Chinese Alternative BG-E11 for 5D III not as bad

[Mencho(22)]

Today I received a review from the Ebay seller where I pre-ordered my grip for USD90 including shipping

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=140755377672

The full review can be read at https://www.facebook.com/StudioLightingPro.EN

Some paragraphs I found interesting:

Hard to identify whether the grip is made of ABS Plastic or Magnesium Alloy.
The finish is identical to the Camera's finish and it feels fantastic in my "large" hands.

The wheel used to screw the grip into the camera bottom feels solid and securely screw in.It fits on the camera easily and looks like it belongs. It also makes the 5D III look and feel much more substantial.

All the buttons feel great, pretty similar to the camera body. Also the multi-controller button included on the grip works fine too, but to honest it's a little bit more sensitive to the touch than the camera one. You must get used to it.

They also uploaded some photos:

I can't wait to have mine

 

[Mencho(22)]

What Risk? Because it's chinese you think the product is dangerous?

Batteries and grip on my 7D, 5D II and 5D III are chinese.
LCD Protector is also Chinese.

In my opinion a grip is just that... a Grip. And if I found a reliable chinese option, they will have my 2 cents.

 

[edawg]

why the watermarks, can hardly see the images!! Don't they WANT people to view their products haha!

If I ever DID buy a 5d iii grip it would NOT be canon's, 350 is just outrageous.

 

[bbasiaga]

Does anyone know where the factory canon grips and batteries are manufactured?

-Brian

 

[cliffwang]

What Risk? Because it's chinese you think the product is dangerous?

Batteries and grip on my 7D, 5D II and 5D III are chinese.
LCD Protector is also Chinese.

In my opinion a grip is just that... a Grip. And if I found a reliable chinese option, they will have my 2 cents.

I think many people only buy stuff made by Canon. That's not because those items bad, because they feel bad not using Canon product. Everyone has their way to spend money.
I had 3rd party grip for my T2i and 7D; I also have Canon grip for my 5D2. For me, I don't see the different from 3rd party ones and the Canon one. If I have a 5D3, I will buy third party grip.

 

[Dylan777]

What Risk? Because it's chinese you think the product is dangerous?

Batteries and grip on my 7D, 5D II and 5D III are chinese.
LCD Protector is also Chinese.

In my opinion a grip is just that... a Grip. And if I found a reliable chinese option, they will have my 2 cents.

Made by who? certified by which agency(US or China)? ESD? grounding? material?

 

[klf]

I have ZERO interest in grip.

My 2cents; If I can afford mrk III, I would buy legit grip + battery. Why take that risk on Chinese grip???

You spend $3499 for a camera, $60 for an extra battery, but won't pay $90 for a case to hold the two batteries in, but you would rather spend $350 to be able to do the same thing. SMH. If you want to spend the $350 on case to "hold" your batteries, then so be it, just know that it probably costs Canon about $30-$50 to make it, and if you don't have an interest in a grip, don't worry about the cost, it'll still be there when you decide to buy one.

My 3 cents

P.S. take no offense, just offering satire ;D

 

[bhavikk]

Does anyone know where the factory canon grips and batteries are manufactured?

-Brian

My BG-E11 says "made in Japan" on it.

The only reason I don't buy 3rd party gear is because I trust Canon more.
Also I can just send it to Canon if something goes wrong, what would I do if a 3rd party one breaks once it is out of warranty? When your getting paid to shoot, you need some assurance and certainty that you can get your gear fixed/replace in a timely manner.

 

[Viggo]

What matters is the weathersealing... they're usually good enough quality for me, but if they're not sealed, I can't use it..,

 

[wickidwombat]

I have ZERO interest in grip.

My 2cents; If I can afford mrk III, I would buy legit grip + battery. Why take that risk on Chinese grip???

me too. however saying that i bought a cheap aperture brand chinese grip for my mk2 just to have around on the off chance all my batteries die at least i can load it with eneloops from my flashes and keep shooting
i still havent actually used it yet other than putting it on to test it works

 

[drjlo]

Perhaps a cheaper grip to ease the mental anguish we suffered due to the $500 more we paid than D800 owners?

For the Canon or third-party grip owners, how sturdy is the bottom tripod screw area? Also, is there any improvement with AF speed/accuracy or frame rate with heavy glass like 85L II?

 

[ideaworx]

Got my factory Canon grip this week. Absolutely love it. Would not buy a chinese alternative, I earn well doing what I do, so why buy 2nd's? I respect the Canon brand and continue to and have no reason to 1/2 a purchase. I will admit though, the wait for the Grip was a bit much .

