Customer Reviews

Canon BG-E2N Battery Grip for Canon 20D, 30D, 40D & 50D Digital SLR Cameras (Retail Package)

5 star:		(105)
4 star:		(28)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have had a vertical grip on every camera I've owned since around 1994. They've become a necessary part of my cameras, and it's ALWAYS the first accessory I purchase with a new body.

A lot has already been mentioned, so I'll just gloss over the normal talking points:

It's a sturdy grip for me. I don't have any flex issues whatsoever. Having two batteries in the grip allows over 1000 shots before a recharge is necessary. When I go on trips, I always bring a battery charger with me, but I have literally NEVER needed to take it out of the suitcase, no matter how much shooting I do.

Additionally, the grip includes a AA battery tray that will allow you to use AA batteries in lieu of the BP-511's. However, this is an "Emergency Use Only" type of accessory, as your battery life will be significantly reduced. I carry it in my bag in the VERY unlikely event that I manage to drain both of my BP-511's. You can find AA's anywhere in a pinch.

The grip is a real benefit to those like me that have big hands, since all of your fingers can now rest against the camera instead of curling up underneath. It's also a great counterweight when shooting with heavy lenses such as the EF 70-200mm f/2.8L. The arrangement of the vertical shutter release and related buttons on the side makes for very comfortable vertical shooting.

Okay, so it's a 5-star grip! Here's the only reason I took off one star:

The Canon EOS 40D and 50D have another button behind the shutter release, in addition to the two that are there on the 20D and 30D. The AF-ON button is located to the left of the '*' button. Those of us that do a lot of high speed continuous shooting often like to use the AF-ON button to activate autofocus instead of the shutter-half-press method.

Unfortunately, this grip does not include an AF-ON button on the vertical side. It only has the '*' and the AF point select buttons. So as it stands, if you have the AF-ON button set to activate autofocus, there's no way to autofocus when you're holding the camera vertically, unless you ignore the vertical grip buttons and reach your hand over as if the grip was never there.

There is a workaround, where you can set '*' to be the AF activation button. Since the grip has the '*' button on the vertical side, no problems. But then when you're reviewing images on the LCD, pressing '*' (normally zoom out, a feature you probably use all the time) will actually blank out the LCD and force you to re-enter review mode. AF-ON takes the zoom out functionality now, but it's really hard to retrain someone who has used '*' to zoom out on every DSLR they've owned since 2003. And I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure that FEL functionality is gone once you swap the buttons in this manner. It's CERTAINLY gone when shooting vertically. Not sure about horizontally though.

Again, note that this problem ONLY applies to the 40D and 50D. Since the 20D and 30D do not have an AF-ON button, this is a non-issue for owners of those cameras.

Long story short, the grip needs an AF-ON button badly. But everything else about it is great.

This is the upgrade to the BG-E2. The only real difference is the textured grip and the weather sealing on the battery door. The new BG-E2N is very good looking, comfortable to hold, and very functional. Once you get one, you'll never go back...

The problem is that with the Canon SLRs is that they don't fit ergonomically. I have big hands, and I end up holding my Canon 40D with two fingers and my thumb most days when I go shooting which ends up irritating my wrist and makes it feel sore the next day. And if I've got a heavy lens, then forget about it. It puts too much torque on the wrist and after shooting 200+ photos in a day with a heavy lens, my wrist feels horrible.

The battery grip, from an ergonomics standpoint, is fantastic. It allows me to hold the camera with my entire hand versus with just a few fingers. Of course, it holds 2 batteries and allows you to shoot longer plus allows you to insert a battery magazine of 6 AA batteries.

It's worth getting. I can't speak to the fact that it's weather sealed or anything like that - but from an ergonomics standpoint it's worth getting.

For me the battery grip is a must have, not so much for the extra battery but for the feel and improved balance with larger lenses. When I purchased the 40D I immediately picked up the BG-E2N as well. It's exactly the same as the BG-E2 (except for new weather seal around battery door) so no complaints in that regard but they left out something huge... Where's the AF-on button for the vertical grip? C'mon Canon, you included that button for the new WiFi WFT-E3A grip so why not on the new BG-E2N?

i was so worried about getting this grip i heard s many bad things about it. so let me take this time to clear somethings up. this grip is awesome, i don't know why people are saying that it's bad, has loose connection, doesn't fit right. well i haven't had any of those problems i love this product i really don't know how i lived with out it get it just get it.

This is a great accessory. It helps balance the camera with a large lens, your pinky has somewhere to go, you can use the e-1 handstrap, and the battery door has a place to be stored in the grip. The problem is that there is a bit of flex between the grip and the frame of the camera. This is a pretty well documented issue on some of the photography forums.

The issue arises from the part that goes into the old battery compartment. The part going into the camera isn't wide enough on the front. A quick way to fix this is to bulk up the front of the insert. When I say front, I mean the side closest to the lens of the camera. I bulked it up by cutting a couple pieces of packing tape. I think it was around 8 to be exact.

I had looked at the other non-brand grips and read a lot of reviews and decided that you get what you pay for. Everything worked fine for me straight out of the box.

I'll never again shoot without a verti grip. Even for landscape oriented shots, I have more camera to hold on to and that means a steadier shot and more comfort. In vertical shots, I can't imagine going back. The controls are perfectly placed and it makes shooting just that much more fun. This grip does feel just slightly plasticky and hollow, but it is solid and attaches solidly to the camera. If you have clients, you also get the added bonus of having a more professional and impressive looking camera to wow them with. Unfortunately, you can't use rechargeable batts in the supplied AA battery cartridge, voltage is too low, but at least you can keep some alkalines in there for emergencies, which you probably wont be having if you keep two camera batteries in the grip giving you over 2000 shots on a charge. I actually like the added weight of the grip which helps balance out longer lenses and again, tends to give me a bit more stability.

Fits perfectly on my 40D. Looks pretty nice, too. The only thing that I wish they put on it is the AF-On button, but I guess they wanted to give people more of a reason to buy the Wi-Fi connector.

I purchased this grip for my Canon 40D and overall am happy with it. This item is a must have to balance your camera when you are using a large lens such as the 100-400mm. I will add though that it is just a little loose even though the tightening screw is all the way in. No issues though.