GH2 Battery grip link (http://www.ownuser.com.tw/e_mig_pgh2.html)

Ive been waiting on this company to release a battery grip for the camera and they just sent me an email.


Cheers!

Steve, thanks for the post. Their website gives me a headache, I remember it from a while back. So it's finally released? Great!

Is there a tripod hole in the bottom of the pack? I'm sure there must be. Looks like a great solution for getting extra longevity. What's it hold, two batteries? That will be awesome.

Please keep us posted on how you like it!

Yeah, the website kinda gives you a headache, but so far its the only company I know of that offers one. I will report back when I get it and test. It will be nice to add a little bulk to the gh2 and use my same batteries.

Take care!

Yes, two or more continuous hour of battery life would be a life saver for for weddings. It seems like I am occupied with changing batteries the entire day as it is, so I'm really looking forward to hearing your report!

pretty cool

GH2 Battery grip link (http://www.ownuser.com.tw/e_mig_pgh2.html)

Ive been waiting on this company to release a battery grip for the camera and they just sent me an email.


Cheers!

Thanks for the link, it's good to see accessories like this.

Probably not an issue for video shooters, but it looks like the shutter release on the battery grip only works if a cable is plugged into the camera's 2.5mm shutter release/mic input jack.

Probably not an issue for video shooters, but it looks like the shutter release on the battery grip only works if a cable is plugged into the camera's 2.5mm shutter release/mic input jack.

Plus it appears the battery unit takes over the shutter release function from the GH2 as it has a shutter button on the front of the unit. Any idea why this would be necessary or desirable?

D

Dennis:
when you turn your camera to the left (portrait), you don't have to hold the camera at top/bottom positions you can hold her at left/right positions and release the shutter as in landscape mode.

As Michael says the shutter button on the battery pack is simply an added feature to facilitate snapping photos when you are holding the camera in different positions. This is a common feature of battery packs. This is alien to most of us because most of us are video people learning our way in the world of photography.

It's called a vertical shutter release. (I only know that because I looked it up :)

Jeff, yeah, I'm mainly a video guy, too, so turning the cam to portrait mode was the last thing I would have thought of. "Vertical shutter". I learned something new today!

D

We both did!

Just got my GH2 battery grips in. My first impression is that they were a little plasticky and light weight when I took them out of the boxs. Its decently built though. After putting them on with my oem batteries(DMW-BLC12PP) it made the camera feel less compact and more substantial. Its no 5d with oem grip but it won't make me feel self-conscious to take on a paying gig. I don't feel any play and the quick-release mounts fine and sturdy to the bottom of it. I took it to a family get together most of the day Sunday and still have 2 bars on my battery indicator.

P.S. I did not use the jumper wire for the side button.

Just my initial thoughts I thought I'd share.

Thanks for sharing Steve! Glad you like it!

Interesting... may get one if everyone is happy with them.

Steve, the battery grip comes with optional accesories, but I have no clue what they are as listed on the website: ¸UµÙ¹q°T¦³**¤½¥q (http://www.ownuser.com.tw/e_mig_pg2.html)

It looks like you can buy the grip by itself, or with a battery charger if that is what it is? I don't know what those items are. The third listing shows a second optional piece, I just cant' make out what they are.

Anyone have a clue?

Jeff,

You want the Mig-Pgh2b. It is just the battery grip.

The other 2 models have a AA battery pack AB (they don't recommend) and the RAB has the AA battery pack with a IR module I guess for remote pictures.

I use mine all the time and works good. No complaints. It's not like a OEM canon grip though. Neither is the price.

Thanks kindly for your response Steve. These will make my life much easier this coming season! I'm ordering one to start, but I'm sure I'll get a second one if the first one is fine, which I'm sure it will be.

They do! They make the camera look better too!

What lenses are you using that you find sharp? I got a vintage Nikon 80-200 with aperature ring I love for ceremonies because I hate the crop mode on this camera.

I use pretty much only the Panasonic 25mm F/1.5, the Olympus 12mm F/2.0 and the Olympus 45mm F/1.8, all very nice, super quick auto focus, gorgeous images, great color rendition.

I have just been playing around with a f1.2 55mm Canon FD Aspericial. It looks really nice wide open so I plan on using it in combo with the Voightlander 25mm at the receptions.

I have the Olympus 12mm too. I haven't used it much yet but I want too, the images look really nice.

Double Post

I'm glad you have the 12mm, it is such a nice lens for the GH2. The 55 F/1.2 sounds nice also.

