The great Nikon & Canon battery grip rip offs. Id love a D4(s) but money just isnt available for that at the moment! With all of my cameras Ive used a battery grip to give me the same ergonomic advantage as well as the extra fps where appropriate. Except my D800. When I bought my D800 the Nikon grip, the MB-D12 was priced over £300. I know third party alternatives are available and how they perform comparatively to OEM in terms of weather sealing etc is another debate. Regardless of that debate the fact remains that these are ridiculous prices. At the moment the MB-D12 retails at £284.99 on a well known web based retailer. Doesnt even come with a battery either. You can buy the two together for £343.99 though! The grip alone costs more than a new Nikon D3200. An incredibly capable camera full of electronics, a display screen, a digital sensor, an autofocus system, many mechanical parts and a huge amount more computing power than NASA had to land on the Moon!! Lets compare that to a magnesium box with a couple of buttons on it and connectors. Its not realistically comparable is it? Surely? Canon arent much better either. Ive chosen at random the grip for the 5dmkIII, the BG-E11 which retails at the same place for £249. Not much cheaper than the Canon 1200D. You can of course extend the debate to many other accessories too. Remote release triggers comes to mind, batteries (but I really do exercise caution with non-OEM batteries!) and a Nikon AC adaptor - £85!! There is of course the very valid theory that manufacturers are subsidising products and marketing etc via the cost of other products. Its a dangerous game to play though because 3rd party products are getting better and better in terms of reliability and quality and also remaining much more affordable. Its big business now with companies like Hahnel who are increasing confidence in the market. At one time there was a lot of perceived risk with buying third party goods, not so much now. The Hahnel grip for the D800 retails at £119 and also comes with an infra red remote as standard! Rant!
Posted on: Thu, 09 Oct 2014 12:24:24 +0000
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