Canon 5D MII Battery Grip

Hi Everyone,
Would it be worth investing in the battery grip & battery for weddings.
Would, appreciate your expertise. Thanks in advance.
Sam

I am considering to buy the grip also. But not because I want to use the grip. IThe grip is the only option if you want extra battery.

Currently the LP-E6 is not available and one battery will not last till the end of the wedding.
I think this is Canon's marketing tactic to push the sale of the grip.

lam567 said:

I am considering to buy the grip also. But not because I want to use
the grip. IThe grip is the only option if you want extra battery.
Currently the LP-E6 is not available and one battery will not last
till the end of the wedding.
I think this is Canon's marketing tactic to push the sale of the grip.

Click to expand...

I don´t get it. The grip does not come with a battery, you have to buy it also. How could that be a marketing tactic to sell the grip? You will end up with the grip and only one battery on it (the one you got with the camera).

--
Geraldo Garcia

the battery grip comes with a magazine that will hold 6 AA batteries for emergency use. I bought one for Weddings I shoot, very poor performance with AA batteries but it's a lot better than not having the juice to finish a wedding. Plus the grip is a lot easier to use when shooting vertically. I would have bought the grip anyway, still waiting to find one of the legendary lp-e6 batteries.

I bought mine specifically as an extra battery using the AA magazine because I can't find an LP-E6 to buy. Surprisingly, on a set of eneloop 2000 mAh AA batteries, it manages over 600 shots using IS most of the time, some LV and video shooting. As an added benefit, I can use it as a portrait/vertical grip as well.

--
Tangster

Sam01 said:

Hi Everyone,
Would it be worth investing in the battery grip & battery for weddings.
Would, appreciate your expertise. Thanks in advance.
Sam

Click to expand...

Using Canon's 5D Mark-II with its optional accessory two battery compartments, Canon BG-E6 Battery Grip, using two Canon LiOn rechargeable batteries, how many pictures and videos will this grip capture ?

This question was answered this past Saturday, as we were engaged by a local University to cover their annual "Family Fun Day" from 2pm-5pm, then to cover their Women's Basketball match from 5:30pm to 7:30pm, then to cover Men's Basketball from 7:45pm to 10m. We shot approximately 1050 JPEG images plus 200 HD video clips, from 15 seconds to 3 minutes in length, all captured at the highest resolution. In checking the Battery Level menu, the batteries showed a relatively evenly balanced 38% remaining charge. I was shooting full time from 2-10pm, with a combined 1 hour of break-time. This equates to 178 shots per hour, or about 3 shots per minute.

When we shoot sports, I'm not one for shooting at high frame rates, holding the button down, hoping for a good one. I may hold the shutter for two or three exposures, then I re-frame for the next shot. With a little mathematical extrapolation this would give us over 3000 total shots of the same Still/Movie mix as described above, when the batteries become fully exhausted. Very pleased indeed with this power demonstration. The grip is very sturdy, and connects firmly to the camera, giving a very good professional grip, with horizontal and vertical button placements. Well worth the US$280 option price. Ambient temperature was 72F. For examples go to,,,
http://www.416-1100.com/gallery/7179014_vyB4F#461510495_B5qUY .
JimW.



--
.
‹(•¿•)›

JimWilson, Boca Raton, FL, USA.
http://www.photographycorner.com/blog/2008/02/smugmug-corner-22-jim-wilson
http://www.rumor-page.com
http://www.416-1100.com

When I got the body back in Nov they had the battery and the grip in stock. I have not owned a body without a grip since my first 1D. It is a life saver not only for the battery power but if you are shooting people you should be shooting a lot of portrait photos. Standing there with your elbow in the air for hours at a time is brutal.

Get the grip you will not be sorry.

One thing, it has been mentioned already once but the grip doesn't come with a second battery, you will still need one of those either way.
--
Scott

I also bought mine with the camera as I shoot a lot with the camera vertical but could not find an extra battery in the UK
.

Fortunately for me the grip also comes with a magazine that takes AA sized batteries. This has proved to be a life saver as I'm on assignment in the US and the Canon Battery charger has died and I can't find a replacement anywhere - I've tried Samy's, Calumet etc as I'm in LA.

I'm shooting approximately 550 shots per day and a set of fully charged 2450 AA's easily copes.

Really?? I did a wedding last week and the single LP-E6 coped incredibly well.
I shot over 700 frames and the battery was still indicating 75% full.

At first, i was a little worried about the capacity of the battery and i took along my usual 5d plus 4 batteries and I didn't need it at all.

The new camera uses a lot less power and the new battery provides a lot more power...

lam567 said:

I am considering to buy the grip also. But not because I want to use
the grip. IThe grip is the only option if you want extra battery.
Currently the LP-E6 is not available and one battery will not last
till the end of the wedding.
I think this is Canon's marketing tactic to push the sale of the grip.

Click to expand...

--
http://www.GMCPhotographics.com (weddings)
http://www.pbase.com/gazzajagman (other stuff)

'Science is what we dream of, technology is what we are stuck with' Douglas Adams

Invaluable Tool - End Griplessness

bryanhbre said:

the battery grip comes with a magazine that will hold 6 AA batteries
for emergency use. I bought one for Weddings I shoot, very poor
performance with AA batteries

Click to expand...

In a similar thread Kevin Horton reported 320 shots using the AA magazine. He emailed me later saying he was at 525 shots and counting. That's hardly poor performance, although he pointed out he was not reviewing the LCD which would certainly reduce the count.

One reason for poor rechargeable AA performance is lousy chargers which do not monitor and charge batteries individually, but quit when the first battery comes to voltage, leaving uneven charges. I use the Ansmann PhotoCam III charger which really improve some old cells.

--
Blake in Vancouver
http://flickr.com/photos/28305360@N00/
Panasonic Stuff, Canon Stuff. Mac Stuff & PC PITA.

Another benefit of the battery grip is to reduce mirror shock by adding mass to the camera. I noticed the difference in hand held shots.
--
Blake in Vancouver
http://flickr.com/photos/28305360@N00/
Panasonic Stuff, Canon Stuff. Mac Stuff & PC PITA.

--The 5D Mk II battery allows a lot of shooting, and changing the battery is quick and easy.

Also, the new battery more accurately shows how much power is remaining. If you are getting low, pop in a new battery and use the old battery's remaining power later. (As many pointed out already, that is IF you can find a 2nd battery )

So I don't see buying the grip to house the 2nd battery. I will buy it for the "grip" however.

Jim Rickards

The grip improves the ergonomics of the camera with larger lenses (24-70 and bigger) and vastly improves the handling for verticals.

It's not a motor or booster, so it doesn't change the performance of the camera. Since it holds a 2nd battery, you can shoot longer without needing to recharge. Or, as a last resort, you can pop in the AA battery magazine and shoot a little longer.

jack
--
A few of my photos:
http://www.jackkurtzphotography.com or
http://www.sportsshooter.com/members.html?id=4177 or
my PhotoShelter Archive
http://pa.photoshelter.com/user/kurtzjack

...the day I got the 5DMKII; having just one battery in the grip - but I have the grip for handling reasons - perfect for me (and my huge hands).

Cheers,
Svenson

Thank you all for time once again.