Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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100 of 101 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A big improvement over the MB-D200, March 27, 2008
When using the MB-D10 with the D300, you will find that it is a great improvement from the MB-D200 (the D200 vertical grip). For one, it is made of magnesium alloy, and is much sturdier. It is also weather sealed like the D300 body. It fits nicely and firmly with the D300. It also has an additional multi selector, which is a great added feature. The MS-D10 (holder for AA batteries) also comes in a very nice pouch. Of course with such improvement comes the price increase as well!
If you want to achieve 8fps on your D300, you can use the EN-EL4/a battery with your MB-D10 or AA batteries (8 pieces). The ability to use AA batteries is a real plus point. Imagine having a long trip where you may not have access to charge your EN-EL3e batteries. Having the ability to use AA batteries means that you can carry a bunch of them and still be able to shoot... even deep in the wilderness.
Another advantage of the MB-D10 is that it is not L-shaped, which means that you can easily slip it into your camera bag and pull it out when you need it. To mount the grip, you do not need to remove the battery from your camera and marry the grip to the camera as how the D200+MB-D200 was designed to. It does not take as much space and not as awkward as grips that are L-shaped. This is a versatility of the MB-D10, but also has some getting used to.
Here are some areas which either you like or hate or take some getting use to:
1. The battery in the camera need not be removed to use the grip. So for those who leave the grip on all the time and want to use 2 batteries at a time, it would mean that you would need to remove the grip each time you want to remove the battery in the camera. It would be nice to be able to swap both batteries without having to remove the grip, but the design is such and we would have to live with it. What I've decided to do is to remove the battery in the camera and just use the one in the MB-D10. Besides, you can get a lot more shots with the D300 than the D200 for the same battery charge.
2. The shutter release button on the MB-D10 is a bit too sensitive, which means that you can quite easily trigger the shot. The sensitivity between the shutter-release button on the camera and the grip is different, so when switching orientation of the camera, you'll need to be aware of the sensitivity so that you do not accidentally take a shot which you did not mean to do so.
3. The MB-D10 can take the EN-EL4/a battery. However, the battery chamber cover for the EN-EL4/a is not part of the package, and you would need to purchase it separately. The battery chamber cover is BL-3.
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58 of 59 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Big, heavy, functional, manly, June 11, 2008
The MB-D10 is really nice.
Battery Options:
It comes with two battery trays: one holds an EN-EL3e 7.4v 1500mAh lith-ion battery (same as what the camera holds). The other tray takes eight, AA batteries. Depending on which AA cells you install (Ni-MH, lithium, Ni-MN or alkaline) you can have 9.6 (NiMH at 2500mAh or more) or 12 volts. That voltage can crank the motor to its rated limit of 8 fps...at least until the buffer fills up and its frame rate slows while it writes to the card. You also tell the D300 via the menu which type of battery you have installed. It keeps track of charge for you based on the type. Very smart.
The gray EN-EL3e is an update to the D70's black EN-EL3. The EN-EL3e can power the D70 but the older D70 batteries cannot power the D300. That's because the newer EN-EL3e has three contacts on it as opposed to the EN-EL3's two contacts. That extra contact allows the D300 to track the entire life of the EN-EL3e. Interestingly, the D70's older MH-18 charger can charge the newer EN-EL3e as can the D300's newer MH-18a charger.
With an EN-EL3e in the camera body and another in the MB-D10, the D300 tracks and remembers how many shots you've taken on each battery, it's percentage of charge remaining and even how many times the battery has been charged. When the battery as reached its design limit for recharges (years from now) the D300 will tell you.
The grip will also take the larger 11.1v/1900mAh EN-EL4 or EN-EL4a battery [...]
but you have to buy a BL-3 cover, which is really just the end of the battery trays mentioned above but without the tray. The cover clips to the end of the EN-EL4 and has a twist lock to hold and seal it into the MB-D10. [...]
I bought the MB-D10 because I had purchased a second EN-EL3e knowing full well I'd probably never use it. (My second D70 battery was rarely used because one battery powered the thing about forever.) So, to get some use out of my second D300 battery, I don't leave it in the camera bag...I carry it on the camera as a built-in backup battery. The D300 also allows you to pick which battery you want to use first: the one in the MB-D10 or the one in the camera. I tend to use the MB-D10 battery because it's easier to remove for charging. You have to unscrew the MB-D10 from the D300 to get the internal EN-EL3e out of the camera body. But even then the large thumb wheel allows quick and easy removal.
There is a solid rubber L-shaped plug on the camera body's bottom that protects the multiple contacts between camera and MB-D10. That plug stores in a special area on the MB-D10 so you won't lose it. And if you remove the MB-D10 for some reason to use the camera without the MB-D10, you can plug up the contacts on the camera immediately.
Controls:
The MB-D10 has a complete alternate set of controls on it for when you are shooting verticals: an end-mounted focus/release button with lock ring to prevent accidentally hitting it; an AF-ON button; Master (rear) and Secondary (front) selector wheels for changing program and other functions; and a four-way selector/navigation switch. It's a lot more than a battery back. The same controls your forefinger and thumb access when holding the camera horizontally are there when holding the camera vertically. And it really is more comfortable to hold vertically this way, even though you do have to get used to regripping the camera. I've shot verticals for so many years I'm still getting used to holding the camera in such a foreign way.
The MB-D10 fits the D300 like it was molded in one piece: seamless and very ergonomic.
It makes the camera quite large and much heavier, but it has a solid feel and for sure I'm not going to run low on power. It's also comforting to know I can buy some AA's anywhere in the world and be able to keep shooting should the EN-EL3e's not have available power for recharging. It's also nice to crank the camera to max frame rate if needed. Some say it also helps balance the camera when you have a really large lens on a tripod.
And it's just so...manly. Point-and-shoots are cute and handy but this thing really dresses up the D300 in a useful manner, adds performance and extends power enough for any conceivable assignment.
And in a crisis, you can swing the thing like a mace. It probably would not break even then....
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23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Revolutionary, January 1, 2008
The battery grip to the D200 and D80 felt flimsy. They also only provided a vertical grip and an extra battery. You needed to take off the battery door and screw it on, continuously for the contacts sometimes did not connect.
This grip on the other hand is made out of metal and rubber, just like the D300 and has the same feel to it. It gives the body a more D2h feel, something canon shooters with a 40d often complain about. The grip with the high capacity D3 and earlier pro model battery gives the D300 the ability to shooter for hours on end and at 8fps. This grip feels much less like an accessory than as a part of the body. It may look expensive compared to the D200 grip, but worth it.
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