Customer Reviews

Canon BGE2 Battery Grip for the EOS 20D and EOS 30D Digital SLR Cameras

5 star:		(45)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I must admit the reviews scared me away for a bit but with an impending camping trip - I decided to jump. I think that Canon had a bad production run or mislabeled product which they have since fixed since I just got mine and fits great.

Two things that surprise me nicely about my grip:
1) Comes with a AA Magazine!
2) Full set of controls for index finger and thumb on the side (Shutter release, spin wheel, focus point selector.) Nice Job!

On the problems others noted:
1) mine fits perfectly flush with the bottom of my 20D (it reads Canon BG-E2 on the front and complements the look of the 20D)
2) I noticed no problems with electrical misreads or torquing since mine fits perfectly flush.

Pros for the Grip:
1) The comprehensiveness of the extra set of controls surprised me which was not why I bought the BG-E2 but which some people will find indispensable. Now that I have a full set of controls for portrait mode it will have me shooting portrait quite a bit more. Great job Canon!

2) On battery power with two batteries - I spent three weeks in Africa with this grip. After 8 days of heavy picture taking (about 15gigs worth of pictures), it asked for a recharge and After 14 more days of lighter shooting, its still showing fully charged. Amazing. I took the magazine and extra batteries but never used them. The power is amazing and if you're going abroad into desolate environments, get this grip.

3) Comes with the AA Magazine that holds 6 AA batteries. This will add a ton of flexibility when traveling in remote locations.

4) Portrait controls have "on / off" switch which is nice extra to prevent accidental pressing.

5) Great Pinky rest. My pinky has a home (ok not a really big bonus but still a nice thing since I guess I have big hands)

6) I see the loop at the bottom for the handgrip but I haven't used that. Since the "rig" is heavier now - I'm sticking to neck strap or lens strap.

7) Has the tripod mount screw at the bottom for mounting to tripod.

Cons against the grip:
1) None that I can tell yet - I'll update you all potential buyers if I learning anything.
2) Some bad press which worries me. I don't know to date if I got a good "fixed" grip or if I'm going to have issues later.

Subjective stuff:
1) It makes the camera bigger and heavier. It feels more balanced but this definitely turns it into a two hand rig which is proper I guess for this type of equipment.

2) The bottom grip is wide so this attachment was bigger than I expected. It makes you look like a "pro" which I am not - can be good or bad.

I'm very impressed with my BG-E2. I received 6/21/05 from Amazon. I have a 20D with an 85mm lens mounted on it and two batteries. I just held it in my hands by the grip alone and there is Zero torquing. It solid. I imagine if I put a 70-200mm lens, I wouldn't hold it just by the chassis - bad form and bad on the mount. Sturdy grip overall! They fixed whatever was wrong!

I recommend you try from Amazon! They did good by me. Good luck and I hope this helps.

This has to be one of the worst EOS accessories Canon has ever put out; hopefully they will revise its design soon. The grip does not rest flush with the bottom of the EOS 20D regardless of how much you torque the nut. The small amount of play is annoying, but there is a much more serious problem in the form of intermittent power interruptions. A medium-heavy lens (e.g. 70-200mm 2.8) and a flash cause enough flex in the BG-E2 when you hold the camera by the grip that the electrical pins on the grip lose conact with the terminals in the 20D body. Quite unacceptable for anyone who needs a reliable camera for active work. There are work arounds in the form of shimming the grip, but Canon should have done a better job, especially considering how wonderful a camera the 20D is.

Reading over some of these reviews, its clear some people absolutely love this accessory, while others just hate it! I just got one and put it on my camera - I'm definitely in the first group! I doubt I'll ever remove it! Makes the camera fit much nicer in my hand and much easier to control. Particularly balances out a large "L" zoom lens (I'm using the new 24-105mm L). Canon must have fixed the poor fit up problem others have described as mine snugs up just fine. Yeah it's plastic, but still well built. Very ingenious that there is even a compartment to store the original battery cover so you won't lose it. I also like the neat little spring-loaded opening to accomodate the cord from the optional A/C adapter. They thought of everything! Kind of ironic though that Canon goes out of their way to advertise the 20D is smaller and lighter than it's predecessor, then we go out of our way (and spend more $$$) to make it bigger and heavier again!

I upgraded to the Canon 20D from the Canon 300D with a BGE1 battery grip. The BGE1 fit and operated perfectly on the 300D. So, I was very leary about ordering the BGE2 for my 20D when I read the previous reviews on this product. But this is a necessary accessory for me and I finally buckled and purchased one. I can only surmise that Canon has corrected whatever deficiencies there may have been because my BGE2 fits and operates perfectly on my 20D. It is extremely snug with no gaps or looseness and none of the problems experienced by previous reviewers. I wouldn't be without this. Maybe Canon is listening!

