| Author: | | Senior Member Registered: September, 2006 Location: Katy, Texas Posts: 294 | | Review Date: March 26, 2011 | Recommended | Price: $89.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Extended battery life, handling, storage for remote, extra SD card | | Cons: | Bottons lack depth hard to use | |
When I bought my K10D I made sure to pick up an extra battery as back up. Being a major purchase for me I had to wait to buy the grip. I was browsing my local camera store when I spotted a used grip under glass with an OEM Pentax battery included! For the price it was a steal!
Since I got it, it only comes off the body to charge the battery. It makes the camera so much easier for me to handle in all aspects, portrait as well as landscape. The buttons are kind of uncomfortable for me to use but I just swing my hands over the top when framing for a portrait. The buttons could use some depth for better feel in my opinion.
I recently got the little remote control and it slides nicely into the grip along with a spare SD card and of course the battery. Very functional.
If you have a K10D or a K20D this grip is a no brainer.
| | | | | | | Veteran Member Registered: October, 2007 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 3,107 | | Review Date: January 25, 2011 | Recommended | Price: $110.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | battery life extended, balances camera body, fit and finish | | Cons: | price | |
Easy to use, adds some beef to the form factor of the camera body and balances the body in hand. makes shooting portrait mode much much easier and correctly. Only gripe is the price when released new, but price dropped to around $100 when I bought mine new in 2009.
| | | | | Inactive Account Registered: November, 2009 Location: The un-lovely High Desert, SoCal Posts: 12 | | Review Date: December 7, 2010 | Recommended | Price: $110.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | It holds the F remote, xtra battery AND SD card. | | Cons: | It makes the camara much heavier and its pricey! | |
I actually purchased this grip here in the marketplace. I had no idea how much I needed it until I got it in the mail and used it the first time. It only leaves my camara to get the battery charged now. I dont even use the camara without it, although it makes a marked difference in the weight of the camara. Aside from that and the price $110 (used) I have nothing negative to say.
Now lets get to it...
First, I like having the extra power available from the second battery inside the BG2. With the second battery installed, I have not once had to recharge my batteries after a heavy weekend of shooting over 32 GBs in photos. I do have to share that I only use the AF on the K20D about half the time and use an external flash.
Second, the ability to adjust the camera exposure setting while holding the camera body in a portrait orientation is very handy. Some of the lens I shot with need additional exposure compensation. The extra means in which I can accomplish this task helps speed up my transition time when changing lenses.
Third, the presence of an extra shutter release button. Although I just assume to have an extra shutter release on any integrated external battery pack, the fact that there is this extra release button is nice to write about. I use the extra shutter release on the BG2 about half the time I am shooting in portrait mode.
Forth, the internal storage slot for a spare SD memory card. This extra memory card storage slot is very handy and clever on the part of the Pentax engineers. Hence, now I never go on a shot without a spare SD card and on several occasions have found having the spare SD card with me very helpful. It makes for one less thing to lose in the field and helps minimize the time it takes me to replace the SD card in the camera.
The addition of a power ON/OFF switch on the BG2 is a feature that I rarely use, but still a nice feature to have incorporated into the battery pack.
Last, the construction and build of the BG2 is very good. The fit and finish of the external and internal plastic parts, control switches and buttons is excellent. Although the battery pack is not incased in a metal exterior housing, the choices of the materials used feel robust, moisture and impact resistant. I have bumped the battery pack against a few hard things already and have left very little scaring to the battery pack's exterior.
| | | | | Moderator
Site Supporter Registered: June, 2008 Location: Florida Hill Country Posts: 17,377 | | Review Date: August 13, 2010 | Recommended | Price: $65.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Well made and adds functinality to the body | | Cons: | adds weight but, duh | |
This increases battery life, has the extra wheels, and helps with the grip when using macro or longer lenses. It does add some weight to the rig, but I use a Optech harness with this body anyway. I lucked into a good deal on this right after I got my K20d.
| | | | | | | Veteran Member Registered: October, 2008 Location: Albuquerque NM Posts: 9,830 | | Review Date: July 14, 2010 | Recommended | Price: $100.00
| Rating: 7 |
| Pros: | Nice feel, no worries about batts | | Cons: | Heavy, and not always necessary | |
This is a nice accessory, but I did not fall in love with it quite to the same extent as many others here. The two shutters and extra wheels are nice, and the extra batt is essential when I am using the wireless mode so that my camera flash is providing fill but draining the batt.
