Yeps..you are not cheated..but 3rd party BG has got warranty..before i bought my BG-E11 from AP, they offered me one that cost about $200 lesser with one year warranty but i declined. Dont remember what brand.
i remember seeing Challenger selling a compatible BG-E11, any feedback? can't remember the brand already but they have several models for other bodies too
Since the original also not say very durable, so i just bite the bullet to get a phottix grip from tkfoto at $99. The price is hard to beat cos I can buy 4 of these for the price of 1 original bg-e11!
only the aa tray was burned, it melted actually and they were burned marks on the eneloops.
the thing is that, it wasn't even mounted inside the grip when it happened, probably some reaction took place in the bag.. <_>
Just got my 5dmk3 and now slowly slowly adding the accessory. Can anyone advise what is the street price for the Canon BG-E11 and recommendation to get from? Any tips or advise is greatly appreciated