Vertical External Battery Grip for Canon EOS/550D DSLR

Pros: Pros: - Build quality - Fits good and the body of the 550D - Cheap - Battery's are a nice fit = 6 x AA battery is good to - All buttons work and look the same as the orignal - Verry solid when put on a tripod, this was the part i was most happy about !

Cons: Cons: - Camera shut down when i was making pictures, im not sure if this had anything to do with the grip but it sure was perfect timing

Other: Perfect for my needs, good product

Pros: I purchased this battery grip right on the day it was released on DX without hesitation. This battery grip for the Canon 550D is the cheapest that you can get anywhere on the Internet! eBay have these battery grips for a tad more expensive. The battery grip does what it's meant to. It can fit 2 of the standard batteries, and there is a seperate holder that will hold 4xAA batteries. The grip feels solid and secure and does add an overall better feel to the small and light 550D. I have used it a few times and nothing has come off the unit. I do feel that it is possible that after extended use or rugged use, that the rubbery grips will start to wear down.

Cons: To be honest, for about a third of the price of the orginal BG-E8, this one works wonders. I really can't fault it at all except that maybe the rubber may wear out after extended use.

Other: Bottomline... purchase it. You won't regret it.

Pros: The grip comes at a fraction of the original price and also has the options of using alkaline batteries which are everywhere available. For the rest it includes an english manual.

Cons: The first grip I received now for the 550D does not seem to operate at all when Li-ion battery is inserted. I did check the electrical circuit with my tongue and you can feel the current. The pins on the alkaline and li-ion tray are both different so I was wondering if that is the issue. The DX pictures show the exact same pins and location of electrical pins though as I have them connected on mine. The battery or li-ion battery sleeve which fit into the grip do not lock in the same manner as the 450,500&1000D grip does. The manual does have some translation mistakes and typo's but it's good enough to read easily.

Other: In regards to the 10+ grips for the 450D which I have bought till now this first grip for the 550D seems faulty. You might want to be a bit cautious with buying it.

Pros: I bought this grip as a cheap alternative to the offical Canon grip, mainly to get a better grip on the rather small body of the camera. The battery grip does just that. The extra buttons are of good quality (comparable to the ones on the camera itself) and are easily accesible in the vertical position. Attaching the grip to the camera works well. I like the quality of the battery-compartment-lid-storage, in which the lid of the camera's battery compartment can be stored to keep you from loosing it. Nice and solid. Included manual is, although short, of rather decent quality, even specifying number of shots in different conditions. The grip will work with either one or two lithium batteries, so if one is being charged, that's not a problem. Build quality is actually very nice. The materials used look slightly cheaper than those of the camera, but come quite close. An untrained eye won't see it's not an original Canon part.

Cons: No cons have showed up yet, really, but if I have to come up with one, it would be that the grip does not fit the camera seamlessly. Especially on the right side (the hand grip part) the seam is quite big. More of an aesthetic consideration. Not sure if the original grip is any different in this respect.

Other: Great value for money. Makes the camera easier to handle and because of the added weight it can actually stand on flat surfaces without topping over (that is, when not using a heavy lens).

Pros: A nice grip at a nice price. Room for two LP-E8 batteries (works with one battery) or 6xAA with the accompanied adapter (good for emergency back-up). Makes the camera look more professional

Cons: The LiIon battery-tray didn't lock tight enough so there was a loose connection. Hence the lower Build Quality Rating. A little tweaking with the metal latch in the battery compartment and the problem was gone.

Other: A nice grip for a fraction of its branded counterpart. Without the somewhat loose fit of the tray it would have gotten all 5 stars.

Pros: This is a very affordable BG-E8 Battery grip for the Canon 550D. It has a good feel and is balanced nicely, colour is almost identical to original manufacturers and in comparisons look very stylish. Functionality mimics the original as expected.

Cons: Build quality let it down a little. In fact both issues have to do with the Li-Ion tray/cradle where the locking mechanism broke very early on actually about 15 mins after opening box, and appeared to have a malformed shaft or brittle plastic which sheared after very little use. The second and more importantly was that the Li-ion cradle did not seem to work. Visually it is identical to the oem device both for pinouts and markings. After analysis of the battery problem I identified that there are two micro-switches which allow the device to identify which cradle is inserted and in each case to set the active pins on the cradle. In the case of the Li-ion it did not depress the micro-switch sufficiently to activate the grip. See Forums below for resolution

Other: Given that an OEM goes for approx $160USD this is still a reasonable purchase. No other reviews have indicated a failed locking mechanism so suggest mine was more a one-off. The issue with the Li-ion cradle is easy to fix once you know what the fault is. Would I buy again...Yes

Pros: + Cheap + Makes holding the camera much easier + Vertical controls

Cons: - Build quality (thin plastic will break if dropped, "grip" not perfectly aligned. - Lithium Battery tray DOES NOT WORK out of the box. Causes camera to loose power. See below for fix. - Controls feel cheap (but they work)

Other: Frustrating that it does not work correctly out of the box. Lowest price available on the internet.

Pros: Very cheap, fits perfectly. Gives me in the horizontal position that extra hold for my pinkyfinger (large hands). Makes taking pictures in the vertical position very easy. The buttons do what they are supposed to do.

Cons: Found none, even the problems found by others about the battery trays. The words Infrared Remote Controller are taped over on my box... ;-) . So no remote control :-( But than again, it says Battery Grip.

Other: If you want a cheap good working battery grip, buy this one!

Pros: Solid build. Rubberized grip is well attached, unlike on some replicas I've dealt with. Metal frame on the inside is well cut. Feels like the part came off the same assembly line as the original grip.

Cons: The infamous switch problem with LI-ION tray, which takes less than a minute to fix, thanks to the forum posts. Metal connectors on the part that goes inside the camera are slightly bent, which doesn't seem to affect connectivity.

Other: This grip with 2 Li-ion batteries bought at Deal Extreme costs less than a single brand name Canon battery. In my opinion is worth every dollar.

Pros: Feels good in hand, I cant use my camera without it now, feels to small.

Cons: Can some time turn off without warning, due to the micro switches not closing properly located at the top of the battery bay.

Other: If you want a battery grip for the ti2, Kiss 4x/ 550d might as well get this.