# Birthday Present



## ADavis85 (Jul 18, 2012)

So, I received my birthday present (basically to myself lol) in the mail today, and I must say...it's been my most wanted accessory to my A700. It works awesome, and looks awesome on the camera. I got a pretty good Buy-It-Now deal on eBay for $200 ($209 shipped). Only thing I don't have is the second battery. Not required, but it would definitely be nice to have the doubled battery life. 





Anyway, just thought I'd share.


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## dxqcanada (Jul 18, 2012)

Nice ... did you pretend to look surprised when you opened the package ?


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## DiskoJoe (Jul 18, 2012)

$200? WTF!

I got mine for $41 with two batteries. Of course the batteries didnt work but $41 is better then $200. Noob. you should have went after market.


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## dxqcanada (Jul 18, 2012)

Question is ... are the extra controls/buttons on the Sony grip worth the extra $150.00 over the after-market grip ?


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## ADavis85 (Jul 19, 2012)

DiskoJoe said:


> $200? WTF!
> 
> I got mine for $41 with two batteries. Of course the batteries didnt work but $41 is better then $200. Noob. you should have went after market.


lol Noob? Right...It's great that you got one for $41, but I'm sorry...I just don't want cheap Chinese parts attached to my camera. I'm happy to pay $200 for a genuine Sony product with the extra controls, and the piece of mine knowing it's not going to fall apart. Not to say that yours will, but I'm much more certain that Sony's will not. But hey, if you spending $41 on a grip makes you better than me, I'm happy for you.

Also, as much as I looked, I could never find an aftermarket grip for the A700. 

Oh and dxq, yeah...I tried to for a second, but no one else was home lol...and my cat didn't understand.


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## pixmedic (Jul 19, 2012)

When i got a grip for my D90, i spent the extra money and got the nikon grip and have been very happy with it. I have heard plenty of people that have been happy with aftermarket grips. I guess it depends on what is available for your camera. I dont think many here will fault you for getting the manufacturer grip, even being more expensive.


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## ADavis85 (Jul 19, 2012)

pixmedic said:


> When i got a grip for my D90, i spent the extra money and got the nikon grip and have been very happy with it. I have heard plenty of people that have been happy with aftermarket grips. I guess it depends on what is available for your camera. I dont think many here will fault you for getting the manufacturer grip, even being more expensive.


Yeah, I've seen the Zeikos grips for Nikon, and they're not bad. I know most people won't fault me for getting a genuine grip...and I just like pulling people's chains back when they say silly things. But I agree, for me...if I'm going to do it, I want to do it right.


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## o hey tyler (Jul 19, 2012)

DiskoJoe said:


> Noob.



Interesting comment coming from you, Joe. 

I agree, OP. I have both OEM grips on the 5D1, and 5D2... Wouldn't have it any other way. 

I do like how it says "VERTICAL GRIP" on the side of the box in sharpie though, very professional looking.


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## tirediron (Jul 19, 2012)

I'm another one firmly in the "OEM" camp.  I've seen/heard enough horror stories of cheap, off-shore kit that at best didn't work, and at worst damaged things.  My brother decided to buy a set of cheap ($20) extension tubes from a Craig's List vendor, rather than spending the $150 for the Kenkos...  after he dropped over $100 at the local camera repair shop where they had to CUT the tube off the body because the mount was machined so poorly, he decided to spend the extra next time.  Just sayin'...


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## ADavis85 (Jul 19, 2012)

o hey tyler said:


> DiskoJoe said:
> 
> 
> > Noob.
> ...


Yeah...not very excited about that myself. Not quite sure why that's there. Oh well...




tirediron said:


> I'm another one firmly in the "OEM" camp.  I've seen/heard enough horror stories of cheap, off-shore kit that at best didn't work, and at worst damaged things.  My brother decided to buy a set of cheap ($20) extension tubes from a Craig's List vendor, rather than spending the $150 for the Kenkos...  after he dropped over $100 at the local camera repair shop where they had to CUT the tube off the body because the mount was machined so poorly, he decided to spend the extra next time.  Just sayin'...


Oh man oh man...that's rough. Yeah, I mean...I don't have a ton of money, but I'll save and save to be able to buy genuine parts before I'll save a few dollars and have a crappy part. The flash I have (Sony's 56AM) is awesome...now I don't have $400 to spend on a flash...but luckily I was able to find a craigslist steal and got it for $150 from a nice gentlemen who owns a studio near Towson. 

