NIKON d500 - Third Party battery grips ( YES or NO )

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Harry.G

Harry.G

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Hi guys

I am looking for advice on whether I should OR should not purchase a third party battery grip for my Nikon d500 ....

Generally I always stick with the manufacturer when purchasing add on products for anything and the same goes for my Nikon d500 in respect to Batteries etc ,having said that, I`ve been doing some research regarding Battery grips and its came up on numerous occasions that the Nikon branded battery grip performs no better than the third party options available .....

I`ve read that on occasions the third party grip can malfunction/glitch although apparently the regular Nikon grip can and does malfunction/glitch just as much .. What this actually means in real terms I am not exactly sure....

So given that a Nikon grip is around the £350/£400 and a third party costs a fraction of that ie anything from as little as £60 I`m torn between sticking with an Original or buying a third party ..

has anyone here had any experiences good or indifferent with the above ^^^^

thanks in advance

PS .... If any of you guys use a third party grip are there any particular makes that you`d recommend

Harry.G
 
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I'm in the minority, but I only use OEM grips. Never, ever had a single issue with any of them and honestly I need reliably in the field. For me, it's not worth a glitch in the middle of a shoot.

Still, I'm sure you'll discover I'm in the minority and most people have very little or no trouble with third party grips.
 
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If I was in @Steve's shoes as a professional or if my financial situation allowed it, I would definitely go OEM; however, as a retiree hobbyist, I balance the budget with all decisions on gear. I took the same route as @soundbyte and to this date, am very happy with the Meike. Mind you, after several months, I still haven't convinced my brain that the grip has its own buttons for portrait work. Ahh, the joys of life in the fast lane.
 
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Not the D500, but, I have OEM for my D800 and third party for my old D300 and personally I think there is a difference in the feel, construction and reliability between them. If price is a concern, I would recommend buying from a reputable used dealer.
 
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A grip on the D500 doesn't make much sense to me, you could put 3 batteries in your pocket which will provide more battery life at less weight...plus you get no FPS boost.

The only time it makes sense is to add weight to balance a larger lens or for an extended time lapse. Unless you are into a lot of portrait format shooting the grip might make sense. Something that hasn't been mentioned is that the Nikon battery grip's MB-D17 main body is magnesium alloy, while the third party grips are plastic. That will be one of the reasons why the cheaper third party grips flex sometimes compared to the Nikon version. The quality, rigidity and feel of that plastic bodied grip cannot be compared with the MD-D17. The price of the MB-D17 is certainly excessive, but it is definitely the nicest add-on grip if required.

That said for third party if probably, I would recommend Mieke.
 
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Yezdi said:
plus you get no FPS boost.
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Agreed, you get no FPS boost even with the EN-EL 18 battery.

You do however get an increase in AF responsiveness, particularly noticeable on the fast telephoto primes. The higher 2500 mAh of the EN-EL 18 looks to overcome the inertia of moving heavy glass that bit quicker.

I've only used OEM grips so don't know if aftermarket grips are compatible with the BL-5 Chamber Cap/EN-EL 18 rig.
 
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Graham Clark said:
Agreed, you get no FPS boost even with the EN-EL 18 battery.

You do however get an increase in AF responsiveness, particularly noticeable on the fast telephoto primes. The higher 2500 mAh of the EN-EL 18 looks to overcome the inertia of moving heavy glass that bit quicker.

I've only used OEM grips so don't know if aftermarket grips are compatible with the BL-5 Chamber Cap/EN-EL 18 rig.
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Didn't know that.... Might have to look into this.
 
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I have had both OEM and Meike. Sadly, the D500 with OEM died after a dip in the salt marsh and this is why I have had both. I had no problems with the Meike and really appreciate the longer life in the EN-EL 18 battery. Not so much for the aftermarket Wasabi batteries. Within 6 months, one of them would not take a charge. So for me, only Nikon batteries.
 
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I only use OEM grips. I have never tried an after market so can't comment on how well they hold up. I have seen some videos showing the differences and I decided to go with the OEM. The price is painful but oh well.
 
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gordon_g said:
I have a Vello... and I notice Zero difference between the OEM on my d300s and this one... Except 2 1/2 times the cost. @Yezdi the reason I like the Grip is the camera fits my hand much better.
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I agree Gordon that a grip does give a good feel in your hand. I do use a grip on my D850 but don't as much miss it on the D500 when shooting BIF along with my 500PF. That combo is just perfect in weight and size for quick handheld shots.
 
