Zeikos ZE-NBG300 Battery Grip for Nikon D700, D300, D300s Review

Nikon D300 is already a comfortable camera to handle with an excellent design to fit you hand like a glove. Only thing that makes the handling different from full professional camera such as D3, D3X, and D3S is the verticle grip when you change your shooting orientation. This is where additional accessory such as MB-D10 or in my case Zeikos ZE-NBG300 Battery Grip comes in to compensate. I don't know about you but I am a cheapskate and I like save money where I can so I went out side the comfort zone and purchased Zeikos ZE-NBG300 Battery Grip instead of genuine Nikon. Below is my take on the accessory.

Amazon is where my grip came from.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001T9N0RQ/ref=cm_cr_mts_prod_img

Functionality (10/10)

I've been using the grip for months and I can tell you that it has NOT failed me once. The camera recognizes the grip as MB-D10 and all the buttons, directional pad, and the dials work as they should. In fact, with included "8-AA battery" adapter (YES 8! and it makes the camera really heavy) you now have ability to shoot 8 fps. You have to hear 8 fps in action yourself or you are missing out. It is sounds cool.


Build Quality (7/10)

From what I've heard/read, genuine Nikon grip's build quality is same as D300, metal body covered in good quality plastic. Zeikos's version of the grip doesn't even come close to that. It is built from plastic, good quality plastic from what I can tell, and it does feel pretty solid. Directional pad and buttons feel good and they don't get in my way at all. The lock dial that surrounds the shutter release button has a little play/wiggle but it really is not a big deal. As for the shutter release button goes, you can certainly tell the difference between the one one the grip and the one one the camera. The camera shutter release button has a very smooth feel without any "click" when you press it all the way down. One the Zeikos has very distinctive "click" when you press it all the way down. It is certainly a personal preference but I wished the one Zeikos has the same mechanism as the one on the body.
Other than the items listed above, my biggest complaint but not major issue has to be the dial used to lock the grip in place. This one wiggles quite a bit and I wish that the company put little more attention to it. I guess at a price significantly lower than the Nikon grip, you can't ask everything to be perfect.
Rubberized grip feels good and as long as it doesn't peel off, I don't think it will slip out my hand. Finish applied to the plastic body doesn't match the camera perfectly but unless you look close, I don't think anyone will notice it much. Overall, I am very satisfied with the purchse and will be a good companion to my kit for a long time.