Canon BG-E2N Battery Grip For EOS 20D, 30D & 40D - Electronics / Photography (Canon)

Technical DataHeader / Product LineCanonTechnical DataHeader / ModelBG-E2NTechnical DataHeader / ManufacturerCanonTechnical DataAccessories / Accessory TypeBattery gripTechnical DataAccessories / Compatibility (Product Type)CameraTechnical DataAccessories / Compatibility (Camera Model)Canon EOS 40D

Customer Reviews of Canon BG-E2N Battery Grip For EOS 20D, 30D & 40D

gm
surrey, uk
7th January 2009

Great canon product. But can't it be cheaper?!
For me, the 30D/40D is just too small, so I have one of these for both my 30D and 40D. The Canon build is great and I decided to pay more and avoid the risk of a dodgy third party grip from eBay, having heard several bad reports of quality issues.

However I have since encountered more praise for third party grips and considering both their price advantage and the fact you can usualy pick up a couple of third party batteries too I think maybe I could have risked it.

Canon can continue to trade on its brand to give them such a significant mark up over their competiton, but I wonder for how much longer.

M. Oxley
Leatherhead, Surrey, UK
11th September 2008

Fingers crossed
I got this grip to fit onto my 40D purchased at the same time. Previously I had a 20D with the earlier BG-E2 grip and had nothing but problems with that grip on that body. Power would suddenly fail without warning often in the middle of a burst and meant I lost shots. It would do this seemingly at random so could never predict it happening. The only way to clear the fault was to remove the batteries and grip from the body, leave for a few miniutes then replace it. Some days it would behave, on others it happened up to half a dozen times. Because of the fault it meant I had to constantly keep removing and reattaching it and this eventualy led to it getting stuck half removed from the camera due to the gears inside seizing up. It cost me £80 to have it repaired. This was bad enogh but the replacement started to show signs of the same fault and that started to seize up too. A freind who has this grip on a 30D has had no issues on either count so I can only think this is only a problem when used with a 20D.

Hopefully the new design as well as extra weather proofing has taken these faults into account and rectified them. So far it works perfectly on my 40D and the extra buttons are a godsend for shooting in portrait format. Just wish they had added the 40D's AF on button as well, strange it wasn't included given the new grip was released about the same time as the camera?

Stephen Narramore
London, United Kingdom
24th January 2008

Extra grip, extra power & great balance
I have used my Canon 20D for the last 2 years, and have found the battery grip to give essential balance when using my regular 24-70mm L series lens, and so many times when on location, the extra power provided by the 2nd battery has saved my shoot. I do carry 2 spare battery with me as well!
The extra focusing controls are a real benefit, when shooting with the camera "on its side", there are duplicated on top of the camera body, but having them just under your fingers is a great feature of the design.
Clearly it does add some extra bulk and weight, but I cannot live without mine!

John Burns
London, England
14th January 2008

Helps balance out the weight
I have a EOS 40D which, when combined with my day to day L series 24-70 lens, is very heavy and completely out of balance.
This base helps get the camera back in balance.

The grip has a shutter button and a 'dial wheel' for use in portrait mode however I tend to never use them (The grip has a safety switch to disable these buttons which is handy).

It also holds a second battery which in my experience is only worthwhile when using the pop up flash or reviewing pictures on the LCD a lot.

My only complaint is that you have to remove the battery door off the camera body. This means if you want the flexibility of taking the camera without the grip, you'll need to take this small (easy to lose) cover with you separately - it would have been nice if they could have worked the grip to have space built in for the cover.

EDIT: As it happens, the mechanism to secure the grip to the camera uses plastic gears. If you over tighten this (very easy) you'll be paying £50 to canon to have it removed, and the broken one is not covered under warranty.

I'm not buying another, this has happened to me twice now... I'll keep a look out for a clone with metal gears

Arrive Alive
Bristol, England, UK
9th January 2008

If your a bit of a poser
This battery pack is very useful for giving extra life to your beloved camera especialy when your in the middle of nowhere and you have remembered a spare pack of AA batteries.
For the posers out there it does add that little bit of bulk to the machine, making it look and feel much more expensive than it is. The extra weight is barely noticable when you are already carting around several different lenses but if hung round your neck for too long you will start to feel the strain.
The extra room to place your hand (even for people with a small grasp) is a great bonus as I find the EOS 40D still has a smallish grip. The addition of buttons to shoot in portrait is a great bonus but why did they bother with the on/off switch, it's just another fiddly thing to switch off before you can start taking pictures.
Overall, a very good peice of kit I would recommend to any wildlife photographer, well built, study, practical and good for posing!