AMAZING ITEM! I originally purchased a new Canon BG-E9 on January 15, 2011 from a well known camera shop in Boston and paid over $[...] for it after tax. I then decided to purchase this item and did it with skepticism because I figured, "How can an item which is about $[...] less perform the same?" Well my answer came today in the mail (fast shipping!). The item is almost identical to the over-priced Canon original. The grip is very comfortable. The batteries load exactly the same as a Canon, all accessories are identical, and all of the hand grip functions are identical. By adding a Canon hand strap, which I purchased separately with the Canon BG-E9, I now have a camera which I can strap comfortably around my hand and turn the camera counter-clockwise to shoot those tough vertical shots. The only way to describe this Meike Battery Grip is "Wow"! The original Canon grip has been successfully returned and this one will replace it! One last thing should be noted, this item, the Meike Grip is not like the Neewer grip as this loads batteries EXACTLY like the OEM grip and the Neewer loads like the old Canon grips, from the back. If you don't mind aftermarket knockoff's, then THIS IS THE BATTERY GRIP FOR YOUR CANON 60D! High Quality Battery Grip BG-E9 for Canon 60D Digital SLR DSLR Camera!
I bought one of these grips based on the stellar reviews here and elsewhere. It arrived today and I was pleased to see that appearance-wise, the reviews were true. It looks every bit as good as the OEM Canon item. I have to wonder if any of the previous reviewers have tried to use this device with the optional AA battery tray. I did and almost fried my camera with it, so I can only give it 1 star. I attached the grip to my brand new 60D and was impressed by how well it fit. I placed 6 brand new AA batteries into the grip's tray being very careful to notice the orientation symbols in the plastic. I slid it into the grip and proceeded to turn the camera on. Nothing. Confused, I removed the grip from the camera then removed the battery tray from the grip. It was so hot I couldn't even touch it. I had to bang the tray on the carpet to dislodge the batteries before the whole thing melted into a pile of resin. Obviously, there's a short somewhere in the tray that caused the batteries to heat up. I popped an LP-E6 battery back into the camera and it still would not turn on. Thinking the grip had fried my camera I was frantic and more than a little pissed off. Luckily, I determined that the camera will not work without the battery compartment door on. Once I reinstalled it the camera turned on fine. I tried the grip again, but this time with the LP-E6 battery tray and 2 batteries. It worked fine. If you have one of these I strongly urge you to try the AA battery tray and make sure there is no issue with it. Simply put batteries in it the proper way and see if they heat up. No need to install it on the camera unless it stays cool and appears safe. For me, the ability to use AA batteries when traveling was a real benefit of this device. I hope I just got a defective one and that no one else finds this same defect with theirs.
UPDATE: Since I was going to be sending this one back, I decided to open up the defective battery tray and test it with a meter. Underneath the cover for the main contacts are two wires going to each contact from the positive and negative of the battery supply. One of them had either been improperly soldered and come loose or never been attached. It was touching the opposite contact and causing a short circuit. Since the batteries are in series the short was not completed until the last battery was installed. The unit is now fixed and working properly, but this is an indicator of the poor quality control of this unit. Apparently, no final testing is done before packing and shipping. Another sub-par Chinese product, I guess. I'm going to keep it, but I can't give it more than 3 stars because I'm sure someone else will probably find a similar issue. Oh, and the smell is definitely a negative.
I received the Meike BG-E9 as shown on the product page even though the invoice did not mention a brand name and the vendor refers to it as the Neewer, which is a different model. It fits and works perfectly. It matches the Canon grip exactly in form and function. Except for a slight difference in the texture of the rubber it would be hard to tell the difference without actually handling it. It is lightweight but not alarmingly so, it's hefty enough to feel secure. The removable battery trays are built well.
The glue used on the rubber smells awful but has dissipated a lot in the two days I've had this. Hopefully the smell will be gone completely in another day or so. Since I haven't done any work with it yet I'm a little concerned about the security and durability of the metal tripod mounting screw although it feels good so far.
The 60D grip was so small I could only hold it with three fingers which felt strange to me. This grip takes care of that problem and adds a lot more useful function. I'm uploading a couple of photos I took of it mounted on the camera.
Update 3-8-11: After a couple of weeks of using the grip I can say I'm really glad I took a chance on buying it. I couldn't afford the Canon version and usually would just wait till I could manage it but this grip looked too tempting at its low price. I forgot I was using a knock-off immediately after putting it to work. There are no fit, finish or sturdiness issues at all. I compared the battery trays to the one in the grip from my EOS1N and was surprised that they looked like they'd been made in the same factory, plus the glue smell was completely gone in a few days.
I wasn't expecting anything remotely this well built for this price (another positive review lead me to give it a try), but I have to say that the build quality is quite high. It fits and functions with my 60D just like you would expect a genuine Canon accessory to at a fraction of the price. Buttons feel good, rubber grip material is very close to than on camera, batteries fit and place well. As somebody else noted, the glue has a unpleasant smell but I don't expect that to last long. Very pleased, would highly recommend. - Camera Batteries - Canon Battery Grip - Canon Digital Camera - Battery Grip'
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