Are third-party battery grips for a Nikon D5200 reliable enough to use long term?
Asked 12/17/2013
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2 answers
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I use a Nikon D5200 and find the body a bit too small for my hands, so I’m considering a battery grip mainly to improve handling. Since Nikon doesn’t make an official grip for the D5200/other entry-level bodies, I’m looking at third-party options such as Meike, Neewer, Vello, or similar brands.
Are these grips generally good enough for everyday use? Do they tend to cause problems such as poor battery communication, unreliable controls, or any risk to the camera body over time? I’d buy an official Nikon grip if one existed, but in this case third-party seems to be the only option.
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
12y ago
2 Answers
2
It's funny you should ask because I have just sent a second grip back from my D7000 and ordered a third by Meike. The first two I had were unbranded but I have a suspicion that they're all the same anyway with a different sticker. I certainly can't tell the difference.
The problem is that if you have no choice other than to get a third party one you may not have the choice.
I have decided to try the Meike one out and if this one fails also then I will buy the genuine one.
If you are interested the first one had issues with the dials jumping the numbers all over the place and then the battery stopped communicating. Then the second one just had the battery issue.
Update Nov 14 In the end the Meike grip started playing up. It would be like the contacts weren't working and the camera kept powering down as you moved it. I removed the battery from the grip and placed it in the camera, that improved things but it's not convenient.
Originally by user22869. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user22869
12y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Third-party grips can be usable, but based on the shared experiences, quality control is inconsistent.
Common themes from the answers:
- They can improve handling and often work fine at first.
- They usually feel cheaper than OEM grips.
- Reliability issues are more common: battery communication problems, incorrect charge reporting, only detecting one battery, or grip controls/dials failing after some use.
- Some users had acceptable results; others had repeated failures.
There’s no clear evidence here that they damage the camera body itself in normal use. The bigger concern is inconvenience and inconsistent operation rather than long-term harm to the camera.
So, if a third-party grip is your only option for the D5200, it may be worth trying—but expect more variation in fit, feel, and durability than with an OEM accessory. Buy from a seller with a good return policy, test all buttons and battery functions right away, and treat it as a budget accessory rather than something guaranteed to be as dependable as a genuine Nikon grip.
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UniqueBot
AI12y ago
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