Battery Grip for 7D - any suggestions?

[Forceflow]

I would really like to get a Battery Grip for my 7D. There is of course the original which I would assume has the best weather sealing. But besides that, it's only expensive with basically no other functions. There do seem to be a vast number of third party options available and some of them at least claim some additional features. (Often at a reduced price and some even come with 2 additional batteries)

So my question is, does anybody has any experiences with third party battery grips and can recommend one for me? If the features are good and the quality is sound I don't mind paying more than for the original, but in that case it must be high quality! What I would really love to have is one that also has the small joystick, but from my little research on amazon this does not appear to be a feature any of the grips have.

[xps]

My wife tried two of them:

She owns Phottix BP-7D Batterygrip, that was about 80 € when she bought it. It works and is of quite an good quality. All features are working well, and its haptic is ok.

That one, she tried before, was not good. It was too loose, and the release button was too weak to press. Sometimes it took some pictures by its own. It went back to Amazon.

http://www.amazon.de/PROFI-BATTERIEGRIFF-Hochformatausl%C3%B6ser-Langzeitbelichtungs-Aul%C3%B6serverz%C3%B6gerungssteuerung/dp/B003OQOG6Q/ref=pd_sxp_f_pt

[K3nt]

I ma looking at the Polaroid battery grip for the 7D. It includes an intervalometer too which'll come in handy.

[Forceflow]

Thanks for the info, at least it's a start There are so many grips out there... gotta have to check if I can actually try some of them in my local camera store some time...

[degies]

On my first slr the 500D I had a original Canon grip. Now on my 7D I got the Vello one from BnH and and I have no issue with it. It does what the Canon one does at a third the price.

Vello Battery Grips

[cszy67]

I run the Canon BG-E7 grip and it was a simple choice for me.

Considering all of the money I had spent on the camera and a few lenses the extra few dollars were well spent. There was no doubt that everything would work perfectly, fit perfectly, and were engineered to be perfectly compatible regarding construction, fit, and finish.

[RLPhoto]

I've used generic opteka or Zeikos grips. They're pretty good quality and work just fine for less $$.

[paul13walnut5]

I have the canon grip.  It isn't up to the same standard of weather proofing as the 7D body as far as I can perceive.

I've had one occassion where it locked up the front input dial, which was down to a hair/dirt over one of the contact pins.

Not tried any others.  To be fair despite the above, the grip performs as I would expect.

[neuroanatomist]

One thing to note about the OEM grip for the 7D is the shutter button is more sensitive than the one on the camera itself - apparently some 3rd party grips are similar to the body.  It takes a little getting used to, I must say.  Agreed on the grip sealing comment - you'd think it would be trivial for Canon to put a little bit of foam around where the grip connects to the battery compartment, but no - easy ingress for water right at the place where there's electrical power contacts...  

[michi]

I have the original BG-E7 for the 7D.  Not even sure why, every grip I have bought for all of my rebels and 20D and 5DII have been cheapos.  Never had any problems with any of them.  I think the original grips are overpriced for what they offer.  I can't really tell a difference between the original and the knock offs unless I look really close.  Unless you are a pro and beat up your machine, I think you are good to go with a knock off.  My 5DII has a Zeikos grip and it's very nice.

[alex791]

I've got a really cheap one for my 7D (about 39€), which I got from Ebay and I must say I'm pretty happy with it. It feels a little bit plasticy, the buttons aren't as nice as the one of the camera itself, as already said, the shutter button is very sensitive (you've got to get accustomed to it), but all in all it gets its job done pretty good for that amount of money - and it takes 2 batteries of course.

[cszy67]

One of the strong points that caught my eye and convinced me to purchase the OEM Canon unit was the fact that the frame was made our of magnesium, exactly the same as the frame on the 7D. I know my OEM unit effectively communicates with the batteries also providing useful information.

Does anyone know if there has been a side-by-side caparison of all the different manufactures?

[picturesbyme]

I have a flashpoint/Meike. It's awesome. Has a nice thumb rest and feeels better than the Canon, but that could be just me... Also it was pretty inexpensive at adorama...
I haven't tried to hammer nails with it yet but seems sturdy enough for what I usually use it for...

[Rockets95]

Do the knock-off grips report battery life to the camera?

[Richard8971]

I have not yet used an aftermarket one for the 7D but after using my BG-E7 I am convinced that OEM is not always the best purchase on grips. I purchased mine used off of eBay for about 70 bucks. I won't pay full price for a grip. All of my grips have been bought used for a fraction of the price of new.

1) There is no "Canon" logo on the BG-E7 so no one would know an OEM grip from an aftermarket one without looking at it very closely.

2) The OEM shutter butter is VERY soft to the touch. If you are not really careful when you press half-way down to focus, you will find yourself cranking off about 4-6 shots before you realize what you have done. Very annoying and I understand some of the aftermarket grips have a stiffer button.

I know it's not a grip for the 7D but my wife has a Zeikos grip for her 5D2. It's of very nice quality and feels very solid (not quite as "heavy" as the OEM but for the savings, I can overlook that). I wouldn't hesitate buying one again if the need arose. The buttons are smooth and everything works perfect.

D