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03-15-2016, 03:49 PM   #1
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non Pentax battery grip?

anyone using a non pentax battery grip for their K3?

if so what brand?

03-15-2016, 08:29 PM   #2
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QuoteOriginally posted by jc723 Quote
anyone using a non pentax battery grip for their K3?

if so what brand?
I had a great experience with the knockoff grip for my K5 and it served me well for several years.

That said the Pentax official grip for the k-3 is priced much lower then for previous models and is well worth the purchase. The quality is outstanding
03-15-2016, 11:16 PM   #3
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I've been shooting a K-3 for about 6 months now and am wondering why you guys want a grip on them. I can't see battery life being worth it the battery in mine is good for all day and 2000 shots easy. I don't even see the need to have a second battery so what is the advantage to having a grip on the camera?
03-16-2016, 12:21 AM   #4
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QuoteOriginally posted by charchri4 Quote
I've been shooting a K-3 for about 6 months now and am wondering why you guys want a grip on them. I can't see battery life being worth it the battery in mine is good for all day and 2000 shots easy. I don't even see the need to have a second battery so what is the advantage to having a grip on the camera?
You're getting 2000 shots from one battery? That's very, very unusual. Ricoh lists the K3 as having battery life of around 720 shots without flash or 560 with 50% flash usage. Of course, if you frequently use LiveView rather than the viewfinder, this drops quite considerably, and same with video.

Anyway, the reasons I use a grip on both my K3 and K3II are:

- camera balances better, especially with heavier / longer lenses (faster zooms and tele primes tend to be quite chunky and heavy)
- there is more to grip - all fingers of your hand have something to hold, and it generally feels nicer to use (to me, at least)
- when shooting a lot in portrait orientation, it's much easier to use the controls on the grip rather than the body
- no need to charge as often... with a fully charged battery in the camera and one in the grip, I'm good for several weeks of normal use (although I tend to swap out the grip battery when it gets low - this way I rarely have to charge the one in the camera)

The ability to power the camera from AA batteries in the grip's battery adapter is nice too, although I've never had to resort to that.

There are occasions where I take the grip off... If I just want a small, light combo with me, I might have one of my prime lenses on the body and no grip...


Last edited by BigMackCam; 03-16-2016 at 05:18 AM.
03-16-2016, 01:12 AM - 1 Like   #5
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QuoteOriginally posted by BigMackCam Quote
camera balances better, especially with heavier / longer lenses (faster zooms and tele primes tend to be quite chunky and heavy)

This is my main reason for using the grip. It's almost always on the K-3. I found that I'm not using the "portrait" controlls as much as I expected to. I suppose that is because of muscle memory from all the years without a grip.


I bought the original BG-5 for two reasons. It's maintains the WR and it was only $120 at the time. Even with the current pricing it's worth the money.

Last edited by Bengan; 03-16-2016 at 01:21 AM.
03-16-2016, 05:06 AM   #6
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QuoteOriginally posted by charchri4 Quote
I've been shooting a K-3 for about 6 months now and am wondering why you guys want a grip on them. I can't see battery life being worth it the battery in mine is good for all day and 2000 shots easy. I don't even see the need to have a second battery so what is the advantage to having a grip on the camera?
Away from charging unit for periods of time e.g. fishing, hunting, quading, exploring, camping
Big hands - extended grip horizontal, grip vertical , controls vertical
Balance when using long lenses 55-300 , Bigma etc.
Have 2 of them No worries on power function or WR.

Last edited by honey bo bo; 03-16-2016 at 09:52 AM.
03-16-2016, 08:27 AM   #7
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I am using a DSTE and have no trouble so far.

DSTE D-BG5 reviews - Pentax Camera Accessory Review Database

03-16-2016, 11:52 AM   #8
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QuoteOriginally posted by charchri4 Quote
I've been shooting a K-3 for about 6 months now and am wondering why you guys want a grip on them. I can't see battery life being worth it the battery in mine is good for all day and 2000 shots easy. I don't even see the need to have a second battery so what is the advantage to having a grip on the camera?
Once I started using a grip I couldn't imagine going back. The reasons? See the other respondents' replies, but is has less to do with the extra battery power than with holding the camera steadier, either when using long lenses or when orienting the camera vertically.

