[tsofron]

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Hi all,

does anybody knows something about this product:

Batteriegriff für Pentax K7 D-BG4 grip + 1x D-Li90 B1Y bei eBay.de: Akkus (endet 12.12.09 09:08:50 MEZ)

It's pretty cheap (half the price of an original)...

Bests,
Tudor

[deadwolfbones]

Looks pretty nice for a third-party grip. Doubt it's weather sealed, though.

[tsofron]

Looks pretty nice for a third-party grip. Doubt it's weather sealed, though.

looks nice indeed...:-) - and for half the money, i'd gladly renounce at the weather sealing...
if you look carefully if even has the sd card outline - like the original one.

still...if any pentaxian knows anything about this grip...:-)...if it's not working, in the end, i'll have to buy the original one. if pantacs would have only kept the k20d measures but with the k7 look and feeel ;

bests,
tudor

[uffepuffe]

I just got mine from hongkong and it does indeed work just fine. All the buttons are there and it looks really nice.
No weather sealing but i got mine with two batteries for about 73€ so well worth the money.

[flyer]

I can't understand people. You pay close to $1400.00 for a camera, then you are going to use third party accessory that could possibly damage it to save some money. Company like Tamron, Sigma et al. have a reputation they want to keep, but some third party manufacturer might be there for a quick return on their investment with absolutely no remorse about the damage they can cause. If a third party grip damages the camera, I don't think Pentax will cover the repair under warranty.

For myself, I'd rather play it safe and use known equipment suppliers. My cameras are worth more than the saving I could potentially realize with a third party grip.

[LeDave]

I can't understand people. You pay close to $1400.00 for a camera, then you are going to use third party accessory that could possibly damage it to save some money. Company like Tamron, Sigma et al. have a reputation they want to keep, but some third party manufacturer might be there for a quick return on their investment with absolutely no remorse about the damage they can cause. If a third party grip damages the camera, I don't think Pentax will cover the repair under warranty.

For myself, I'd rather play it safe and use known equipment suppliers. My cameras are worth more than the saving I could potentially realize with a third party grip.

Well although I do have the K-7, I try to save every money I can. One doesn't have to specifically be rich just to own a K-7; in fact a lot of people go for Pentax just because of the pricing in the first place, although Pentax lenses are now nearing close to that of Canikon pricing. But for using a third party grip that could potentially damage the equipment, I have not heard of such a story before, although I may not be looking hard enough which may be a good sign.

[tsofron]

Well although I do have the K-7, I try to save every money I can. One doesn't have to specifically be rich just to own a K-7. But for using a third party grip that could potentially damage the equipment, I have not heard of such a story before, although I may not be looking hard enough which may be a good sign.

:-). i'm pretty aware of that - that's why i was asking.

but there might be also a little trick with oem equipment: some big brands produce their small equipment (grips, hoods, batteries, les caps, etc) with manufacturers like (let's say for the sake of the example) link delight, put the label 'Big Brand' on, and sell those pieces with a very high profit margin. in the mean time link delight produces own accesories based on the specs of the original designer, probably with lower quality control...and ofc, at a lower price ;-).

one example, and you can trust me om this: some p*** speedcat shoes were made until last year in Romania. they were made from scratch there and after that sent back to Germany, where they were labeld as 'Made in Vietnam', 'Made in Germany, etc', went through german qc and sold with 100 euros the pair across europe. shoes with an almost same design were found in Romania too ;-)

you may draw any conclusions

best regards,
Tudor

ps: unfortunately electronics is nowdays not build to last...

[LeDave]

I was taking a look at the knockoff grips on eBay and it seems like there are multiple sellers but there are two types of grips.

Take a look at these details on the front:

1 - Take a look at the connector things, on Grip type 1 it is plastic unlike the genuine grip. On Grip type 2 it is metal just like the genuine grip.

2 - Take a look at the curve and where the grip ends. Grip type 1 is less curvy and the grip is off. Grip type 2 is more curvy like the genuine Pentax grip and the grip extends to the correct spot like the genuine grip.

3 - Take a look at this little thing, on Grip type 1, it's just a little thing sticking out. On Grip type 2, it looks closer to the genuine grip. On the genuine grip, there is a circle cushion popping out of this thing while on Grip type 2, it doesn't have cushion.

4 - Take a look at the black screws around the tripod-mount. On grip type 1, it has only two screws. On grip type 2, it has 6 screws which is the same amount as the genuine.

Conclusion -
The only difference I can tell between Grip 2 and genuine is that genuine has a different label saying PENTAX on it and with cushion. While on Grip type 2, it doesn't have the genuine Pentax label and it has no cushions.

GRIP TYPE 1 FRONT


GRIP TYPE 2 FRONT


GENUINE FRONT


Take a look at these details on the back:

1 - On grip type 1, the grip once again gets cut off. On grip 2 type, the grip extends through the curve line just like the genuine.

3 - Look at where the screws are placed, it's different on both grips. Also look at how Grip type 1 has a hole that's popping out. On Grip type 2 however, the hole is recessed. On the Genuine grip, there are cushions sticking out of these holes, however the Grip type 2 it has no cushion.

