| Author: | | New Member Registered: July, 2013 Posts: 2 | | Review Date: April 15, 2018 | Recommended | Price: $20.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Extra power, extra grip, additional shutter button, durable | | Cons: | Weight | |
I put one on these on my K200D right after I got it. All my film cameras had winders on them, so it just felt like old times. The battery life I was getting wasn't great, so the grip alleviated the feeling I was constantly changing the AAs.
I paid full price for the first grip, but I was in a camera store a few years later and found another one in the discount bin. The K200D was relegated to back up camera, but the price of $20 for another new-in-box grip was too tempting to pass up. Now I have 'hot swap' power for it.
The durability of these grips is much better than the old winders. The Winder A for the Super Program/Program Plus had fragile battery door latches that failed under heavy use. These new units are more robust.
| | | | | | | Veteran Member Registered: August, 2012 Posts: 678 | | Review Date: August 27, 2017 | Recommended | Price: $28.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Extra battery capacity; auxiliary shutter button for portrait mode | | Cons: | makes the camera HEAVY! | |
I recently acquired a K200D and spotted this grip online for $28 shipped so I thought 'what the heck'. The grip itself is fairly simple. It holds four AA batteries and sports an auxiliary shutter release button for shooting in portrait mode. Not surprisingly, the amount of space required by the batteries leaves no room to store a spare memory card or remote as grips that use proprietary battery packs do. Installing the grip on the camera is a snap. Just remove the contact cover from the bottom of the camera, stow it in its slot on the top of the grip, line the grip up and screw it into the tripod mount. This grip seems to be well constructed and weather sealed to match the camera.
Many people remark on the improved ergonomics offered by a battery grip but my experience has been the exact opposite, especially with the K200D. One thing I really like about this camera on its own is it feels very comfortable in my hands and is not excessively heavy. That all changes with the addition of the battery grip. It suddenly becomes a brick in my hands, uncomfortable to hold after a very short while. The combined weight of the camera, lens and battery grip fatigues my shoulders and aggravates the arthritis in the fingers of my right hand so I generally leave the grip in the bag and only put it on the camera when I know I'll really need the extra battery capacity. Despite this, I still recommend the grip for those who need it as its shortcomings are as much about me as they are about the accessory itself.
| | | | | Inactive Account Registered: June, 2011 Location: Czech Republic Posts: 2 | | Review Date: March 25, 2014 | Recommended | Price: None indicated
| Rating: 7 |
| Pros: | easy to install | | Cons: | what about those tiny pins?!?!? | |
There is nothing special to talk about. It is great item to have and I got it as a part of bundle with my K200D.
I like that there is shutter button with ON/OFF switcher  but i definitely don't like  those tiny small pins which can be easily broken (I believe so) in you bag 
Small plastic cap which is coming with it is fine, but doesn't hold on place. You have to use some fixation.
Good idea is that you can store rubber cup from your camera inside of this grip.
Batteries are somehow easy to change, and overall construction is really great.
MORE POWER!!!! ;-)  | | | | | Forum Member Registered: December, 2012 Location: Warsaw Posts: 83 | | Review Date: January 6, 2014 | Recommended | Price: $43.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Small, cheap, weather resistant, additional power in WR package, genuine Pentax build quality - I miss it in my OEM K-5 grip... | | Cons: | Only ON/OFF/aperture + AE-L buttons. Hard to get one. | |
Compared to K-20 or K-5 grips - D-BG3 is very poorly equipped - just minimum amount of buttons, but that's the way they've decided to make it some years ago. I got it for the reasonable price and was happy with it.
One remark: all GRIPS I had report batteries as drained earlier than the camera body. My Eneloops and Energizer Lithiums were both OK when put directly in the camera, but indicated as almost empty while put inside the grip....
| | | | | | | Pentaxian Registered: February, 2010 Location: Northern Michigan Posts: 6,174 | | Review Date: July 24, 2012 | Recommended | Price: $30.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Inexpensive | | Cons: | Very basic | |
Found this at a price too good to resist at KEH. Makes the K200D look like a professional camera. In fact, since putting it to use I've had several people ask me whether I was professional, something that had never happened before. How shocked people would be to think that camera and grip combined cost a tenth of the Nikon D4's price!
In terms of functionality, this is a very basic unit. Just an off on switch, shutter, and an AE-L button. The ability to take AA batteries is of course very convenient if you already own a lot of rechargeables; but it can be a bit flaky with such batteries. Sometimes the camera will notify low power, but if you just switch the camera on and off, it goes back reading full power. And I've had occasional freezes with the camera, something that never happened before using the unit. But I am thankful merely that the camera came with the option of the battery grip. That appears not to be the case with the K200D's successor, the K30.
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: July, 2011 Location: Delaware Posts: 344 | | Review Date: November 7, 2011 | Recommended | Price: $30.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Cheap, decent quality | | Cons: | Finish a bit different than camera, kinda buggy | |
I got this from Henry's for $30 or so. Great deal. The finish isn't the same as the camera, but for that price who cares? Sometimes doesn't want to work when pressing the shutter release half way down, only all the way. I have to pull the batteries from the camera body to reset everything. All said, it's a good deal.
| | | | | New Member Registered: April, 2008 Location: Minnesota Posts: 19 | | Review Date: March 25, 2011 | Recommended | Price: None indicated
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | better handling, and power and release options | | Cons: | lithium batteries only | |
the grip itself is great addition, I always have mine attached.