But yeah...I guess I'm a noob for not buying some cheap aftermarket parts. lol


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## dxqcanada (Jul 19, 2012)

If I wanted a grip for my A55 ... I have no choice but aftermarket as Sony decided this camera was not worth it ... which sucks as the aftermarket grips look/designed like crap for the price their asking.


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## ADavis85 (Jul 19, 2012)

Really? That's very interesting. I wonder why they would do that? I mean, I had a hard enough time finding the one I bought FROM Sony, but if the only options available where knock-offs...I don't think I'd even want one. 

Also, I'm going to thread-jack my own thread and ask, how well do you like the SLT? I was going to buy an A33 or A55 before I found the A700 for sale...but one of the deciding factors was that I'm not too fond of the digital view-finder system.


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## bunny99123 (Jul 20, 2012)

I had an A33 Sony, and bought a cheap brand second battery, well my camera broke.  Don't know if it was the battery or not, but then I got an A55, and bought a Sony second battery.  Was way more expensive, but has worked wonderfully.  I am not going to take the chance and buy after market.  I will save until I have the money for Sony equipment.  I have heard great things about after market products, so this is my personal choice.  I don't know much about after market products; illiterate on that one.  I love my Sony, and it is perfect for what I need right now, but who knows.  I may decide to switch to another camera years down the road.  Enjoy your camera


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## Kolia (Jul 20, 2012)

ADavis85 said:
			
		

> Also, I'm going to thread-jack my own thread and ask, how well do you like the SLT? I was going to buy an A33 or A55 before I found the A700 for sale...but one of the deciding factors was that I'm not too fond of the digital view-finder system.



Apparently there are significant difference between the entry and mid range EVF. I have an a65 and love it.  Good luck getting me to revert to OVF !


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## ADavis85 (Jul 20, 2012)

Interesting. I don't have much (any) actual experience with them, but I know the refresh rate is is kind of a problem.


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## Kolia (Jul 21, 2012)

At low speed continuous shooting it behaves exactly like an OVF.  Screen goes dark while exposing.  

At high speed and max speed you basically see a stop action movie as it shows the pictures you are taking.

I can't imagine this being very different than an OVF going black 10 times a second ?


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## sm4him (Jul 21, 2012)

Looks WAY more exciting than the TIRES I bought myself for MY birthday. :lmao:


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## Kolia (Jul 21, 2012)

Mmmh...  Tires !

I have a whole gallery of the tires I bought ! lol !


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## Derrel (Jul 21, 2012)

I'm positively enamored of that sexy packaging, with the hand-written VERTICAL GRIP drawn on there in felt pen! Woo-hoo!

Yeah...vertical grips...gotta love 'em! I prefer the hand positioning that a grip allows me when shooting a lot of "talls", as during an outdoor portrait session...or over the course of a long event shot with a heavy lens + monopod, like track and field events, where a good number of the images will be shot as verticals.


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## ADavis85 (Jul 21, 2012)

Kolia said:


> At low speed continuous shooting it behaves exactly like an OVF.  Screen goes dark while exposing.
> 
> At high speed and max speed you basically see a stop action movie as it shows the pictures you are taking.
> 
> I can't imagine this being very different than an OVF going black 10 times a second ?


Yeah, that's what I was looking for, how people who use them like them. What you said makes sense.



sm4him said:


> Looks WAY more exciting than the TIRES I bought myself for MY birthday. :lmao:


Ha! Yeah, I'm a car-nut too, so tires are always fun! In fact...that reminds me, I need to get some new tires...hmm...



Derrel said:


> I'm positively enamored of that sexy packaging, with the hand-written VERTICAL GRIP drawn on there in felt pen! Woo-hoo!
> 
> Yeah...vertical grips...gotta love 'em! I prefer the hand positioning that a grip allows me when shooting a lot of "talls", as during an outdoor portrait session...or over the course of a long event shot with a heavy lens + monopod, like track and field events, where a good number of the images will be shot as verticals.


I know, right? I mean, if it weren't for that written on the box, it's perfect. The piece really does look brand new (as was described in the ad) too. I've seen some that say "Gently used..." or crap like that, and looking at the pictures you can tell the person never ONCE cleaned their camera/gear. Yuk.


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