Meike battery grip for Nikon D5100 D-SLR camera review

I purchased a Meike battery grip for my Nikon D5100 D-SLR camera a few weeks ago and received it recently so I thought that I would write a review on the product.

Since the Nikon D5100 D-SLR is considered to be a mid-level entry camera, Nikon hasn't released a battery grip for this camera and probably won't so some companies have decided to fill in the void by creating their own battery grip for the Nikon D5100 camera.

I purchased my battery grip mainly because I heard/read that the battery grip will allow photographers to use non-Nikon OEM EN-EL14 batteries for their Nikon D5100 camera. As mentioned in my mini-review on the Nikon D5100 D-SLR camera, the D5100 detects a computer chip on authentic Nikon EN-EL14 batteries and will give an error message as well as not work when non-Nikon batteries are used. Even though I have 2 authentic Nikon batteries and I always like to carry 2 sets of batteries whenever I take pictures, I felt that because of the high price of the authentic Nikon EN-EL14 battery compared to the OEM EN-EL14 battery, one day I might decide to get OEM batteries and having the battery grip would be useful.

The first thing about the battery grip is that the colour matches the camera relatively well. You would have to look very closely to notice the difference in colour between the D5100 body and the battery grip. That being said, the battery grip is light and the plastic feels cheap when compared to the plastic on the D5100 camera body itself. The fit of the battery grip and the D5100 body is almost perfect. There is very little empty space between the camera body and the battery grip once the battery grip is secured in place using the screw that fits into the tripod hole on the bottom of the camera. The battery cover clip/lever on the battery grip is flimsy but it gets the job done by locking the battery grip's battery cover in place one the EN-EL batteries are inserted.

People should be aware that some people have modified the Meike battery grip for Nikon D3100 cameras by cutting/sanding one side of the battery grip. The side of the battery grip is the only difference between the Meike battery grip for Nikon D3100 cameras and the Meike battery grip for Nikon D5100 cameras. Personally the box that I purchased indicated that the battery grip was specifically for the Nikon D5100 camera.

In order to use the battery grip, you must first remove the battery cover from the D5100 body. To do this, you just angle the battery cover at roughly 45 degrees and pull firmly and the battery cover will pop off the bottom of the D5100. There is a holder space for the battery cover on the Meike battery grip so that people don't misplace/lose it.

Once the battery grip is attached to the D5100 body, it gives the camera a "better" look (in my opinion). For me, I find that the added weight makes it a little easier for me to take pictures.

The battery grip has a shutter release button (to take pictures). This makes it easier to take pictures while holding the battery grip (holding camera vertically). However in order to use the battery grip's shutter release button, you must use the included cable which connects the battery grip to the camera via the port on the left side of the camera.

I was going to test OEM EN-EL14 batteries in my Meike battery grip but I was pleasantly surprised that the OEM generic/non-Nikon EN-EL14 batteries that I purchased actually worked in my Nikon D5100 camera.

Based on some of the other reviews that I've seen, in order to use generic/non-Nikon EN-EL14 batteries in the battery grip, you first have to insert the authentic Nikon EN-EL14 battery into the battery grip (on the right side). After the authentic Nikon battery is inserted on the right side of the battery grip, you would then power up the Nikon D5100 camera and it will power on. After doing this, you turn off the Nikon D5100 camera and insert the OEM EN-EL14 on the left side of the battery grip. With this configuration/set-up, the D5100 will still power-up. After doing this, you can replace the authentic Nikon EN-EL14 battery on the right side with an OEM EN-EL14 battery so that there are two OEM EN-EL14 batteries in the battery grip and the Nikon D5100 will still power-up. Once this is done, as long as there is always 1 battery in the battery grip, you can swap out the other battery without any issues and the camera will still work. Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on your viewpoint), I wasn't able to test this (but I've seen videos showing this) since my OEM EN-EL14 batteries actually work in my D5100 camera.

I think that this battery grip is a useful accessory but since it is very easy to swap batteries in the Nikon D5100, I don't really see a point to the longer shooting time offered by the battery grip except if the person takes a lot of videos (or takes very long videos). In terms of whether I recommend the product or not, I think that it depends on whether the person plans on purchasing OEM EN-EL14 batteries in the future which may or may not work directly with the Nikon D5100 camera. For me, the OEM EN-EL14 batteries that I purchased surprisingly worked directly with my Nikon D5100 camera.

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Will I or Won't I buy an iPhone 5?

Since I didn't really have anything to review this week, I wasn't sure what to write about for this week's blog entry but since the biggest technical gadget news item this week is probably the release of the iPhone 5 in North America, I decided to write about what my thoughts were on the new iPhone 5 and whether I will be purchasing one (or not). I have taken a look at the specs for the iPhone 5 and it does look nice.

I do have an iPhone 3GS that I sometimes use to make/receive phone calls but the majority of the time, I use it more like an iPod Touch (surf, e-mail notification, play games, listen to podcasts, watch videos, etc.).

I generally skip at least 1 generation for a particular device before purchasing the next device. This is why even though I like the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, I haven't purchased it (and why when the iPhone 4 & iPhone 4S came out, I didn't purchase those phones either). The iPhone 5 represents a big improvement from my iPhone 3GS but because I use mainly my Blackberry Bold 9700 and my Samsung Nexus-S (and I don't really use my iPhone 3GS), I'm taking a wait and see attitude in regards to whether I will purchase an iPhone 5. Currently I'm waiting to see if Rogers will introduce a data plan that I feel is worthwhile for me to get a new Rogers account.

One of the things that I don't like about the newer iPhones (iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, and iPhone 5) is that they don't use the standard size SIM card. The iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S use MicroSIM cards while the newer iPhone 5 uses NanoSIM cards. Because I sometimes travel and I have a few US SIM cards that are of regular size, it is somewhat of a hassle for me to try to convert my US SIM cards to the proper size in order to fit into the newer iPhones. I also feel that when traveling, regular size SIM cards are easier to find than the smaller SIM cards used in the iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, and iPhone 5.

Something else that bothers me about the new iPhone 5 is that it uses a new charging/syncing cable/adapter. This means that if I purchase it, the "dock" that I have on my radio won't work with it.

Apple has stopped including Google Maps and YouTube with the newer iPhone 5 (at least with the new iOS 6) . However, by the time most of you read this, there will probably be standalone apps for each of these.

As someone who has a Blackberry (Blackberry Bold 9700), an iPhone (iPhone 3GS), and an Android (Nexus-S), I see the pros and cons of each of the devices. The phone that I currently "use" the most would be my Blackberry Bold 9700. The main reason for this is that I find it easier to type on a physical keypad as opposed to using a virtual on-screen keypad. I haven't upgraded my Bold 9700 to the Bold 9900 because I'm unsure about RIM's future and because their built-in e-mail and built-in browser requires the use of RIMs servers, I don't want to be stuck with a device where over 50% of what I would want to use it for no longer works.

If you have any comments regarding this blog entry, please don't hesitate to leave a comment in the comments section below. Please note that comments are moderated and any comment that contains a hyperlink whether or not it is embedded will automatically be flagged as spam and will not be posted.