"Fake" BG-E7
Foxy xo
Registered Users Posts: 52 Big grins
Hi there,
I did a little internet searching and came across this:
http://www.mwave.com/mwave/SKUSearch.asp?scriteria=BB00233&pagetitle=HL%20Components%20Battery%20Grip%20BG-E7%20for%20Canon%20EOS%207D
Is this just a generic grip labelled as the BG-E7? Seems kinda cheap to be the real thing.
If it is fake, which I think it is, what are the differences to the real thing? I would love to save $100
Thanks.
I did a little internet searching and came across this:
http://www.mwave.com/mwave/SKUSearch.asp?scriteria=BB00233&pagetitle=HL%20Components%20Battery%20Grip%20BG-E7%20for%20Canon%20EOS%207D
Is this just a generic grip labelled as the BG-E7? Seems kinda cheap to be the real thing.
If it is fake, which I think it is, what are the differences to the real thing? I would love to save $100
Thanks.
0
Comments
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Although, I would gladly use product A over product B if it correctly functioned and had the same build quality with no downsides for $100 less the price.
Yes sure; call me if they start giving away free money with those grips. I have never ever in my life seen a situation like you describe with no downsides. Sometimes the downsides are not so obvious, but they are there nonetheless, to bite you later on.
ciao!
Nick.
Nick.
my equipment: Canon 5D2, 7D, full list here
my Smugmug site: here
I have a "Fake" grip for my Nikon D80, cost £100 less then a "Nikon" one and performs just as well.
How do we know where Canon, Nkon et al outsource their "Own" grips from ?
I'd say buy it and put the money you save towards a new piece of glass !!
Carpy
I never said that was a reality, I was simply stating that's what I would rather do!
Would you say the build quality was similar? Or was the 'fake' one built more from plastic?
Thanks!
Yes I would say there's not a great deal of difference. I've been using it for 2 years now and it hasn't missed a beat.
The quantity of plastic is the same. If you drop a "genuine" one on the floor it'll break just the same. The bits that need to be metal.....are metal. It fits like a glove, there's no gaps anywhere. The only major difference is that my bank balance looks healthier than it would have if I had bought the real thing
It must be nice to have money to burn but sadly as a grandfather of 5, my spare cash goes on presents and days out for the kids.
Carpy
Since the second issue has been experienced by others, it made me wonder whether generics suffer the same problem.
Re same factory making differently branded goods.
I once had a temp job in a factory making crisps.
Only difference between crisps that ended up in packets for Marks'n Sparks and the factory's own brand was that 'overspill' crisps weren't allowed to be used.
(Overspills having fallen off main conveyor onto a 'catcher' system, then re-introduced)
pp
Flickr
No problems, ever — quality, fit and look are on a par with Canon and at a much reduced price. They work flawlessly and function exactly the same as Canon's.
The same is true, for example, of my Yongnuo flash battery packs.
IMHO, these brands may be inexpensive, but they are definitely not "cheap" — and in the price-inflated times we are now living in, a quality, lasting product fitting your needs and that saves money is definitely worth considering.
Nam et ipsa scientia potestas est.
If you have the Zeikos brand, how can you tell that they are on a par with Canon? It seems that one must have used both for a sufficiently period before coming to a conclusion like that.
Also: are you sure that weatherproofing is the same? Battery management fully operational? the warranty of the 5D2 still valid with the Zeikos grip? I just can't believe all is equal except $100 or more difference in price.
To save money, I have a good method too: I have no battery grip at all: saves me $40-$180 more than people who buy a grip, which can go to extra glass. It also keeps my weatherproofing, warranty etc. intact and I don't have to decide which clone to buy. I mean, there's clones for $40 or for $90 or more and y'all make it sound that they are all the same as original Canon, from the same factory even! Should all buy the $40 clone if that were true
ciao!
Nick.
Nick.
my equipment: Canon 5D2, 7D, full list here
my Smugmug site: here
They're not all bad.
Nobody said that they are all the same as original Canon, and also nobody said they are from the same factory as the original Canon. What those of us who have been in manufacturing for many years said was that many manufacturing plants produce O.E.M. items and also generic items of the same quality, same production specification, which are branded differently with a corresponding lower price
Carpy
It clearly says "HL Components Battery Grip BG-E7" not "Canon BG-E7". There are many 3rd party grips around named similary
and some are of very good quality. I own a Phottix grip for a 5DII, not only was it 1/3rd the price of a Canon grip but it also came
with a AA battery holder and has much better rubber coating that prevents slipping from sweaty hands. The Canon grips are overpriced,
considering the half life time of todays camera bodies ... but ymmv.
