D50 & D80

Kilo

I was at a park last weekend, and met this man and his wife who have a Nikon D80. He showed me the battery grip that he had bought for it seperately. Looking at both cameras, the D50 and D80, I didn't any difference in size or shape. Could the MB-D80 battery grip (which they had on their camera) work on a D50? No one at the stores know. I have no idea, and can't find any info anywhere on the internet whether it can work or not. I have one already, but it did not come with a VSRB, (vertical shutter release button) even though the box says it does.:rolleyes

Thanks in advance! :

ziggy53

I don't believe Nikon made an official vertical grip for the D50. It does appear the the third-party grips are different for the D50 and the D80.

http://www.amazon.com/Opteka-Power-Grip-Nikon-Digital/dp/B000CQBKEM

http://www.amazon.com/Opteka-Battery-Nikon-EN-EL3e-Batteries/dp/B000Q7IA9U

SloYerRoll

Well the batteries are the same. Do you have a local camera store that has it in stock? Jsut try it out. Even if it isn't endorsed to work but does. Go for it.


BTW I jsut got a knock off grip for my D200. I don't see any real differnce besides texture between the two. If you can, buy the knockoff version and save some $$.

HTH

ian408

SloYerRoll wrote:

If you can, buy the knockoff version and save some $$.

Nice. Do you recall what you saved by going 3rd party? Were there any
trade-offs in functionality or performance that should be considered?

I've always heard the "stick with the name brand" but honestly, some of the
3rd party stuff is as good or better and well worth a look. Especially with the
batteries.

SloYerRoll

ian408 wrote:

Nice. Do you recall what you saved by going 3rd party? Were there any
trade-offs in functionality or performance that should be considered?

I've always heard the "stick with the name brand" but honestly, some of the
3rd party stuff is as good or better and well worth a look. Especially with the
batteries.

I'm huge on sticking w/ name brand. Everything I has is Nikon, pocket wizard etc.

The feel is a little plastiky. But the OEM grip feel kind of plastiky as well. I guess that's just what you get when you have a Magnesium alloy body mated to a all plastic grip though (I know you love the spelling )

The OEM number is off the top of my head, so anyone can feel free to correct. But it's definitely close.

OEM grip: 120.00 (w/o shipping)
My grip: 77.00 (w/ shipping)

I also don't mind getting knock off batteries either. You can find good deals on the EN-LE3 (I think that's right). But the power management system built into most higher end DSLR's is great and I've never had issues w/ any knock off batteries. I only have limited experience on my current camera though.

Another great thing about the grip is that in a worst case scenario, I can plug 6 AA batteries into the grip and shoot off of them. I always have 12 ni-cad batteries (regular disposable) in my bag fro strobes and such, but I can also use them for my D200 as well.

BTW I use nickel-haylide chargables in all my gear, but they will eventually loose their charge. This is why I have ni-cad for backups.

HTH

Kilo

ziggy53 wrote:

I don't believe Nikon made an official vertical grip for the D50. It does appear the the third-party grips are different for the D50 and the D80.

http://www.amazon.com/Opteka-Power-Grip-Nikon-Digital/dp/B000CQBKEM

http://www.amazon.com/Opteka-Battery-Nikon-EN-EL3e-Batteries/dp/B000Q7IA9U

Yeah, I already have the powergrip in the first top link you posted. If the powergrip for the D80 would fit, I'd get it, but I'll have no idea unless I buy it first. The one I have now does not have a VSR button, even though the box says it does. I didn't wanna go through all the redtape sending it back and waiting weeks for another one, and then it be no different, so I kept it.

Kilo

SloYerRoll wrote:

Well the batteries are the same. Do you have a local camera store that has it in stock? Jsut try it out. Even if it isn't endorsed to work but does. Go for it.


BTW I jsut got a knock off grip for my D200. I don't see any real differnce besides texture between the two. If you can, buy the knockoff version and save some $$.

HTH

1. No, not one for a D50 anyway. They have a powergrip for the D80. I'll have to take my camera their to see. But they're not cheap at their store, (nearly $200).
2.You mean you think a powergrip for a D200 would fit? I don't care about the texture.

Kilo

ian408 wrote:

Nice. Do you recall what you saved by going 3rd party? Were there any
trade-offs in functionality or performance that should be considered?

