[DaveHolmes]

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I have a K5 en-route...

Would really like a grip but the genuine Pentax D-BG4 is pretty steep...

Is there a 3rd party grip built to the same quality? WR etc?

Advance thanks

Dave

[snappychappy]

I use a copy and not the genuine article on my K5. Have not seen or used the original so I cannot compare. As you have notice there is quite a price premium for the original from Pentax. Mine cost around £40 for mine and it works perfectly well, and for the amount of time it is on the camera I would recommend it.

[DaveHolmes]

and for the amount of time it is on the camera I would recommend it.

I kind of planned for it to be on there a lot... £200 is a shed full of cash though... Chinese sounds ok though, no problems with my yongnuo flash :-)

[snappychappy]

Try bidding on this Dave.

[snappychappy]

Or save fifty notes here.

[crewl1]

Here is some light reading when you have time. https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-camera-field-accessories/84154-bat...7-54-77-a.html (experience starts on p6)

I think in the end the 3rd party grips were found to have issues of one sort or another.

If you plan to use it casually 3rd party is probably OK, but for heavy use I think you should take the hit and get the original.

[johnyates]

There's lots of threads here on the forum; I suggest you read them. Based on what I read, I recently purchased a "knock-off" grip that I'm pretty happy with. I got it from Fotocola on eBay.

The main thing is there's two types of knockoffs available. The one to get closely resembles the original, and the one not to get is really shoddy, with plastic replacing metal. The one NOT to get is labelled "Meike".

[JohnBee]

I know alot of people swear by them but I would never stick a knock off grip on a Pentax camera.

And the simple reason for that is that you just don't get the quality of the original product. ie. if there is a malfunction in the grip it could potentially damage the camera. The seals my not be up to snuff etc etc etc. IOW. you won't ever have piece of mind.

IMO. the original product just isn't expensive enough to warrant taking the chance on a knock off product. I've seen many great deals come through the forums and so I'm thinking its worth waiting for something to come along.

But that's just me

[Eulogy]

I got mine from DSTE Battery on Ebay. Ran me $60 with two spare 2200maH batteries. Everything on it works fine, and it seems rather resistant to light rain, though I don't trust the sealing in heavy storms.(Not like it's hard to remove for rain anyways, takes all of 20 seconds.)

Only issues I've *ever* had it with it is that sometimes the DoF preview button doesn't work quite right.

[crewl1]

I know alot of people swear by them but I would never stick a knock off grip on a Pentax camera. And the simple reason for that is that you just don't get the quality of the original product. ie. if there is a malfunction in the grip it could potentially damage the camera. The seals my not be up to snuff etc etc etc. IOW. you won't ever have piece of mind. IMO. the original product just isn't expensive enough to warrant taking the chance on a knock off product. I've seen many great deals come through the forums and so I'm thinking its worth waiting for something to come along. But that's just me

+1

[Docrwm]

I own both an original Pentax battery grip and a Meike knock-off grip for my K-5. The short version of the story is the original one developed a fault and I had to send it to CRIS, while it was gone I used the $39 knock-off because I was so used to having a grip that I was fumbling with the K-5 without one.

There appear to be two main knock-off versions of the grip available. Mine is the one that does not have the circle of screws visible on the attachment side of the grip and is marketed under the name MeiKe. Based on the reviews here the main difference appears to be that the other version's battery trays will work in the original OEM D-BG4, those that come with the MeiKe version will not.

For an analysis of the differences between the two main knock-off grips see this post here on PF:
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/p...tml#post850074

My comparison of the Meike and Pentax Grips:

• The trays are NOT interchangeable between the two grips.
• The covers for the pins and the base of the K-5 do fit in either grip for storage.
• Both have an SD Card slot on the D-Li90 battery tray.
• Both have the same buttons and wheel layout.
• Wheels are a bit more abrupt in their movement on the MeiKe version.
• On-Off switch moves backwards on the MeiKe from the OEM version.
• Fit & Finish on the OEM is better overall but the MeiKe version is not bad.
• Both fit snugly to the body, but the OEM unit is better contoured and fits the hand better.
• OEM has steel placement pins to guide fit to the body, the MeiKe version has plastic pins
• Both have offset placement of the tripod point on the bottom.
• Packaging was fine with each, box, bubble wrap, warranty card, and instructions.

Overall, the Meike is a great buy for $39 if you do not need WR for the grip. I'm annoyed that the D-BG4 from Pentax failed after only 10 months but CRIS fixed it in pretty short order and it's been working fine ever since. I do still own the Meike grip though, because you never know and it was only $39.

[mikeSF]

I used Pentax authentic grips for my K10 and K20 but decided to try a $49 knockoff for my K5 and was surprised that the quality of the one I got was decent enough. It has no seals on it whatsoever, even though the box says so and it was advertised as such. I didn't really expect it to be sealed, so not biggie.
Mine is reviewed in the accessories reviews section so i wont repeat much other than to say it has been on there continuously for over a year and i've taken tens of thousands of photos out on hikes and such and it still works just fine. I did just recently break the little metal handle to the battery door but i can still pinch the remaining nub and lock it and unlock it without too much trouble. Also, the two batteries that came with it are still going strong and even appear to be outlasting my original Pentax battery that came with the K5. I rotate them all equally in and out.

good luck!