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Yezdi said:
I agree Gordon that a grip does give a good feel in your hand. I do use a grip on my D850 but don't as much miss it on the D500 when shooting BIF along with my 500PF. That combo is just perfect in weight and size for quick handheld shots.
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I’ll end up getting that 500pf someday maybe... ( I do agree that’s a D500 and that lens is a fantastic combo). but I’m going the wait and see what the next z series cameras look like before buying any more gear.
 
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I've used/had 3rd party grips for a D7200 and a D500. Never had any issues with them. The brand I've used is Green Extreme. Would recommend them to anyone who needs/wants a grip and doesn't want to break the bank.
 
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I originally purchased a Vello grip for my D7100 but ended up sending it back for a used Nikon one. The Vello was big and cheap feeling, both in its buttons and its structure. From that experience, I would recommend a manufactures grip. They are far better felling (and to a lesser extent performing) than a third party. Then again I only tried one third party grip so...
 
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Let's see..... D7200, D750, D500, D850.... On all of them I use(d) Meike battery grips, never an issue. Even on the Z7 I use a metal grip from Meike to give the smallest finger a place on the grip instead of under the camera. Works just fine.
 
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I have used both OEM and 3rd party Grips, and can say without a doubt that OEM's have an edge over the lesser quality 3rd party,
However, it is all dependent on your budget and use of the grip, I have the following D7000 3rd Party Grip (Newer) Far to sloppy on my D7000 It feels fine when it is tightened onto the camera but it needs to be tightened up on a regular basis, a total waste of time, if you were out for a full day, feels cheap, buttons are not good a very loose feel to them and not a very tactile feel then moved to the meika a little better mainly because of the metal parts but still not that good button wise buttons got a bit of a sloppy feel to them after a couple of thousand presses.
D300 D610 D800 have OEM Grips, although, I would add I bought 2nd-hand grips for all of them except the newer, the most expensive grip was around £125 never had any kind of problems and any features like increased fps was an added bonus for me..I would say it all depends on what you're happy with. but to be honest, in most cases lets say have a D800, af-s 24-70 f2.8, even on a good day at today's 2nd-hand prices, you have the guts of £2500 $3000, you're then going to hang both of these very expensive items from a bit of plastic and cheaply made Bolt that cost around $10-$20 to make. This does not make sense, yes I agree that Nikon prices are crazy and if I had to I would use a 3rd party grip. but it would have to be decent quality, then your back up to high prices for the better quality a typical catch22 scenario
 
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I purchased the Nikon grip as I’d heard indifferent stories about 3rd party grips.
As I said I’d heard indifferent stories about the different grips, but the majority of the negative stories came from people who had purchased a 3rd party grip so for me it was a no brainer.
 
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gordon_g said:
I’ll end up getting that 500pf someday maybe... ( I do agree that’s a D500 and that lens is a fantastic combo). but I’m going the wait and see what the next z series cameras look like before buying any more gear.
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I too am anxiously waiting for a Pro Z series to be released... Keeping fingers crossed :)
 
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I used 2 3rd party grips on my D800 and D810 until the D810 started using both batteries at one time. I bought a Nikon MB-D12 off of ebay for 40 bucks. I believe that it came from Japan and it was in new condition. So good in fact I bought a MB-D14 for my D600 for another 40 bucks. The 3rd party grips never fit tightly but the Nikon's fit great. You have to do a good amount of searching to get the pricing I got.
 
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I go with the Nikon grips. I tried a Vello on my 2nd D850 and while it appeared to function properly, I became concerned when I mounted the camera on a tripod and detected a significant amount of wiggle in the camera. As the purpose of a tripod is to provide a steady mount and considering I use a tripod for longer exposures, the amount of flex between the grip and body was both excessive and concerning. The grip was as tight as I could get it to the body, it just lacked the fitment of the Nikon grip. I sold it and bought the Nikon grip. I'm with Steve, probably a minority......
 
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I bought a D850 and couldn't afford a Nikon vertical grip so went with a Meike figuring I'd throw it away when I got the money for a Nikon grip. Wow! The Meike blew me away. Looking at it carefully, it's obvious they stole most everything about it from the Nikon design. It feels and works just like the Nikon grip with one major upgrade. I got the one with a wireless remote trigger, which works very well. So I spent a lot less money for a better product.
 
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