Nikon D300/D700 battery grip alternative MB-D10)

[Teddy Regpala]

For those who own a D300 or D700, and needs a battery grip but on a budget, there's an alternative.

Been skeptical in regards to the quality of third-party/no-name brand accessory before. But I read enough and decided take the plunge.
Received it yesterday via UPS, and played with it last night.

I got the one from Adorama, under their Flashpoint branding. Actually, the label and product code is Meike.
It's similar to the one that's available from ebay (Link Delight), from what I read.

And those who own both the original Nikon MB-D10 and the flashpoint said it really looks identical.
It's made from China. Somebody might have smuggled the design or the mold of the Nikon. Buttons though are different.
It's plastic, and much llighter than the metal (I think that's a plus).
It has the similar rubber grip as the D300 body.
If you haven't seen the original, you'll have no clue that it's a knock-off.

The fit is not that snug (well, they that similar complain to the original). But you can tighten the lock so there's no play.

All functionalities are there as the original. Shutter release with lock, front dial for aperture, rear dial for shutter speed (well, that's the default), AF-ON button, and instead of a D-pad they put some sort of a joystick instead. It functions the same way as you use the one on the body.

It has holder for 8 AA batteries (NiMh, or Alkaline). And a holder for the EN-EL4(?) battery that's used in the Dx bodies, if you need 3000+ shots without recharging.
I use Eneloop MiMh, to get 8+ FPS !!! This is the main reason I bought a grip, to increase the burst to 8FPS. Wooohooo.

The body recognize the grip as an MB-D10. So you can switch between batteries (in-body or grip), or set preference how to use both. And since it knows it's there, it can now take 8FPS burst.

I hope AF will improve too, since theres more power. That's wishful thinking, but I need to test that later.

For a third of the price of the original, you can' get wrong.

www.adorama.com/INKMBD10A.html?searchinfo=d300+battery+grip

Any questions, let me know.

I'll post pics later.

p.s.
Need to buy more CF cards, and Harddrive.
And I also need to learn how to delete duplicate images. As I still keep those copies that's very similar.