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.