― Edward Weston
It has the AA battery tray just like the original Canon grip that it imitates... what is so special about that? Also, the magnesium alloy frame and rubber coating of the Canon grip match that of the 5D2.
Really, I do believe the clones are better when you want to include price in the comparison, but they are still clones and most miss some feature(s) of the original (weather sealing, warranty etc.) and do not have features that outperform the original. I think there's a Polaroid grip that has extra functionality so not all are straight clones.
ciao!
Nick.
Nick.
my equipment: Canon 5D2, 7D, full list here
my Smugmug site: here
Yes and I realize that you are talking in general and not about the battery grips for Canon camera's because you don't mention those exact words. But all that you guys write in this thread insinuates that it is about the grips which is the subject of this thread after all!
I could write that the manufacturing quality of a BMW is way better than that of a LADA and that would be just as relevant to the battery grip as a quote about potato chips of same quality but different brands and prices, right?
ciao!
Nick.
Nick.
my equipment: Canon 5D2, 7D, full list here
my Smugmug site: here
Phottix has the exact same warranty as Canon ones ... namely 1 year. In
the case of the 5DII there were reports that moisture between the camera
and grip could lead to camerafailure (see. LL antartika report). Besides,
non-griped Canon cameras are not fully weather sealed to begin with. In
my case the cheaper grip made sense. I don't see myself spending that
much money on a piece of plastic with a few buttons and a Canon logo on
it as I have in the past.
― Edward Weston
I'd have thought there was some scope there for a generic manufacturer to offer more ... for even the same price ... let alone less?
(Not that any will bother now, of course, with a dinosaur like a 40D
pp
Flickr
I Agree. I find it disappointing to read that 5D2 weatherproofing in general is worse than that of the 7D. For the grip, the switches are weatherproofed though, so Canon put more effort into it.
For warranty, I meant warranty on the body... does one keep it when using a non-Canon grip? Can Canon find out? Often, it turns out they can in these situations.
For 99% of Canon users (or more), a much cheaper grip from another brand makes a lot of sense.
ciao!
Nick.
Nick.
my equipment: Canon 5D2, 7D, full list here
my Smugmug site: here
I paid a fortune for a set of Genuine Pipes for my Harley after being brainwashed that they were the only ones that wouldn't cause problems. ^ months later I see an IDENTICAL set that obviously came off the same production line of the same Chinese factory for 1/3rd the cost. I wrote to Harley and they gave me a lot of company clap trap but didn't deny they were sourced as i alleged from china.
When i got my 20D i had a lot of trouble with the grip. Never worked properly. I eventually found there was a recall on them and had to take it back for them to mod it so it worked as it should have.
So much for OEM quality there.
I also bought some non genuine batteries for about 10% of the cost of the OEM's. Suffice to say the Genuine ones i bought Died some years ago and I'm still using the cheapies right to this day.
About the same time I bought some Chinese Monoblock flash heads a friend recommended to me. They were about 20% the cost of any of the known brands and i have flogged those things for years and had one burn a flash tube that I replaced for $12. the last time I had one in my Elinchrom done it cost hundreds!
I also can't fault the light quality and the colour temp of the things is spot on and has stayed that way.
I am about to fit out a second studio and i'll be buying the Chinese lights again with some extras that I can have as spares that i couldn't possibly afford with the major brands.
A mate owns a mower repair shop and I was asking him about the Chinese copy engines. He said in some ways they had improved the originals and in any case, as the knockoffs were about 1/4 the price, there was no way the Known brands were going to outlast 4 of the copys so he thought the knockoffs were a bargain and said he had sen no more problem with them than the originals in practical use.
I was only looking on ebay today for 7D grips for teh second body i]m buying and i saw some that have extra features the canon ones don't.
The place selling them has a shopfront store in the city and has been there some years now and the things have 12 months warranty.
I'll be giving one of those a go as the features it has could be very useful and if the things aren't any good i'll take it back and get a refund or at worst, flog it on ebay.
Sure there is cheap rubbish out there but some of that rubbish is branded with the OEM Makers label as well as the no name.
If your a bit careful with what you get, the risk is minimal and the savings are substantial.
I purchased a Phottix battery grip for $129.99 from Simon's cameras, in Hollywood, CA.
Although it seemed a little over priced, I checked online, and the cheapest I could find was only $30 less, but it would come from Asia.
