20D grip...disappointed

urbanaries

I just got the BGE2 and am not totally thrilled w/ it. Its a $170 piece of plastic, basically. I don't like how I can't (or can I?) utilize the auto-off function. I picked it up the day after I charged the batteries and it was dead. I also wish it would stand up....the camera tips even w/ a small lens on it (50mm).

I also think its fairly cumbersome, when I switch to vertical the strap always gets in my viewfinder, maybe I'm just picky/dumb but this just seems like a waste to me.

I've used others' cameras with full bodies built in (D2X, 1Ds) and those felt waaay better. I guess I thought the BGe2 would make my 20D feel that way, but I was wrong.

Am I alone in my disappointment?

mercphoto

It's a bolt-on grip, it will never feel as solid as a built-in grip of a 1D. And I have the same issue with the strap when using my Mark II. The 20D grip still lets you use the auto-off but it will drain the batteries. Only thing I can figure is there is some leakage somewhere in the circuitry that connects the two batteries together.

The good news is it does double your battery life, give you a bit more camera to grab hold of, and give you portrait-orientation controls.

urbanaries

mercphoto wrote:

The good news is it does double your battery life

i guess, except carrying an extra battery did the same thing

mercphoto wrote:

The 20D grip still lets you use the auto-off but it will drain the batteries.

um, isn't the whole point of auto off NOT to drain the batteries?

I'm just trying to weigh the benefits before my 14 day return window closes. $170 off the 70-200 I'm about to buy sounds like a better return on $.

Rhuarc

The battery drain comes from leaving on the controls on the grip. The one I got for my XTi reccomended you turn off the grip controls when not using them to prevent battery drain. Honestly, I was actually going to post a thread here about how much I like the XTi grip. After using it for a couple of days I can't imagine going back to just using the bare camera. Ah well, to each his own!

saurora

I'm curious to hear more responses on this. I've never read anything but raves about how great they are. Right now, I just carry a couple of spare batteries (when I remember to take them! ) I have so much more stuff to buy, I think this is going further down my list for the moment. Need stands and umbrellas, etc. first!

urbanaries

Rhuarc wrote:

The battery drain comes from leaving on the controls on the grip. The one I got for my XTi reccomended you turn off the grip controls when not using them to prevent battery drain. Honestly, I was actually going to post a thread here about how much I like the XTi grip. After using it for a couple of days I can't imagine going back to just using the bare camera. Ah well, to each his own!

well, to be sure, the 20D body alone is MUCH heavier, stable and "grippy" than the Rebel

Rhuarc

Well, a little bit more from me... I think it depends on which camera you have. My XTi without the grip is just a little too small to be able to fit my last two fingers onto the camera. With the grip it makes it much more comfortable to hold. The finish on mine matches the camera almost perfectly. It is close enough that unless you are up close inspecting the camera you would never guess that it doesn't belong. I really like how it balances the camera out as well. This might be because the XTi is the smallest dSLR out there, and so it needs the extra heft to help balance it out, but whatever the reason, if you have an XTi I think this is a must have item for it.

urbanaries

Rhuarc wrote:

Well, a little bit more from me... I think it depends on which camera you have. My XTi without the grip is just a little too small to be able to fit my last two fingers onto the camera. ....if you have an XTi I think this is a must have item for it.

my sentiments exactly! when I hold my assistant's Rebel XT, it freaks me out its so light and tiny! She needs to GET A GRIP!

But then again I have freakishly long hands (for a girl).

Rhuarc

The other reason I like the grip is a bit of an ego trip, I like the "professional" look that it gives the camera, kind of seperates it (and me!) from the general tourists taking picture with similar looking and sized camers to the XTi.

urbanaries

Rhuarc wrote:

The other reason I like the grip is a bit of an ego trip, I like the "professional" look that it gives the camera, kind of seperates it (and me!) from the general tourists taking picture with similar looking and sized camers to the XTi.

hmmm....with the XTi + grip you would have been near a 20/30D price point...... and an inherently a superior machine (well, not really, I'm just bustin your chops.)

Rhuarc

urbanaries wrote:

hmmm....with the XTi + grip you would have been near a 20/30D price point...... and an inherently a superior machine (well, not really, I'm just bustin your chops.)

I would have eventually wanted to get the grip for the 20/30D as well, so other than that "inherintly better product" I would still be paying more than what I did. Plus, I didn't get the Canon branded grip, I went with the cheaper brand, which is less than half of the Canon. I think mine was $70.

Jeffro

I have a grip on both my Rebel and 20D. I love them both.. I like the feel of the camera's better, and the extra controls are a blessing! I like not having to throw my elbow up in the air when changing camera positions.

I don't always have two batteries in the camera's, as they last quite awhile. I have my camera strap attached to the side of the camera, and don't really have a problem with it. When I'm going to be shooting for long periods I carry my Tamrac holster type bag, and remove the camera strap...quick connect...and put the camera in there when I get a break.

I went with the Canon grip. Wrong or right, I stick with Canon.

dragon300zx

urbanaries wrote:

I just got the BGE2 and am not totally thrilled w/ it. Its a $170 piece of plastic, basically. I don't like how I can't (or can I?) utilize the auto-off function. I picked it up the day after I charged the batteries and it was dead. I also wish it would stand up....the camera tips even w/ a small lens on it (50mm).

I also think its fairly cumbersome, when I switch to vertical the strap always gets in my viewfinder, maybe I'm just picky/dumb but this just seems like a waste to me.

I've used others' cameras with full bodies built in (D2X, 1Ds) and those felt waaay better. I guess I thought the BGe2 would make my 20D feel that way, but I was wrong.

Am I alone in my disappointment?

