2 batteries for I think under $150AUD.

Hasn't failed on me yet.

[spyraling]

I was in your position a few weeks ago - trying to decide between the Canon and the Opteka grip. I did a search on here and several other boards, and a good majority of the Opteka users were quite happy with their grip. I came across only a handful of folks whom had issues with the Opteka grip among all the reviews I read. If I didn't come across a used Canon grip for sale on this board then I would have bought the Opteka grip.

By the way, I LOVE my BG-E3 grip. I've never tried out the Opteka grip so I can't make any comparisons, but the BG-E3 grip has not left my camera since it arrived at my doorstep. I'm sure you'll be happy with whichever one you get.

[ed.]

I bought my XTi/400D grip from Link-Delight on ebay with 2 batteries for I think under $150AUD.

Hasn't failed on me yet.
Well looks like I spoke too soon. Tonight I was out shooting my friend's car and the camera lost all power. After a moment of investigation the battery grip was falling apart like the Targus one.

Gonna get the Canon one tomorrow, last thing I need is for my battery grip to fail on a trip :(

[Marydoright]

LOVE my canon grip! i get too nervous buying 3rd party

[kuanyu]

Hello,
I LOVE my Opteka Grip! Not the slightest problem in 6 months.

[ed.]

Had a closer look at my broken grip and the plastic which the screws bite in to are broken.

Ended up epoxying the plates together so see how it holds up before the canon grip arrives ;)

[fundabug]

Had a couple of problems with my Opteka grip...First: several of the small screws holding the thing together were loose and the top of the grip with the metal contacts became loose and didn't quite make all the contacts when in the camera. No problem, just a little twist here and there....good as new. B: Every time I turned the GRIP on it would cause the main wheel on my camera to go nuts when I adjusted the shutter speed. It worked fine when the grip was off and it worked fine when the grip was on and I used the wheel on the grip. As it turned out, every time I put my camera in or out of my bag, the bag would brush the grip wheel and leave it sitting between clicks. This little bitty thing would cause major camera gremlins if the grip was turned on, but now that I know, as soon as I get the camera out I give the grip wheel a spin. Haven't had a problem since. Good luck.

[irish1]

Of all the camera stuff I've bought, I feel the Opteka grip was the best use of my money. 'Nuff said.

[aceglobber]

I second Opteka Grip though I had to return mine for defective grip but the replacement works great

[Strayz]

I LOVE my Opteka Grip, no problems and it stays on the camera now. no on and off action here it is just too grippy to take off :)

[Jaime]

Opteka all the way, I have owned 3, 3 for my two XTs and one for my 20D. FLawless

[HotFuzz]

Whats the difference between the Opteka and the Canon. Is it price alone ??

[EOS MAN1]

Save yourself the grief of possible major malfunctions or major failure and get the Canon Grip. I have to buy a canon one because the grip I have fell apart