However, put a couple of bodies around your neck with these grips, and you have a sore neck. You also get noticed in a way that sometimes detracts from candid shooting. I find myself using this accessory less than I once did.
| | | | | PEG Moderator Registered: August, 2008 Location: Highlands of Scotland... "Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand" - William Blake Posts: 57,818 | | Review Date: July 1, 2010 | Recommended | Price: None indicated
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Essential equipement | | Cons: | None, that I've found, just take it easy on lining up the pins on mounting grip to body. | |
All my bodies are fitted with grips, apart from the obvious stuff, switches/buttons for vertical portraits, I can't imagine using a camera without a grip. I have huge-ish hands and fast heavy glass, for me it just balances the camera in use. 
The second battery is also a must for me (failure is not an option and yes I carry additional batteries and bodies) and somewhere to put that tiny remote is handy, otherwise on that rare occassion I need it, I would never be able to find it in the Crumpler.  | | | | | Veteran Member Registered: February, 2008 Location: Waterloo, Ontario Posts: 4,461 | | Review Date: May 4, 2010 | Recommended | Price: $180.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Better grip on camera, extended battery power | | Cons: | None | |
For me this grip is essential for use with my K10. I found the K10 o be too small for my not overly large hands. It reminds me of my old MX winder from the film days. The K10 just feels wrong without it. The grip gave me a surer purchase on the camera and an added sense of security. It adds a fair bit of weight to the unit but this is a reasonable trade off for better performance to my mind. The additional shutter release for vertical shots is a bonus as is the storage space for the extra battery, remote and memory card. If you have a K10 or K20 this is "the" essential accessory from my point of view.
| | | | | Inactive Account Registered: September, 2009 Location: SoCal Posts: 1,292 | | Review Date: April 13, 2010 | Recommended | Price: None indicated
| Rating: 10 |
|
From an amature user: I would not be without the grip. I also have larger hands and it makes camera handeling much better and safer. Further I use a heavy tele lens on occasion and I would really dislike the package without the extra grip area. It also protects the camera body from base plate wear and tear. If you are a hiker and shoot with smaller lenses I suppose you would find the extra size and weight the grip provides not an advantage. For me and my purposes I would not be without it. I paid retail from a NY supplier.
| | | | | Senior Member Registered: April, 2009 Location: Alta Posts: 279 | | Review Date: April 11, 2010 | Recommended | Price: None indicated
| Rating: 7 |
| Pros: | Gives more battery time, extends the camera body grip | | Cons: | Too thin a grip for vertical use, only space for one battery inside | |
For me the grip is nice as it adds to the normal grip of the K10D (and also K20D of course), so the normal grip becomes longer and makes the camera better to hold and handle. Also, you naturally get a vertical grip.
But the grip when using it vertically is very thin, and not very comfortable to hold.
The grip also lacks some buttons it should have, like the AF-button.
I loved that Pentax didn't use the kind of grip where you have to remove the battery door on the camera body to use the grip, so you can have the battery in the camera still, but then why did they waste the space in the grip on a holder for the remote control and and SD-card? Why not have two batteries still, so you can use three batteries at the same time? Or at least have two versions of the grip, one the way it is, and one with space for two batteries inside it.