However I found that I was not able to use AA Rechargeable as the camera would freeze, thus requiring that the grip and camera batteries be removed to undo the freeze, a real annoyance. 
I don't recall the price off-hand but it was less than $100 for sure.
| | | | | New Member Registered: December, 2010 Location: Dade City, FL Posts: 1 | | Review Date: March 18, 2011 | Recommended | Price: $75.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Much better control of the camera | | Cons: | Freezes the camera | |
I'm working on my second grip, the first one, after about 6 months use, started to cause the camera to freeze. Then, I had to turn the camera off, unattach the grip, take the batteries out of the camera, and then reverse the process to get it to work again. I got tired of that, so bought another replacement grip. So far, I've had no problems with it. With the first grip, it didn't make any difference of the type of batteries I was using, re-chargeable, lithium, or alkaline.
However, the increased control, and increased battery life of the camera, gained by using this grip, makes it more than worthwhile. The grip is moisture resistant, like the K200D body. I travel to Central America regularly, and take photos of tropical amphibians, mostly of tree frogs of the lowland rain forests. Key word here is 'rain' forest, with over 100 inches of rain throughout the year. Because of the rain and humidity factor, Pentax has been my camera manufacturer of choice. Their products just hold up better under harsh tropical environments.
Since it seems to be drizzling, or raining, on most of my shoots in the forest, I really don't want to be opening up my camera to change batteries. The grip allows me double the amount of shots I can take before seeking shelter and changing the batteries.
Another great advantage of using the grip is the comfort and control while shooting in the portrait position. The most useful buttons are right there, available to be used when needed, nor are there awkward movements or time loss getting that perfect angle for the shot.
I can recommend Pentax battery grips, and also have one for my K-7. Even with the issues the first grip gave me, I can still give this product a rating of 9.
| | | | | Senior Member Registered: October, 2009 Location: Germany Posts: 154 | | Review Date: June 29, 2010 | Recommended | Price: $50.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | simple, effective, useful, weather sealed | | Cons: | none | |
this is a simple effective option to go with the K200D ... weather-sealed ... doubles battery life ... isn't loaded with too many controls etc to make it complicated or prone to breaking down ... improves the handling by increasing the real-estate available ... complete value for money ...  | | | | | Junior Member Registered: February, 2010 Posts: 29 | | Review Date: May 25, 2010 | Recommended | Price: $50.00
| Rating: 6 |
| Pros: | Improved handling in portrait, extended battery life | | Cons: | Limited controls, plasticy build quality, no storage | |
Note that some of the reviews above are clearly reviews of a different grip. The BG-3 is a grip to fit the K200D and DOES NOT have any storage space for the remote control or a spare SD card.
I have massive hands, and this grip definitely makes my K200D more comfortable to hold and gives me a more stable grip, especially in portrait format. I guess this is a basic expectation for a camera grip. This and the extended battery life are its only real benefits.
Otherwise, Pentax have been quite irritatingly stingy with this grip. It offers very limited controls; there's no e-dial, and you can't activate the DOF preview from the grip. So, although the camera is easier to hold in portrait format it actually becomes more difficult to set-up; because now you have to make an even more uncomfortable reach to get to the camera controls. They have given the grip an AE-L button, but without the ability to change the shutter speed or aperture from the grip this isn't as useful as it could be.
The build quality is noticeably more tacky than the build quality of the K200D itself, and it doesn't sit perfectly flush with the camera body; you can see light between the two. This latter point makes me nervous, but maybe as I use the grip more I'll come to trust it... at the moment I'm slightly scared that it'll separate from the body at some point.
The price I've quoted above is in pounds sterling, not US dollars; a conversion would be meaningless. I bought the grip new from a UK Amazon seller.
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: January, 2009 Location: Johannesburg, South Africa Posts: 316 | | Review Date: April 8, 2010 | Recommended | Price: $35.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Improves ergonomics, extends battery life, maintains weather sealing | | Cons: | Limited controls, no space for remote or extra SD card | |
Considering the BG-3 is for the K200D (which isn't a top end model) it would be unreasonable to expect it to come with an e-dial or other additional controls. Nevertheless, that and the lack of space for the remote are my only complaints on what is otherwise a great item. It drastically improves the K200D's ergonomics, making it feel far more balanced when there's a big lens attached.
The doubled battery life is also a plus. My advice: set the camera to use the grip first so that you don't have to charge the batteries in the camera very often (which involves removing the grip). If you're thinking about getting one, do it. I spotted mine on a sale at an amazon affiliate, had it shipped to a friend and then waited an age... but it was well worth it. It never leaves my camera.
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: February, 2009 Location: Portland, OR Posts: 325 | | Review Date: March 31, 2010 | Recommended | Price: $150.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Improves camera feel, increases battery life, holds remote and extra SD card | | Cons: | no AF button | |
What else is there to say? Its awesome and I can't imagine using my camera without it. Not just for vertical holding (I actually still use the body grip for that) it balances the camera and holds an extra battery, remote and SD card. Just wish it had an AF button so I could use it holding upright.
| | | | | New Member Registered: February, 2010 Location: Brasov Posts: 25 | | Review Date: March 26, 2010 | Recommended | Price: None indicated
| Rating: 10 |
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I use this grip from the beginning and this winter, at -28 degrees Celsius, I made one hour photos and the batteries where fully charged. My mobile phone was dead in 5 minutes.
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