I must say that I am quite happy with this item. It fits well onto my D40, the finish is excellent, and it gives the camera a whole new "personality". I have the Sigma 18-200mm lens, which is much bigger and heavier than the 18-55mm kit lens. This makes the camera more awkward as the center of gravity is now different. This causes my wrist to tilt forward instead of keeping the camera balanced. I have an ongoing issue with my wrist, due to a prior injury, and noticed that with the heavier lens the camera had to be gripped in a way that was a bit painful to me. With this battery grip I am able to grip the camera much better! The weight of the batteries in the bottom of the grip plus the change in the center of gravity makes it much easier for me to hold the camera properly.
I do not like the vertical shutter function at all, but I blame this on the D40 itself and not the grip. Hey, at least Opteka tried, it just doesn't work well for me. I had issues with getting the shutter to release, but I have had the same issue with the wireless remote so I don't blame the grip for this.
The option of using AA batteries with this grip was important to me as well, as I like the flexibility of having multiple power options.
Here are my rankings (1-10):
Appearance: (8)- Certainly gives the D40 a much different, more pleasing and professional look.
Fit and finish: (8)- The "crackle" finish is perfect, and even in bright sunlight looks exactly like the finish on the D40. The color is slightly off; it's slightly lighter in color than the D40. It is not a HUGE difference, but it is detectable. My grip fit slightly crooked, with the right side a few millimeters lower than the left side. Again, this was very minor but detectable.
Ease of installation: (9)- Very simple, the hardest part was taking off the battery door (I didn't want to break it) but this is a D40 issue, not the battery grip issue. The grip fit into the battery compartment and attached to the tripod mount perfectly. I would have preferred some better markings on the cartridge that holds the two batteries, but they fit well and the cartridge slid into the grip with ease.
Ease of use: (9)- The vertical shutter button is not an easy feature to use, but this is more the fault of the D40 than the battery grip. Once the grip is in place it feel like a natural extension of the camera.
Comfort: (7)- The grip feels good in my hand, although I can feel the vertical shutter button on my palm, which is minor annoyance to me.
Value: (7)- For a $100 item I would like to have seen a charger included for charging both batteries at once. I feel that a lot of the cost was for the vertical shutter option, which I won't use often, if at all.
Overall: (8)- Overall this is a very good item and I would recommend it for someone who wants longer life between battery charges as well as the flexibility to use AA batteries. I would also highly recommend this product for users who have a heavy lens on the D40 as it makes the camera much easier to hold properly. I would not suggest this item exclusively for the vertical shutter feature as it doesn't work very well, although this is a D40 issue and not an issue of the battery grip.
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