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: January, 2009 Location: Indianapolis, Indiana, USA Posts: 312 | | Review Date: March 26, 2010 | Recommended | Price: $115.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | greatly improves ergonomics for users with large hands | | Cons: | adds weight, vertical grip could be wider, command wheels sometimes stick between "clicks" | |
I join the chorus that sing the praise of this grip. I found my K10D to be uncomfortable in my large hands: my hand hanging off the bottom edge of the camera, causing my hand to fatigue quickly. But this grip solves that problem and changes the entire ergonomics of the camera (for the better). I hardly ever take it off. Sure, it adds some weight, but the change in ergonomics actually makes it easier to hold and maneuver the camera despite the added weight. I've also found it's easier to achieve a steady handhold for my lower light shots. I highly recommend it for anyone who finds the K10D/K20D to be at all uncomfortable.
One issue to be aware of is that sometimes the command wheels will unintentionally stay in between clicks, which makes the camera's wheels inoperable. All you have to do is just flick the grip wheels a bit to click them into place and the camera's wheels will work again. (Actually, the camera's wheels could theoretically do this too, but it's unlikely in regular usage because your hands don't brush up against them like they do on the grip.)
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: March, 2007 Location: Nove Zamky, Slovakia Posts: 7,183 | | Review Date: March 26, 2010 | Recommended | Price: $100.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | massivly improves handling of K10/20 | | Cons: | It could be rounder at the back | |
I got this very shortly after I purchased my K10D.
The difference in handling the camera (especially for someone with bigger hands like me) is there straight away.
The extra battery is very handy too and the compartment for extra SD card is icing on the cake.
The only negative IMO is that the back side (basically the bottom when mounted on camera) could be rounded so it would fit better into the hand.
other than that, no complains
| | | | | Loyal Site Supporter Registered: March, 2007 Location: Toowoomba, Queensland Posts: 23,920 | | Review Date: March 26, 2010 | Recommended | Price: $150.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Unrivaled build quality, weather-sealed, solid feel to all buttons and wheels | | Cons: | No AF button | |
An essential accessory particularly for the portrait photographer.
The ease of the camera's operation in portrait orientation makes this great add-on perfectly suited and well worth every dollar spent on it.
Adds life to the camera (extra battery), stores an SD card and remote, and fits flush and perfectly contoured on the K10D/K20D.
Top product.
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: April, 2009 Location: Camby, Indiana Posts: 379 | | Review Date: March 26, 2010 | Recommended | Price: $140.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Balance is good, Grip is not too big to have on all the time. Button sensitivity is like on the camera. | | Cons: | When I'm holding the camera in the HRZ possition, my pinky hits the grips shutter button at times and I activate the AF when I am already focused...Remedy: turn the grip off when your VRT possition images are done. Only Con for me | |
I find the grip an added plus for me. I use two lenses, the EX Sigma 24-70 and the EX Sigma 105 Macro... both a little heaver than normal consumer lenses. This grip helps the balance a whole lot. plus, it adds, added stability for heaver lenses for hand help lower speeds.. I would recommend it to anyone wants better overall stability and is tired of their right hand/arm aiming at the sky for VRT shoots without the grip.  | | | | | Junior Member Registered: February, 2009 Posts: 38 | | Review Date: March 26, 2010 | Recommended | Price: None indicated
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Holds SD card AND a remote, makes the size of the body "just right" | | Cons: | Lack of rigidity when mounted on a tripod with camera. | |
Yes - it is interesting, that this is the only one from these four grips having a slot for IR remote.
With my hands grip is a absolute must to have, so it stays on the body at all times - except when using a tripod. It is a shame that in addition to tripod mount being out of line with the mount on camera body, the main shortcoming is simply the lack of rigidity, when camera is mounted on a tripod with any lens heavier than most of standard zooms. It shows clearly even with DA*50-135 (which is less than 700 g in weight) - tightening the mounting screw of a grip does not help, because it looks like the upper plate of the grip starts to bend with the body.
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: February, 2007 Location: Freehold, NJ Posts: 856 | | Review Date: March 25, 2010 | Recommended | Price: $150.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Well built | | Cons: | None | |
This was my first purchase for my k10d and it still serves me well on my k20d. As far as I am concerned, it is the best investment I made (besides my lenses). It adds balance to the camera and extends life by allowing an extra battery to charge the camera.
| | |