Last edited by pete-tarmigan; 03-16-2016 at 12:56 PM.
03-16-2016, 11:58 AM   #9
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QuoteOriginally posted by pete-tarmigan Quote
Once I started using a grip I couldn't imagine going back.
Agree 100%
03-16-2016, 10:58 PM   #10
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Interesting thank you very much! The lens that is on my camera 70% of the time is a 70-200 Tamon followed by a 50mm prime. I so rarely use my 50-500 I'm probably going to sell it but will hang on to the 16-85 even though I think have used it twice... Seems like the grip would be a benefit to the big lens but it's already super weird to put the 50 on and I put a big rubber hood on it just to make it feel bigger!

I've been wondering about my battery because I have never seen anything like it. It takes forever to charge but never runs down. I just looked now and it shows 4 bars and I know the last time I charged it for a shoot so looked in that folder. The first shot is 7124 and I am at 8810 now and probably 1/3rd of them were shot with a metz flash or a youngno flash controller for off camera stuff. I bet if I put it in the charger now it would take 5 hours to go green but it just never needs charging!

Well it sounds like for 44 bucks it might be worth a look at the DSTE. I wish there was a way to run the metz off it!

Thanks everyone I really appreciate the information.
03-17-2016, 09:25 AM   #11
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I'm using DSTE with no problems.
But I've noticed that the battery seems to drain faster... at least the battery indicator drops 1 third way faster than when not using the grip.
Maybe it's a problem of bad communication between the grip and the camera battery software or something like that...
03-17-2016, 10:14 AM   #12
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QuoteOriginally posted by charchri4 Quote
I've been shooting a K-3 for about 6 months now and am wondering why you guys want a grip on them. I can't see battery life being worth it the battery in mine is good for all day and 2000 shots easy. I don't even see the need to have a second battery so what is the advantage to having a grip on the camera?
i dont care about the 2nd battery. I use it for firing the vertical controls in portrait orientation and to have a place for my pinky to fit (big hands, like Trump).
03-19-2016, 07:22 AM - 1 Like   #13
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don't forget that the Pentax grip is weather resistant where other knockoffs likely are not.
the main reason I like a grip is that it has the shutter button on it so I can shoot in portrait mode without having to twist my arm to shoot

randy
03-19-2016, 07:32 AM   #14
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QuoteOriginally posted by BigMackCam Quote
You're getting 2000 shots from one battery? That's very, very unusual. Ricoh lists the K3 as having battery life of around 720 shots without flash or 560 with 50% flash usage. Of course, if you frequently use LiveView rather than the viewfinder, this drops quite considerably, and same with video.

...
I regularly get 1500+ shots with my K3 on one battery. No video, no flash and not a huge amount of LCD gazing to review shots, but a good number of high speed bursts of 10-20 Raw +Jpeg. I use mostly Pentax batteries with a couple of HAMA and Hahnel ones. The real cheapo ones I have tried don't last as long and at least one has gone bad on me!


K5-K3-K1 same battery - thanks Ricoh, that will save me buying three new batteries


BTW I use the grip for 1) ease of use in portrait mode and 2)better balance with big lenses


I used a Meike grip on my K5 and K20, but have splashed out on a proper Pentax one for my K3 as 1) it was on offer and 2) it is WR. A K3, two 64gb cards a battery grip and a 16-85mm WR will keep you occupied for thousands of shots in the rain!!
03-22-2016, 12:01 AM   #15
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I bought one off of ebay with the extra battery. Zero issues, and the finish matches quite closely.

As others mentioned... it makes taking photos vertically A LOT easier... particularly as the K3 itself is a bit on the smaller side.

Having shot firearms competitively, it is also a lot easier on the wrists not holding up the camera sideways and twisting your wrist. =)
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