 

[Wilmark]

I have ZERO interest in grip.

My 2cents; If I can afford mrk III, I would buy legit grip + battery. Why take that risk on Chinese grip???

If were all like this IBM would still be selling us 5000$ computers that ran at 5 MHz. Not to mention how much we might be paying for prescription drugs! Seriously the OP contradicts himself - he has zero interest in buying a grip but he would buy a canon one - does that add up? This guy who hijacked this conversation needs to take it elsewhere, I'm interested in this grip and when i might be able to buy one.

 

[JoeDavid]

With additional controls in the grip, I'd be more worried about the reverse engineering being "not quite right". Since I spent the $3500 for the body, I'd spend the additional $350 for the Canon grip. If anything goes wrong during the warranty period, Canon can't blame it on a third party grip.

JM2C

 

[Dylan777]

I have ZERO interest in grip.

My 2cents; If I can afford mrk III, I would buy legit grip + battery. Why take that risk on Chinese grip???

If were all like this IBM would still be selling us 5000$ computers that ran at 5 MHz. Not to mention how much we might be paying for prescription drugs! Seriously the OP contradicts himself - he has zero interest in buying a grip but he would buy a canon one - does that add up? This guy who hijacked this conversation needs to take it elsewhere, I'm interested in this grip and when i might be able to buy one.

I'm sure you don't mind driving this car...

 

[FunPhotons]

Really? Based on an earlier discussion I (after waiting a few years gong back and forth on the issue) bought a off brand grip for my 5DMKII. Maybe the 5DMKIII Chinese grip is different, but this one sucked. The buttons are cheesy, the on-off doesn't have a click registration, and the shutter doesn't feel nearly as good as the original. It didn't register the second battery until I jiggled it around.

I sent it back and bought the Canon version. Better.

 

[MazV-L]

By using a non-Canon grip you risk voiding the warranty on your 5Diii if something were to go wrong. I, for one, would not be prepared to take that risk, I'd rather pay the extra for the Canon grip and have the peace of mind that it's 100% compatibility guaranteed.

 

[keithfullermusic]

My buddy bought an off brand grip for his 50D that was literally 1/4 th price of Canon's. He has had it for over a year and loves it. I think it's absurd to pay what canon is charging for that thing. It doesn't do anything other than hold batteries and add a couple of buttons. If there is amazing weather sealing and all that jazz, and you need it then get it. I would venture to say that 90% of users won't need that feature.

If the off brand doesn't work, then obviously don't buy it. But if it works fine, then why spend all that money? It doesn't affect image quality. Canon knows that there are plenty of people who think that just because the Canon name is on it then it has to be better. They also know that a lot of people think that non-Canon stuff means your pictures will look like crap and your camera will explode. Because of this, they get away with insane prices on certain products.

I bet half these people would spend $90 on Canon shoelaces if they said they have great weather sealing and perform better than non-Canon shoelaces.

 

[Bennymiata]

I bought a Canon grip for my 60D, and within a week it broke.
Had a hell of a time tryingot get the damed thing off the camera!
So, I then bought a Zeikos grip for a third of the price of the Canon, and it has worked perfectly for the last 18 months or so.

I'll be getting my 5D3 in a month or so, and I'll be buying another Zeikos grip for it, whenever they come out.

 

[cliffwang]

My buddy bought an off brand grip for his 50D that was literally 1/4 th price of Canon's. He has had it for over a year and loves it. I think it's absurd to pay what canon is charging for that thing. It doesn't do anything other than hold batteries and add a couple of buttons. If there is amazing weather sealing and all that jazz, and you need it then get it. I would venture to say that 90% of users won't need that feature.

If the off brand doesn't work, then obviously don't buy it. But if it works fine, then why spend all that money? It doesn't affect image quality. Canon knows that there are plenty of people who think that just because the Canon name is on it then it has to be better. They also know that a lot of people think that non-Canon stuff means your pictures will look like crap and your camera will explode. Because of this, they get away with insane prices on certain products.

I bet half these people would spend $90 on Canon shoelaces if they said they have great weather sealing and perform better than non-Canon shoelaces.

+1
I think a grip is just grip. There is no high-tech thing in the grip. Some ebayers might sell cheap build grip, but some companies make really good one. Check Zeikos's grip and you will like it. I have Zeikos's grip on my 7D and Canon's grip on my 5D2. I can tell you that I don't feel any quality difference.