D70 3rd Party Grip REVIEW by ParkertR

[timlim]

The fault is quite fundamental here. I am ok if the colour is a bit off or the IR cable sticks out. but the primary purpose of the battery grip is to extend the battery capacity. However in real situations, it seems that 2 batteries have shorter life than 1 battery when using the grip.

i tend to agree...without half-press function, and with the issues with the batteries (apparently), it would seem the jenis grip is useful only to balance the camera body or make the set-up look more pro.

was wondering if anyone has experience with the harbortronics grip. i know parkertr did a review/comparison with the jenis grip sometime back but battery power did not surface as an issue then. the harbortronics FAQ mentions something about power consumption/indication at http://www.harbortronics.com/faq.htm#vg15. not sure if the harbortronics grip copes with it better/differently.

i've emailed them previously and have been told that they are looking into providing jumper cables for D70S that would make use of the D70S remote cord connector to allow full half-press function. not sure how long they will take but if it does happen, the harbortronics grip may be a more appealing (albeit more expensive) option to D70S owners...

 

[razor]

I contacted Satan_18349(one of the distributor) about this problem. He is also puzzled by this problem.

Hope this will be resolved soon.

 

[snowspeeder]

300 +/- shots (mixture of with and without the built in flash)

But the strange thing is that if you use burst mode the battery indicator will drop to 1 bar and the camera pause after the third shot for less than a second then jump back to full power.:dunno:

Maybe the camera draws too much power that the batteries can supply. :think:

I just bought 6 pcs of GP 1600 MAh batteries. And at full charge, I placed the batts into the grip a day later for use. After the 1st shot, the batteries went straight to FLAT!! I wonder what this could be due to? Faulty circuitry? :dunno:

 

[mega32]

I just bought 6 pcs of GP 1600 MAh batteries. And at full charge, I placed the batts into the grip a day later for use. After the 1st shot, the batteries went straight to FLAT!! I wonder what this could be due to? Faulty circuitry? :dunno:

That is very strange ????:dunno:

Let me go and try it once more to see if it happens.
(I tried the batteries only once until it was flat and was able to take 300+/- pictures over a 3 day period)

Will let you know the outcome.

 

[mega32]

Just tried and it still works.

Will try with another set of batteries which is being charged now.

Max 2.8 did you get yours to work with the GP 1600 batteries ?

 

[seng44]

Overall, it's it worth it to get it? Still deciding if i wanna get it.

 

[snowspeeder]

Just tried and it still works.

Will try with another set of batteries which is being charged now.

Max 2.8 did you get yours to work with the GP 1600 batteries ?

Tried my GP batts again, still went flat after 1 single lousy shot. Tried with my Sanyo 2500 batts, also the same. Is this a manufacturing screw up?

 

[snowspeeder]

Overall, it's it worth it to get it? Still deciding if i wanna get it.

Yes, the grip does feel good and adds more stability on the cam. Since it consumes more batt power with the grip, my recommendation is to get nikon or eastgear batts, for long shooting instances. Unless your grip can accept one of the AA rechargeable batts.

 

[mega32]

Just tried with another set of batteries and it works.

I am not sure why yours won't work.:dunno:

One more thing these batteries I am using are seasoned batteries previously they were used to power my flash.

 

[MyNikon]

Overall, it's it worth it to get it? Still deciding if i wanna get it.

If you really need it, buy it.
If you can live without it, don't waste your money.
I hope Nikon could come up with a grip for the D70/70S with a half-press, and command dials to go with it.

 

[razor]

I contacted Satan_18349(one of the distributor) about this problem. He is also puzzled by this problem.

Hope this will be resolved soon.

ANyone knows how to contact the manufacturer?