I've always heard the "stick with the name brand" but honestly, some of the
3rd party stuff is as good or better and well worth a look. Especially with the
batteries.

No, I don't remember how much I saved, but I saved quite a bit. Functionality is all good except for it not have the VSR button.

Kilo

Eventually, I'll just get a D80, but not for sometime. I just got the D50 not too long ago. They stopped making the D50s, and now it seems to be hard to find much for one.

SloYerRoll

Kilo wrote:

.You mean you think a powergrip for a D200 would fit? I don't care about the texture.

No, the D200 is a different build alltogether. What I'm saying is that you can find a knock off grip and save allot of money.

Here's a knockoff grip link: (Just the first google search. I have no idea about the seller)
http://www.shoppingwarehouse.net/prod-75512.html?src=froogle&src1=sw&src2=gbase&utm_source=Froogle&utm_medium=Product%2BSearch%2BEngine

Here's where I got my grip: (great seller and fast shipper)
http://stores.ebay.com/Hong-Kong-Supplies

Kilo

SloYerRoll wrote:

I'm huge on sticking w/ name brand. Everything I has is Nikon, pocket wizard etc.

The feel is a little plastiky. But the OEM grip feel kind of plastiky as well. I guess that's just what you get when you have a Magnesium alloy body mated to a all plastic grip though (I know you love the spelling )

The OEM number is off the top of my head, so anyone can feel free to correct. But it's definitely close.

OEM grip: 120.00 (w/o shipping)
My grip: 77.00 (w/ shipping)

I also don't mind getting knock off batteries either. You can find good deals on the EN-LE3 (I think that's right). But the power management system built into most higher end DSLR's is great and I've never had issues w/ any knock off batteries. I only have limited experience on my current camera though.

Another great thing about the grip is that in a worst case scenario, I can plug 6 AA batteries into the grip and shoot off of them. I always have 12 ni-cad batteries (regular disposable) in my bag fro strobes and such, but I can also use them for my D200 as well.

BTW I use nickel-haylide chargables in all my gear, but they will eventually loose their charge. This is why I have ni-cad for backups.

HTH

I agree... sticking with brand name accessories for the same brand name camera. However, I was never able to find a bag big enough to hold my D50 and all of my D50 accessories, so I ended up getting a Canon bag. It's big and it holds all my accessories, and camera of course.

SloYerRoll

Kilo wrote:

I agree... sticking with brand name accessories for the same brand name camera. However, I was never able to find a bag big enough to hold my D50 and all of my D50 accessories, so I ended up getting a Canon bag. It's big and it holds all my accessories, and camera of course.

Dude, that is blasphemy!!

ian408

SloYerRoll wrote:

Dude, that is blasphemy!!

Man, I've never had to do this...but we might have to ban him for that

Kilo

SloYerRoll wrote:

Dude, that is blasphemy!!

Sorry, I gave up the hunt for a Nikon bag.

Kilo

ian408 wrote:

Man, I've never had to do this...but we might have to ban him for that

ob_3

d50 grip
I purchased an aftermarket grip for my d50 from another member on another board... I did a search for d50 and grip and saw a post from like 9 months back, took a chance on emailing him, the person still had it, so I made an offer and he sent it right out. I am not even sure of the name (i can check later on ) but the model number says "YXTM ND50". It does not have the shutter release, but over all i like the fit and feel on the d50 body.
I think i paid 40 shipped ....
here are some pics...

ob_3

another..

ob_3

last..

The Mack

SloYerRoll wrote:

Well the batteries are the same. Do you have a local camera store that has it in stock? Jsut try it out. Even if it isn't endorsed to work but does. Go for it.


BTW I jsut got a knock off grip for my D200. I don't see any real differnce besides texture between the two. If you can, buy the knockoff version and save some $$.

HTH

Ask the guy on Nikon Cafe who's "knock off" grip caught his D200 on fire.
Why bother with knock offs? I'll never understand it.

The Mack

ob_3 wrote:

I purchased an aftermarket grip for my d50 from another member on another board... I did a search for d50 and grip and saw a post from like 9 months back, took a chance on emailing him, the person still had it, so I made an offer and he sent it right out. I am not even sure of the name (i can check later on ) but the model number says "YXTM ND50". It does not have the shutter release, but over all i like the fit and feel on the d50 body.
I think i paid 40 shipped ....
here are some pics...

If it doesn't have a shutter release, what's the point of having it?