D850 battery grips

MrFotoFool

As most of you know the D850 is 7fps native but 9fps with battery grip (aka vertical grip). However I just looked and the Nikon grip is four hundred bucks PLUS you need a special battery and battery cover. Ouch. Does anyone know of reliable third party grips that will also give 9fps?

Pistnbroke

Yes I do ..I have sold dozens of kits of grip battery charger and BL5 . I just sold the last kit today. I have most stuff from germany but with brexit its difficult so am not selling any more . You can get the BL5 cheapest on Ebay about $12 ,Simplest to get the rest from Amazon. The grips are about $60 ,the make does not seem to matter.Batteries EN EL 18 are about $35. If it says for D5 thats ok not D4 I have sold many Durapro , Intensilo and Dotfoto. Get the 3200 mah versions .dont pay too much.
The charger is MH 26....lots of knock offs identical to Nikon at about $70.
If you are in UK I can pick out exact supliers.
You must set camera to grip battery first and Ch or it wont work.

MrFotoFool

Thanks for reply, but what is BL5?

PB_PM

The BL5 is the cover required to use the EN-EL18 (b or c) battery in the grip, it does not come with most of them (sure doesn’t with the Nikon). If you go with a third party grip be aware that some batteries don’t fit. Some of them are designed to only work with that brands battery, sometimes the OEM Nikon batteries don’t fit for example.

Pistnbroke

QUOTE.. If you go with a third party grip be aware that some batteries don’t fit. Some of them are designed to only work with that brand's battery, sometimes the OEM Nikon batteries don’t fit for example.

You are a nice bloke PB PM so I won't say thats rubbish but its misleading.
For the Dozens I have sold I have used 5 different brands of grip ,the cheapest I could get usually from HK and all the parts are interchangeable. All battery brands fit in all brands of grip. Batteries for D4 are not suitable but if it says D5 or even D850 its fine.
The ones that are no good are the battery/BL5 combos that have the charger in the BL5 part ,they fit but only 7fps.
The third party grips are usually lighter being high-grade plastic and thats an advantage.

PB_PM

I’ve looked into many of them, since I too think the Nikon grips are insanely overpriced. The Amazon reviews are littered with comments about these issues. What Amazon sells in the UK isn’t always the same as what they sell elsewhere, as well. Save your constant personal attacks for the rubbish bins where they belong , they help no one.

The EN-EL18a, b and c are all the same shape, so yeah it should work with any grip, and no I’m not talking about the cover.. Some reviews said the battery itself wouldn’t fit, just because you haven’t had an issue doesn’t mean other people have not.

Pistnbroke

There will always be people who get it wrong ..Not all Nikon grips will take an EN EL 18. EG the MB D 14. The contacts on an EN EL 18 are in a different position to an EL EN 15 and that causes the perceived misfit. ie grips intended only for a EN EL 15 in a carrier have the contacts in a position not compatible with the EN EL 18.
I still think it was wrong to put off the original poster when if he takes advice from someone who has done this dozens of times he will have no problem.

PB_PM

I wasn't putting him off, just giving a warning. Take a chill pill.

MrFotoFool

Thanks for all the replies. I didn't fully understand why you need a separate battery cover (BL5) until I saw it just now on Youtube. I also didn't realize the extra parts needed (battery and charger and cover) from Nikon would take the price up to almost a grand! This is insane! As this reviewer points out, there is no justification for it and third party works just as well:

Pistnbroke

DSTE make both a grip and a battery and they work well together. If you get your bits from somewhere you can return them then you are bullet proof. Now you see why I could sell so many kits at $250.
PS I looked on american ebay and all the grips look ok . They do an Andoer I have used many times at $50 . The Jinti is ok too.
Chamber cover $11 on amazon
Many of the battery brands I dont recognise.
Amazon have the charger at $59

DenverShooter

I purchased a used Nikon MB-D18 from Roberts Camera in Indianapolis. It came with the adapter to use the D4/5/6 battery (BL-5) along with the standard D800/810/850 battery and a used EL15A for well under $300 USD.

When running my D6 batteries in it it the D850 runs 9 frames a second.

Pistnbroke

For clarity a D4 battery will not give 9fps (7) in a D850

MrFotoFool

I did end up buying third party on Amazon. As far as I can tell no one sells a bundle of all the needed parts, at least for third party (BH sells a bundle for Nikon original). However Amazon sent all together quickly in one box (and delivered on Sunday even though I am not a Prime member). Here is what I got, for a fourth the price of Nikon.

Vello battery grip.
DSTE battery chamber cover.
Wasabi ENEL-18 style batteries (2 pack) with dual charger.

I tried it out today photographing hummingbirds at Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum and everything works fine. How Nikon can charge over a grand for accessories like this is beyond understanding.

Pistnbroke

If you had been in the UK it would have been only 50% of what you paid even sourcing through Amazon.
Glad it worked for you.

MrFotoFool

Just an update - while it works fine it turns out to be too heavy for me. I had (stupidly) walked around a couple days using it with my 70-200 and just the regular neck strap on the camera. I pulled a muscle in my lower back and was out of work for a week and a half. I am now recovered but back to using the camera without the grip and I need to figure out how to sell it.

Pistnbroke

Its the strap thats the problem ..only an amateur uses a neck strap ( with big Canon letters on it ) . You need one across the body,just long enough for you to keep one hand on the camera. I dont think the grip is increasing the weight that much. If you got big boobs you need the right bra.,