Phottix BG-5D III Battery Grip for Canon EOS 5D Mark III Review

@Josh, Yes, I get it. But you are then trivializing its importance while defending its presence. If that is the case, then one should not be making such an issue of its absence.

The fact is that the issue of weatherproofing, while it has its advantages for limiting the exposure to sensor dust (most importantly), is still heavily oversold to a credulous market.

The fact is that when we look at a camera/lens combination and then think about exposing it to rain/dust/fire and brimstone, the areas that ARE "weatherproofed" are already fairly well protected by the basic construction of the camera. The lens mount is the obvious point of ingress for contaminants and that can be (and should be) the focus of weatherproofing efforts. That said, it is a simple O-ring on the lens and the job is done.

@Photomonkey

Just like body armor is effective in some situations but is not an excuse to be careless the same is true of weather sealing on a camera. Both are effective but not to a degree the means you should be relying on them so heavily that you don't take other reasonable precautions. Is having weather sealing better than not having it? Of course it is. Can it protect your camera from dust/moisture in some circumstances? It sure can. Can it save your camera if you get caught in the rain? Yep. Does that mean you should make it a practice to shoot in the rain with your expensive DSLR/lens without some kind of rain cover? NO. Even the manufactures are not confidant enough in the weather sealing to specifically say what it will protect against or cover damage cased by water/moisture/dust that got through the sealing under the warranty. So you shouldn't be so confidant in it either.

Actually I would love to see a test where a DSLR with weather sealing and one without are left out in the rain or under a sprinkler for like 30 minutes to an hour and then taken apart to see how much water actually got inside them. Unfortunately not many are willing and/or able to do such an expensive test.

Then you should definitely check out what those french guys did to a Nikon D3s (water, ice, fire):

http://nikonrumors.com/2013/05/23/how-much-abuse-can-the-nikon-d3s-take.aspx/

I do hope your photos are as awesome as your wallet.

Funny but I have never had a client ask me what I paid for my gear. They just want excellent results and I am saying that as a proud 20 year Leica and Canon shooter. Mentioning the Phase One is like saying my other car is a porsche. Yeah, and...

Sure if you are in the financial position to afford a PhaseOne IQ140 and accompanying lens the price difference between the Canon grip and a third party grip may seem trivial. But For most people who are not so financially blessed a few hundred dollars is a lot of money.

Get out of your ivory tower and look around once in while and you won't sound so ignorant when you speak.

To, Dixondeuxyeux. Be careful, you what they say about guys who drive Porsche? Unfortunately, ArcaSwiss somewhat correct for the wrong reason. I remember now. Even though Pixel Vertex has metal plate inside to support tripod socket and even though I bought it few months ago it still had battery problem even though they said they fixed it. It was discharging batteries 10% overnight. It was unfortunate because it is the only one that had that metal plate inside. So I had to return it.

My house and car are paid for, I don't have a bitch, and I need the write off. And yes it's really really good

It must be nice to not have a female dog. Though I recommend you get a parrot. Then you'll have someone to talk to on those long, lonely nights. He might even answer, and will make as much sense as you do.

Posts like this depress me. He's either a sexist, greedy, vulgar creep, or thinks it's terribly funny to pretend to be one. I don't want to know either one.

When I said bitch I didn't mean a dog. Talking about a female human. I've no use for one, never met one who is worthy

@ArcaSwiss

Do you any idea how immature and foolish you sound? Talking like some punk rapper wannabe does not impress anyone, nor does your unverifiable claims of wealth. All you have done is give the impression you are a spoiled, ignorant child. No one who reads these comments from you will ever take anything you say seriously again.

The Phottix grip does have a metal strip for support. I believe I listed that on the specifications chart in my inadequate review.

just make sure you don't get one (Pixel) that kills the batteries when not in use......

I was wondering if I was the only one that felt this DPR "News" was the equivalent of a paid-for press release. Sad, imo. Hope I'm incorrect.

Lately, this Canon owner has been saving time by checking Canon Rumors more, and dpr less.

I try to not be too cynical, but perhaps the time interval between camera introduction and DPR preview/review is influenced by the vendor advertising budget? Or not?

And I'm underwhelmed by the stretched out "preview", then "preview with samples", then "preview with comments by pro", and then ....., and then finally ... maybe ... full review.