Hmmm I haven't had any of these battery problems with my grip. I charged two batteries on the 26th of Jan put them in the grip, Shot with the camera on all day long on the 27th (13 hours of the camera being on as I was shooting an event, over 1000 shots), let the camera go to sleep automatically never touched a button on the grip at all, left it in my bag, flew to florida the following saturday, shot with it alllllll week long until the 11th of feb, came home, and still haven't had to charge any of my batteries. I prolly have close to 2000 or even 3000 shots on these two batteries at this point. And I do agree sometimes the grip will get loose and feel crazy but thats an easy fix. And I have noticed the strap thing but that is really all in how you hold the camera if you make sure the strap is over your right arm (I wrap it around my arm a couple times in case I loose grip of the camera) and no problems with that. As far as the camera standing on it's own, well thats just a matter of not having enough weight in the body. Not much that can be done about that without making it heavier and it's fairly heavy with the grip.

claudermilk

I also have not seen the battery issue. I leave the grip to ON all the time (and really kind of wish they didn't bother with that--to me the whole point of the grip was to gain those controls)--I let it go into sleep mode and leave it for weeks, when I come back the batteries are still charged. Sounds to me like a problem with that specific grip.

For the strap I ran into the same thing until someone mentioned a unique mounting. On the controls side, you will notice a strap mount on the bottom of the grip. Move your strap there--it will now stay pretty much out of hte way. A second benefit is the camera will now want to hang with the lens facing down rather than sticking out tourist-mode. If you use the Op/Tech, when slipping the on-camera pieces, you now have a hand strap, too.

Like others have said, a bolt-on piece cannot feel or function like a built-in piece. This is the best we get with the 20D/30D--the way to improve that is upgrade to a 1D-series body.

rosselliot

I know I'll regret asking this - but a tripod and monopod is OUT OF THE QUESTION when using one of these right?

- RE

edit: scratch that - I just found the answer in a review, conveniently enough.

Rhuarc

rosselliot wrote:

I know I'll regret asking this - but a tripod and monopod is OUT OF THE QUESTION when using one of these right?

- RE

edit: scratch that - I just found the answer in a review, conveniently enough.

Lol, I was in the process of responding!! Yes, you can use it with either...

bham

Ever since I got a grip for my Maxxum 7 years ago, every body I get I get the grip. 10D, 20D. I like the controls and shutter release way to much. I can't go back to just a body, it feels naked to me.

mr peas

If you find yourself shooting more portraits of people more than anything else, then the grip helps with framing for vertical shots. Take a look at your piles of fotos and see if you take a lot of vertical shots; if you do, then the grip should help you from putting up that right elbow everytime you need to reach for a vertical frame. But if you dont do that often then a grip can only give you the advantage of making your camera larger and giving you twice the battery life before changing batts.

On my Rebel XT, the battery grip is perfect. It makes the camera large enough so that its not cumbersome to hold yet still very light to be able to carry it around my neck or by hand without strain.

You gotta' ask yourself, will you use it enough to make the money you paid to invest in pay itself off by making things easier for you, or will it make it more of a pain to do the normal things you can already do without it. If you have any doubts at all and can live without it AND you have the chance to return it for the price you paid, then return in. You can always buy it again later on.

On the battery issue, my canon bg-e3 grip has turned off after a minute or two by itself, as if it wasnt using the grip. It should be the same for yours. The switch on the grip on mine doesnt tell the camera to turn on or off, but acts like an on/off switch for the buttons located on the grip. When the grip is switched to off, when I press the shutter or any other button on the grip, it doesnt do anything, but with it on, it performs like any other button on the body. I dont think it does anything with controlling the power directly as the power switch does on the body itself. I think you may have just accidentally pressed the button while the camera is down on the grip.

Overall, if you think you'll be sticking with your camera for a while or might upgrade to a 30D, you should keep it. Its a good upgrade especially if you go shooting a lot, the extra battery compartment saves you time in changing batts in the field. Sometimes those few seconds you spend changing batts is enough time to pass up on a great photograph. But if you feel that you dont really need it and its not helping, best take advantage of that return policy.

claudermilk

rosselliot wrote:

I know I'll regret asking this - but a tripod and monopod is OUT OF THE QUESTION when using one of these right?

- RE

edit: scratch that - I just found the answer in a review, conveniently enough.

Answering more for someone finding this thread later...

No. I have no trouble using either with my grip (and I'm still using sub-optimal Cullman heads instead of a proper Arca-Swiss setup). When mounting on the body, the lenses are small & no trouble; larger lenses will mount on their own foot and the body/grip will hang off the lens.

ziggy53

claudermilk wrote:

Answering more for someone finding this thread later...

No. I have no trouble using either with my grip (and I'm still using sub-optimal Cullman heads instead of a proper Arca-Swiss setup). When mounting on the body, the lenses are small & no trouble; larger lenses will mount on their own foot and the body/grip will hang off the lens.

To explain further, the vertical/battery grip allows a battery change without removing the camera from the tripod/monopod, or without removing the quick-release mount.

Nikolai

Lynne,
I know I'm a little late to tthis, but here's my two cents...

I agree that grip all by itself feels a little flimsy. However, if you add another piece of equipment, namely Kirk L plate, it connects the grip with the body itself and the whole thing becomes a tank.

Battery life... Unless I have a big shoot, I can go weeks without even bothering (although I always have a couple of fresh ones in my backpack). Never noticed any drain.

Maybe it's a case when a size does matter. While my palms are not huge, they are definitely larger than an average female's. Camera with the grip feels more right size and more balanced, especially with a larger lens (like 70-200 f/2.8 IS, which is kinda hefty). Without the grip it even feels awkward.

HTH

claudermilk

Just FYI: I haven't charged in...umm something like three months...and I'm jsut now seeing the low battery indicator. Now to find which box I packed the charger in for the move last month....