For a while now, I’ve toyed with the idea of getting a battery grip for my 40D. Saw one for what I thought was a good deal on a used BG-E2N. Would’ve got the older BG-E2 but the BG-E2N came up first, it was actually cheaper than its predecessor second hand. The only difference between the two is weather sealing which is really just a bit of foam around the battery compartment, cosmetically they’re more or less the same. It did occur to me to pick up a third-party knock-off for less than half the price of a grip brand spanking new, but I figured I’d use it enough to warrant a second hand Canon one.
The build quality of the grip feels pretty solid, the front of it has the same kind of rubbery material as on the body itself, the back is smooth. I wish it was a bit more textured. It adds a bit of weight to the whole shooting rig but I’m not sure if I’ll notice that much of a difference if I’ve got something like the 100-400mm mounted on.
With my recent foray into time-lapse photography, the increased battery life is a welcomed addition. Together with an invervalometer, it makes for a portable time-lapse rig.
Handling wise it’s not bad. It’s kinda squarish and a touch angular. If it were rounder like the grip on the body itself, it’d be easier to hold for those with smaller girly hands like myself. This might be less of an issue for people with larger hands however.
The buttons work as they should but feel a bit springier than on the actual body. It’s quite nice having a verticle grip for portrait shots. It increases stability and puts less strain on the wrist for prolonged portrait shooting. Also, it balances the camera quite nicely then you’ve also got a flashgun mounted and are shooting in portrait.
One of the issues with the BG-E2N that’s frequently popped up on the forums is that you can snap off the internal gears from over-tightening resulting in the inability to remove the grip. To prevent that I stop turning as soon as I feel resistance and it stays on fine. No ratting, no problem. It’s enough to be able to hold the camera by the grip and not have it fall off.
Overall it’s not a bad piece of kit. It’d be nice if it were rounder. I’ll leave you with some pics.
Tags: battery grip, bge2n, canon, photography kit
i find a hand strap useful when using a body with grip. What’s an invervalometer?
I don’t like those hand strap things. With or without a grip, I just find them awkward. I want to like them, but I just don’t.
An intervalometer is basically a timer remote, I’m refering to the Canon TC80N3 and it’s 3rd party equivalents.
Thanks for the great review.