GRIP TYPE 1 BACK


GRIP TYPE 2 BACK


GENUINE BACK


Here is the group selling Grip type 2, closer to genuine grips.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280439064218&ssPageName=S...#ht_3013wt_859

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220527760188&ssPageName=S...#ht_3000wt_890

Here is the group selling lesser to genuine grips, Grip type 1.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Battery-Grip-for-Pentax-K7-D-BG4-D-Li90-Battery-B1Y_W0QQ...ht_2641wt_1084

http://cgi.ebay.com/Pro-Battery-Grip-B1Y-for-Pentax-K7-As-D-BG4-1x-D-Li90_W0...ht_2583wt_1084

EDIT: I also forgot to mention that the contacts on Grip type 1 is large and fat. While on the Grip type 2 is also thin like the genuine grip. This is pretty scary because it looks all the same except it's missing cushion and it has a different label.

[jeremyhall]

I bought one of those grips for my K7 from the 'linkdelight' store.

The quality - as in, the fit and finish - is pretty outstanding. The only things that give it away (as a knockoff) are the material on the thumbwheels and perhaps the buttons, if you look closely.

Unfortunately the unit I received had two problems with it :

- A small piece of metal was missing from the AA tray, preventing it from working. One I realised it was missing, I made a temporary repair, and the AA tray worked fine.

- The grip did not seem to 'see' a lithium battery, even a 100% freshly charged one. At first I thought that the grip just wasn't designed to work without a battery in the body, but then after a few days the camera suddenly became aware of a grip battery.
It was very erratic and seemed to go from reading the grip battery as 'full' to 'empty' in just a few minutes, though mostly it just would not 'see' a battery at all. Obviously a problem.

I contacted the seller and described the problem and all my troubleshooting steps, and they seemed concerned and responded quickly. I've sent it back to them and they will hopefully send me a new one.

Also worth noting : the SD card holder in the lithium tray is very tight. I struggled with mine for 5 minutes, trying to pull out a SD card. Eventually I just half-inserted it, which held it securely enough, and could actually be removed.

Summary - A great grip, though mine had some problems which are being addressed by the seller.

[jacksonpritt]

Grip Type 2 seems pretty solid. Very, very close to the original.

And at a savings of over 50% off the list price for the official grip, it seems like an excellent deal.

$100 less I spend on the grip is $100 more I can spend on new lenses.

[Jasvox]

Yeah, besides the weather-sealing, it appears to be pretty much the same thing. I wrote a posting in here a few months ago about why I think battery grips are the most over-valued accessory in the Pentax catalog, price-wise. I love uasing a grip and find it to be necessity at times....but paying $200 for something as simple as what it is...ridiculous in my opinion. These should be no more than $100 from Pentax. If someone out there is making one and selling them, for $90, more power to them.

Jason

[LeDave]

Hey you guys, I sent a message to foto4easy yesterday, a seller that was selling a closer to genuine, the Grip Type 2 from the comparison. I asked him if he had more product shots of the grip since on eBay there were only 1 available.

He sent me more pictures and I was able to conduct a deeper comparison. I was amazed by the quality of this grip and it's ability to mimic the quality and design of the genuine grip in almost a 1:1 exact ratio.

What surprises me is Grip Type 1 has more sales, probably over 20 sales as shown on the eBay listings from the current sellers. While in fact from what I see, there has only been one sale total within Grip Type 2 when it is more genuine in design.

Genuine Top:


Grip Type 2 Top:


As you can see, there's no cushion on the Grip Type 2 compared to the Genuine, but however all the locations of every screw and every spot of design is in exact location. Aside from having no cushions, the rubber grip pattern is different. It could be that these two are almost and if not exact designs, only that the person who sourced these beautiful grips couldn't get a hold of the cushion and the correct pattern. They also couldn't print the PENTAX label on there of course, instead they use some sort of sticker.

Genuine Buttons:


Grip Type 2 Buttons:


Genuine Back:


Grip Type 2 Back:
(See Grip Type 2 Cartridges below)

Genuine Bottom:
Grip+Bottom.jpg (image)

Grip Type 2 Bottom:


Genuine Cartridges:
Grip+Two+Trays.jpg (image)

Grip Type 2 Cartridges:

[ronin67]

Thanks LaDave. I don't think a visual comparison could be any better then what you presented. This time (unlike with my Canon EOS 50D) I opted for the genuine Pentax grip. I figured I would be defeating the purpose of the weather resistant body, then get a cheap battery grip that wasn't weather sealed (my opinion). I also see the other side. Maybe after blowing almost all your money on the camera, you just don't have the additional $200.00 plus for the Pentax grip. Anyway, thanks a bunch for the great comparison. If I could give you an award for "Best Descriptive and Helpful Post", yours would be #1 for 2009.

Take Care and May God Bless!

Ed

[StigVidar]

I got my type 2 grip today. Unfortunately I don't have my camera this and next week so haven't tried it yet. The build quality is fair, but not good. If you are serious about this grip, buy the Pentax one. If, like me, you only want to use it now and then, it is probably good enough.

The user manual says it's dust and waterproof, but I opened it and there is no sign of seals nowhere.

[dr_doolittle]

Hello @all,

got the bg yesterday, coming with 2 li-ion accus I will only use in the bg. As written before, the 3-rd party grip has less comfort in the wheels. I think it fits pretty well and is every ct. worth. Maybe its not wr as the original, but thats not really a problem for me.
The slr raises a lot of comfort by changing landscape to portrait and this was the reason I bought it.

greets from Germany

Manfred