[George Lama]

I bought the grip at the same time I ordered the camera. Ergonomically speaking, I like how the camera fits in my hand. Quite comfortable, but in my opinion, with the grip on, it fits even better. I double grip the camera so that my right hand cradles the bottom of the camera. The grip rests nicely on the palm while my fingers still can reach the lens focus/zoom rings. Without the grip, I'd be constantly crowding the lens with my left hand, moving the focus/zoom without intending to. The added bonus of two batteries, double the life, are a must for me, not to mention the convenience it brings when shooting in portrait mode.

It is hefty when you add the grip and battery, but the way I see it is my Canon AE-1P and 300MM lens with auto-winder plus 4 batteries weigh quite a bit too. Add the flash plus batteries for bonus grams

My only true gripe is hitting the grip buttons if I'm not careful, like when I'm previewing a photo and end up touching a button, making the preview disappear. I know I will stop doing this the more I play with it, so I'm not concerned.

[Confused]

Thankyou to everybody who took the time to answer my initial point and it was great that so many of you were interested enough to reply to the original post.
I think that 'Kingsofronin' hit the nail precisely on the head when he stated that "I just wish the bottom grip was more rounded instead of triangular" and likewise for 'FotoPete' when he said that "there wasn't enough to grip on to. I agree a more rounded/bulkier grip would have been nice". ('stewart-photo' later added: I too wish the vertical/battery grip was shaped more like the grip on the camera itself - thicker and more rounded in the front where the fingers wrap around. ) To everyone else who is perfectly happy with the BG-2, I am delighted for you.
I think that the stylists probably won out over the ergonomists in the final design decision, but unless the grip is modified in some way (highly unlikely) then I myself would give it a miss.......although I still find the idea of a secondary shutter release quite appealing.

[wll]

Would not consider taking the battery grip off, for me it is a necessity. The camera seems light and flimsy without it.


wll

[c.r.brown]

I too have large manly man hands >_> and like the grip in landscape mode i also like how it gives me a large base to rest my opposite hand underneath.

If I were to nitpick and now that you mention it a larger bottom lip such as on the right may be better. I have actually found myself holding the grip from the same position in portrait mode and that may be why.

I also keep hitting the bottom buttons occasionally keeping the BG2 switch turned to on. I'll have to train myself to keep it off or watch my mitts. Either that or possibly a functional change by pentax to actually have an activation button on the thumb rest of the bg2 instead that must be depressed to activate the grips buttons.

[carpents]

Whether you like it or not, I still beieve its gotta be changed.

Whether you like it or not, I still believe it can stay the same!


My complaints are simple to fix - the '+/-' button is woefully difficult to press (the one on the camera is perfect) and it is annoying when one scroll wheel gets stuck in the middle of a click and disables the other one.

[stewart_photo]

(snip) when the BG-2 is attached, the section where one would normally wrap one's fingertips around seems to be rather too angular and not rounded enough for my liking. Am I the only person who finds the BG-2 battery grip to be slightly uncomfortable (snip)

I too wish the vertical/battery grip was shaped more like the grip on the camera itself - thicker and more rounded in the front where the fingers wrap around. However, since I shoot a lot of vertical images, that wish hasn't slowed me down one little bit when it comes to actually using the vertical grip.

Otherwise, I have no issues with the vertical grip. It's better than most I've used with other cameras. As such, it remains on the camera all the time. No battery is installed in the camera (powered by the grip only), so it doesn't come off even for battery charges.

stewart

[Paul_C]

I was disappointed in the grip at first - not quite shaped right and felt plasticy in comparison to the body, though it did give my pinky purchase immediately make holding in landscape orientation more comfortable. Since then I've left it on and grown accustomed to it. I added a kirk L-bracket which had the nice side effect of fleshing it out a bit when holding in portrait orientation.

[Paul_C]

Otherwise, I have no issues with the vertical grip. It's better than most I've used with other cameras. As such, it remains on the camera all the time. No battery is installed in the camera (powered by the grip only), so it doesn't come off even for battery charges.

I have mine set to use the battery in the grip first. When it runs out I swap in a spare without ever turning off the camera. The in-body battery lasts damn near forever that way and keeps the camera available to shoot "just in case."

[bdavis]

I think the satisfaction rate is somewhere around 60% with the K10D grip.

I'm sure Pentax could improve that number to atleast 80%,
by doing a little research on ergonomic preferences.

56.99% of statistics are made up.


I like my battery grip. I often have to force myself to take a photo in landscape orientation because I can default to portrait so easily.

[davemdsn]

I like the feel of the grip. I like the angular design because when I put my hand down the camera hangs on my finger tips very nicely. I think the camera is incomplete without it.