[raider]

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I am looking to get the D-BG4 battery grip and to my surprise I found a third party version in e-bay.

Battery Grip Holder f Pentax PK K7 K-7 Camera as BG-K7 - eBay (item 270484521813 end time Dec-13-09 01:25:13 PST)

also

Pro Vertical Battery Grip B1X for Pentax K7 As D-BG4 - eBay (item 270481518218 end time Dec-06-09 20:51:10 PST)

Anyone has this battery grip? It is more than 50% cheaper than the Pentax version. Is this any good?

[Steve.Ledger]

I'd be avoiding these until my K-7 is well out of warranty.
I'm cautious like that..

[raider]

Yes. I agree and think so too. If everything goes well, I hope to get my pentax batt grip late next week.

[WerTicus]

ahh exploding, leaking, over voltage ebay battery grips. good luck, maybe the one you choose wont break your camera Or even actually work!

[Rondec]

Obviously you give up weather sealing with one of these. I don't know about voiding a warranty if your camera breaks while using one, but I suppose it is possible. Probably best to go with brand name in this situation.

[Russell-Evans]

Obviously you give up weather sealing with one of these.

Description seems to say otherwise.

Buttons, body joints, and retractable parts are dust-proof and water-resistant

Thank you
Russell

[raider]

Personally I will still get the original pentax grip but just for discussion sake, why is using a third party grip be any worse than using third party LI-90 batteries for the K-7?

There are some discussions previously on this forum about using third party ebay batteries which cost $15 bucks a piece as compared to something like $115 for pentax original batteries and some people seem to report good reviews with these batts.

[pop4]

Hmm, it they look half-decent and even have the buttons and e-dial as well.

[flyer]

It looks like an exact clone of the original grip, so it is likely produced by the company that manufactures the original ones. I'm not a big fan of third party accessories due to the risk involved, but I think I'd chance that one.

[Torva]

ahh exploding, leaking, over voltage ebay battery grips. good luck, maybe the one you choose wont break your camera Or even actually work!

wouldn't agree to that. i was using ownuser battery grip with my k100d for few years and didn't have an issue with that.

[reeftool]

I am not a big fan of grips as I like the egronomics of my camera without one but if I were to buy one I think I would go for the genuine Pentax one. While I'm not against using third party accessorys, I certainly wouldn't buy a no name grip from an overseas seller.

[coelhom]

I was actually thinking of purchasing one of these "third party" grips and after reading everyone's skepticism about them, I've decided to go for it anyway.
Of course there's a risk that it will not work, or even cause damage to my K7 but there's also a high chance of the grip actually being worth the money. And for $100 less, it's definitely worth it. The grip looks exactly the same. And, the Pentax grips are most likely made by the same or similar manufacturers.

Just as a side note, my uncle owns a Canon 5D Mark II and recently purchased a third party grip from China for his camera and it works perfectly fine. I've also purchased a few batteries for the K7 for $15-20 a piece off Ebay and they are completely up to par with the official Pentax battery, which goes for $100 or so.
After dropping $1300 on a camera body, I think it's definitely worth while to take a chance.

[BCtoad]

I was also looking at third-party grip and if you look closely at the third-party grip location pins on that grip they are plastic where the Pentax pins are metal I would stick with the Pentax grip just for those pins alone much stronger. If the third-party grip got really bumped hard those pins would shear off distorting the electric multi pin plug, not good, you get what you pay for.

[PolishMike]

Guys, seriously: DealExtreme: $54.77 External Battery Grip for Pentax K7 DSLR
This is ONE SIXTH of the UK price of the original D-BG4.

As people have said - these look identical to the original. I have little doubt that they are made in the same factory - the effort it would take to clone the design so exactly by a third party would not be worth it. I cannot tell the difference between the build of my original K-7 battery and the knock-off backup I bought - I think some factory in Vietnam or the Philippines is making a bit of money on the side and it's bloody great news for my wallet.

Actually, looking at the ebay listings above a bit closer it looks like they are not the same as the DealExtreme version. The layout of the screws on the DX and original version is the same but different on ebay. Also, the retaining pins are metal on the DX and Pentax variants. At the same time, the DX version seems to lack the slight textured surface finish of the original. Oh well, I will see when mine arrives.

[glanglois]

It's a lot easier to make a clone that looks just like the original than it is to manufacture those devices that consistently meet all original tolerances and specifications and will continue to do after years of regular use in the field.

One easy way to keep costs and prices down on the knockoffs: skip the QA. Simply box everything that hurtles off the assembly line and put the responsibility on the purchasers to test for quality and reliability. After the 90-day unenforceable warranty expires.

They may even be made in the same factory: if they pass QA, they get the Pentax label. If they fall a bit short on specs and tolerances, they get a different label. Not all that uncommon.