I compared the two grips in the store, and I will not lie, the ONLY difference I could see, from feeling and looking at the two, was that the Canon one, had a Canon logo/badge on it, wheras the Phottix did not. I'm not paying $70 for a badge.
Regardless of whether the actual build quality is the same (magnesium battery holder, I've read from some people), it still does not warrant paying extra.
I got an extra Canon battery, and I feel like I did pay a little too much at $69.99, but I'd rather not wait by ordering online to save $10-20 when I would have to pay shipping and wait anyway.
Thanks for everyone's input.
As well, there were some words given to me from a very well respected photographer that I shot with some time ago. Use professional quality materials to get professional quality results. This includes batteries, lens's, etc... (There are exceptions) as I had stated... that probably won't mess up your camera but won't last as long. Tripods, remote cables (again research), flashes.. <~though I have seen first hand some burn out a shoe... be careful.<img src="https://us.v-cdn.net/6029383/emoji/thumb.gif" border="0" alt="" >
At first I thought you were looking for job in marketing
Then I thought you are trying to scare people into buying brand items.
But It's probably just that you are scared yourself to buy aftermarket
items after reading too many horror stories on forums? Truth is that
ppl. tend to shout out their problems about non working products alot
more than about working ones.
To put things into perspective, I own two aftermarket BGs and have owned
2 original ones before. No difference and no problems since years. I have
owned 10 aftermarket Batteries for 3 different types of SLRs and never
had a problem with capacity or longlivety. I have owned 6 "aftermarket"
lenses and never had a problem. I own or have owned a bag full of
aftermarket radiotriggers, cables, shutter releases, tripod accessories and
never had a problem. I even own two aftermarket flashguns and various
unbranded CF cards and never had a problem.
I have however had Err99 with an original Canon lens. And I have had
a malfunctioning AF on an original Canon camera. Both items were
replaced by Canon.
I agree that one should do it's reasearch before buying, but that goes for
everything regardless of brand item or aftermarket item (anyone remember
the design flaw of the original Canon 580EX II?).
I do not agree however that buying brand items guarantees better
"professional quality" results, longlivety or what else marketing dept.
promised us.
There is one thing however that only a brand item can give you:
A cosy feeling of having bought the best.
If you are ready to pay extra for this feeling can only be determined by yourself.
― Edward Weston
On the contrary.. in my 20D and 40D days I was on the tightest budget you could imagine. I could not afford 80.00 for batteries and went through several different brands of aftermarket batteries. One set burning up a body. "Canon actually replaced it" under warranty.
Not to be undone... I purchase 2 lens's that weren't Canon 1 of them created err99 errors on a routine basis. As I started purchasing my L Glass (skipped the regular Canon lenses) I removed my err 99 issues.
I had a sunpak I think was the name from Wolf camera's burn up my hotshoe, as well as I had a friend of mine that is budget guy go through a couple of bodies through the above as well.
There are certain things you can get away with, there are others you can do budget. IF I could do budget all through (except my glass) I would - but being that I shoot sports/football etc... I DO NOT substitute. People are using more Canon items then aftermarket so yes, you're going to see the chance of a failure etc being higher in said Canon items. No company is omni-potent and I would believe you're not either.
This all being said, I would believe that my shutter count is much higher than yours is as well. Wear and tear is much higher.. there are lots of things to take into account. "Failure may not be imminent" in the guy taking 100 shots a month vs. the guy shooting 5000 shots in a day... so there are lots of variables. No marketing, just the facts.
To me it seems common sense paying the extra $100 for the canon grip, extra for canon batteries, versus risking needing to spend a thousand on a new camera
I generally see legions of memory cards fry first with fried battery complaints thrown in between ... lol
And yet, this thread is filled with posts claiming that the clone batteries are just as good if not exactly the same as the original Canon batteries.
Nick.
my equipment: Canon 5D2, 7D, full list here
my Smugmug site: here
And I have 2 that work perfectly if not better than the Canon batteries I use. I was just making a point that generic grips are not going to be the catalyst of your exploding battery. If anything the grip will save your camera because the battery will explode on the outside of the camera
And the cheap grips are notorious for shorting out because of quality control issues, or inferior parts.... but my whole point was that if the generic destroys your camera, no warranty will cover your camera, but if you use the genuine Canon, the warranty will cover the camera if the battery grip or battery burns up your camera. You might be able to find a way superior non canon battery or grip, but is it really worth saving $50, if your risking loosing a thousand plus.