Third-pary Grip. Safe?

[eyeland]

Hi
I have been doing alot of lengthy outdoor video shoots on my 5D lately. Even without ML raw, this can cause quite the power drain, so I am looking at different budget options for extended shooting. So far I am using extra cells and a car charger, but it is still not enough.
Rather than just buying more cells, I am thinking about getting a grip for the option of using normal AA cells in case of emergency. (If you badly need more charge than expected, you can send someone to pick up a load of AA's at a gas-station)
So, my question is if anyone here has any good/bad experience with the really cheap third-party no-name grips from ebay like this one: http://www.ebay.com/itm/331137824745?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649
 
I know quality will not be the same as an original grip (possibly worse than the more expensive third-party options) but do you think its safe?
If it's DOA or stops working after a while, that's fine. Ebay buyer protection actually works, and I have always gotten full refunds in those cases. My only concern is if it could cause damage to my camera even though my intuition tells me that this would depend on the cells I use rather than the grip?


Nb. No need to preach about using cheap stuff on paid gigs. I am doing what I can with what I've got (rigging a DSLR for real video production is expensive) and this is meant to be a backup solution rather than something I will rely on regularly.

[apacheebest]

Hi, Meike and DSTE are well known third party brands

Check this Link: if has 24 month warranty too : http://www.ebay.com/itm/200811910218?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Has 2 batteries also coded ones, You can see Power on LCD Screen. Can be Charged with your Orginal Charger.

You can also buy without Batteries , pls check ebay .

All the Best.

Anil George

[TheJock]

I owned a 3rd party grip for my old 550D and it worked fine, there was no name on it, it came with 4 higher than stock Mhz output batteries and it cost me 28 quid ($42) off Ebay in the UK, never had a single problem and with two fully charged batteries I never ran outta juice, at the last 24hour race at the Dubai Autodrome I snapped around 2000 pics and the LCD said my battery was 1 bar off full when the race was over!!!
Hope this helps, sorry the photo is fuzzy.

[eyeland]

@apacheebest
The one you link isn't available for shipping to my current location.
Will probably just go for the one in my OP and see how it works out

[TrabimanUK]

I've had a Meike grip on my 40D for several years, and my wife uses them on her 5DII, 60D and 7D. They are solid, and the one on my 40D has been bounced a few times and is still going, as is the camera! 

Original Canon grips give you confidence, but at one hell of a price.

Go for Meike.

[DRR]

I had a Zeikos grip for my 7D and was very happy with it. Worked as advertised, full featured (as opposed to some cheap grips - they won't give you battery information for example)

I tried a cheap Opteka grip for my 5DII and was sorely disappointed. The door never closed quite right (was always a bit loose, which bothered me when I shot portrait orientation) and it did not pass through battery information to the camera. Sold it at a loss on eBay, bought a Zeikos grip for the 5DII, and I'm happy again.

The Meike grips also seem to have a pretty good reputation.

I also do not scrimp on batteries. I've tried the cheapo batteries that are supposed to replace the LP-E6 but none that I've found are worth it. I use opteka batteries in my EOS-M and they're fine though, but I don't do serious shooting with my EOS-M so that's a tradeoff I'm willing to make.

[Mt Spokane Photography]

I've never heard of one damaging a camera, there were a rash of failures when the 5D MK III first came out, but I've not heard a lot lately.
 
I wouldn't worry about damage to the camera.  Its also a good place to use third party batteries, since they will not ruin your camera if they swell up or explode.

[lescrane]

I have a cheap 3rd party grip for my 70D. It never "hurt" my camera or stopped functioning.

Only problems..shutter button extremely sensitive, goes off if I just brush it against something or lightly touch it
The button labels poorly printed and have rubbed off after a few months.

At some point I may buy the Canon but I can live w/the no name for a while

[Lightmaster]

i used delamax/phottix BG for years.
was in the desert and on iceland with them.... no problem at all.

a BG is not exactly hightech.
canon just want to much for their original BG´s.

[WPJ]

I have one original which I got with a used 7d camera and one Hong Kong aka original looks and feels the same as the original cost 75usd shipped from eBay and takes the correct as batter holder.

I was getting anywhere from 2000-4500 pics with 2 brand new originals now that the originals are a few years old and have lost one bar on there quality meter I am getting about 1500-3000 pics per set of two.

[Roo]

I got one for my 60D awhile ago.  One of the batteries that came with it was dead and the other was fine but would run out of juice faster that a Canon original.  The grip itself worked fine but would occasionally cause the main dial to stop working.  Once I moved the dial on the grip all was fine again.  For the price I paid it was ok.

[sagittariansrock]

I wouldn't use a third party grip if I was hanging my camera off the tripod mount.
You don't want the mount to pop off and dump your first-party camera and lens on hard concrete.

Otherwise, IMO, 3rd party grips are equally functional (experience with 50D and 7D grips).

[wsmith96]

I've used Vello grips with no issues.  Reasonably priced and work as advertised.

[pwp]

I wouldn't use a third party grip if I was hanging my camera off the tripod mount.
You don't want the mount to pop off and dump your first-party camera and lens on hard concrete.
Otherwise, IMO, 3rd party grips are equally functional (experience with 50D and 7D grips).

I've had a mount pop out of a grip...fortunately when I was attaching a SpiderPro Plate to the camera so no drop.   

This was a genuine Canon grip on a 5D classic. My fault, I was just plain over-tightening with the supplied Allen Key. I replaced the grip with a Meike. Years ago I gave the camera & grip to an assistant and from all accounts it's still going fine. BTW, the shutter count on that body is up near 600,000 now on the original shutter. Crazy!

-pw

[eyeland]

Thanks for the advice