Today I noticed that Amazon is charging $175 for this thing. They were charging $161.99 last week. They are really over stretching on the price here. I think the price should be about $100-$125 on this thing.

What this grip does:

It provides a vertical shutter relase. That means you can turn the camera on its side and with the shutter button on the grip it is in the same position as if you were shooting a picture normally just using the camera and its release button. It also provides an extra dial and a couple buttons for adjusting things.

With the vertical release you can take your vertical pictures and keep you righ arm down to your side for more support and not have to twist your wrist over as you would without the grip.

The grip allows you to use one or two battery packs and comes with a carrier that allows you to use AA batteries instead of the packs that come with the camera. This is helpful incase your batteries die on the road. AA's can be a good backup.

This grip also allows you to use the Canon hand strap. With a camera of this weight you will want the hand strap. With a long lens you will want the strap even more. It allows you to grip the camera without having to grip the camera.

I believe there is an aftemarket hand strap for the 20d/30d cameras that don't require the purchase of the grip. Again if you get the Canon hand strap you must purchase this grip to use it.

The grip stays secure even though it does have a little chintzy feel to it due to the plastic used and the process used to manufacture it.

In the vertical grip mode there is no ergonomics involved at all. It is like your gripping a textured brick as one other poster stated; doesn't bother me too much but they could have designed it better.

It does make the camera bigger. It is almost too big to fit into my Canon backpack. I would have thought that Canon would have thought about this. It is not like you can just take the grip on and off when you have a hand/neck strap attached. It would required undoing the strap which is a pain in the ass.

Yes you can use the neck strap with this grip and the hand strap.

The only reason I paid the money I did for this is because I wanted it and I wanted to attach the hand strap.

I think the guy that got the bad fit ordered the wrong grip. Mine fit like a glove and with the two battery capacity, it's a godsend. Even operating the lcd display all day, I never experienced any problem with batteries. What a step up!

I don't have any of the fit problems that other users have described below. Perhaps Canon listened? Anyway, the fit is great, and this is an essential accessory for me because of the dual-battery capacity, and the included AA battery pack converter for emergencies. It gets 5 stars from me.

(...)

To customers using the BG-E2 battery grip with an EOS 20D digital SLR camera:

Thank you for using Canon products.

We have confirmed that the BG-E2 battery grip for the EOS 20D digital SLR camera causes issues such as the number of shots being limited or a low-battery warning being displayed immediately when used with a fully charged battery pack or a fresh set of AA batteries. Canon offers its sincerest apologies to all customers who have been inconvenienced by this issue.

Starting at the end of May, we plan to offer repairs free of charge for all BG-E2 battery grips that are affected by this issue. The starting date and more detailed information will be announced soon. With sincere regret for the inconvenience this represents for our users, we ask for your patience until that announcement can be made.

We spare no effort in our quality control process, to make sure our customers can use our products with confidence. Please accept our thanks in advance for your patience and understanding.

(...)

I purchased this grip before I bought the camera, which for me is an integral and necessary part of the camera. Once the camera arrived and I mated the grip to the camera, boy was I disappointed as the fit was terrible. I couldn't believe after using the Canon 7e and grip and the 10D and grip that Canon could design something so terrible. It would not tighten up snug to the camera as I was use to Canon grips doing. I thought this might be because it was new, and like a new baseball glove maybe it would work better once it was broken in. Not so. After twelve weeks of many times having it loosen up in the field and on shoots causing an ERR99, I realized it was not going to get better. Everything the previous reviewer said about the shotcomings of this grip is true. I called Canon and they sent a prepaid shipping label for me to return the grip so it went out the beginning of this week. I don't know if they are just going to replace it or rework it or what. Because the grip for me is a necessary not optional part, if and when it comes back and I am not satified I will just modify it myself for my needs. A center support in the middle of the battery compartment will probably keep it from flexing. They did away with this support for the AA battery cartridge, a really bush league move. If you don't use the 20D with a large lens like the 70-200mm IS L or the 100-400mm and you don't have large hands you may be satisfied with this product. The 20D camera itself is a great piece of kit. The grip is another question, peace.

I just received the Canon BGE2 Battery Grip yesterday and already have it attached to my EOS 30D (nice).
The unit fits very well and is very secure. I had no trouble aligning and tightening the Grip to the Camera Body.
I also found the additional shutter release very handy. In addition, the shape of the unit allows a solid "grip" in the Vertical orientation as well.
I too already had an extra battery pack, as TWO Batteries are required. Please note that the unit COMES WITH the Canon BGM-E2 Battery Holder, which allows you to use AA batteries. There is NO NEED to buy this as an accessory (unless you want a second AA battery magazine).
One accessory that compliments the Battery Grip very well is the Canon Hand Strap E1. This Strap is designed to work with the neck strap yet provides added security and control with the Battery Grip (and well worth the $25-$30).