I use pretty much only the Panasonic 25mm F/1.5, the Olympus 12mm F/2.0 and the Olympus 45mm F/1.8, all very nice, super quick auto focus, gorgeous images, great color rendition.

Jeff - can you rank the order of the lenses for usefulness during your wedding shots? Which one is your favorite and which would you recommend getting first?

I suppose if I could only have one, it would be the 12mm it is my favorite, but the 25mm is the most practical and probably the the most sensible choice. The 45mm would be third. It would be hard to part with any of them.

There is of course the stunning 7-14mm which I would love to have, but it is too slow for indoor work. For outdoor work I would love to have that lens, but I cannot justify owning it for outdoors when I have the 12mm, which cost $800. I shoot 90% indoors in less than great lighting conditions, and I'm not a high end wedding studio so I cannot afford to own every lens I would like to have.

I purchased the battery grip. I really like it.
Thanks for the link.

Jeff H.

I like mine very much also, but was disappointed to find no battery bar indicators when using it. Upon testing it ran almost exactly 3 hours continuously, not bad at all, but it will be scary on the job at weddings when I have no idea when I will need to change batteries.

NOTE - battery indicator is fine and I was mistaken or something when I wrote the above.

Jeff,
My battery indicator appears in the LCD. I don't know if it's accurate or not. Will check it out today.

Jeff H.

Maybe I didn't wait long enough for it to appear or something, it's fine today!

Yeah, I always get nervous when Im at a paying gig and the battery indicator shows only 1 bar left!! I usually try to change it about 15-30min after I see that. I really like the way my Canon 60d shows % left though even when using a battery grip it shows both battery %. Hopefully they change that with the Gh3.

OOPS....
Just discovered I can't use my Rode Video Pro mic...with the battery grip mounted. Maybe Im mistaken will read the instructions.
Jeff

I use a sennheiser with mine all the time? What's different with the rode?

DUH....
I thought the short cable was necessary, which took up the mic/remote input....but that's for the vertical shutter button on the grip to operate. I removed it and plugged in the Rode. Who wants vertical "videos" anyway. haha

Mr. Dummy :>)
______________________________________________________________________________-

They do! They make the camera look better too!

What lenses are you using that you find sharp? I got a vintage Nikon 80-200 with aperature ring I love for ceremonies because I hate the crop mode on this camera.

Hello Steve, I'm planning to get a couple of these battery grips to go back and use the original Panasonic batteries because we've been using the tekkeon battery when we shot weddings and we've had a couple of damaged sd card problems, so I'm suspicios that the tekkeon battery is altering the voltage output and messing with the sd card.

Anyways, we also use a Nikon 80-200 AF D during the ceremony, and I was wondering if you've had the camera twisting away where it is connected to the grip? I've read that this happens because there's not enough friction or locking pin in the union and I'm sure the 80-200 AF mounted to the camera will be a nice way to test this out.

Thanks!

By the way, I would like to recommend the following line of lenses for shooting weddings:

Camera A:
Nikon 80-200 f2.8 AF D (push pull)
Tamron 28-75 f2.8 (very very close to the nikon's 24-70 sharpness)
Samyang/Rokinon 85mm f1.4
Voigtlander 58mm f1.4

Camera B: (on a steadicam)
Kit lens 14-140
Panasonic/Leica 25mm f1.4
Pancake 20mm f1.7

We use the last two of each camera for the reception.

I had my grips slip some no matter how tight I put the mounting screw. All I did to fix it was put some 2 way tape between the grip and cam. Works like a charm so far, no problems. I used the thicker type tape used to mount moulding on the outside of cars. I'm sure you can find something similar.

I'll try your solution after giving cork a chance :) Thanks!

BTW..Im so glad I got the grip, not only for power, but for stability too.

Not to change the subject...but I see some folks are using SD cards.

Isn't the build in memory enough for your wedding shoots? (Can the camera be programmed to backup the built in memory to the sd cards?)...or are you using the sd cards mainly for transfer to computer.

Jeff Hinson

Jeff !! I never heard of the GH2 having built in memory. Is that an option now?? I have 4 and they are probably a little less than a year old. I use a variety of Class 10 SD cards for mine.

Are you talking about the GH2?

STEVE...
So sorry for that post.............I was following both a GH2 thread and a XA10 thread and somehow posted to the wrong thread. hahaha another "senior moment".

No the GH2 does not have a internal drive....ha

Jeff

LOL I was just wondering if you got a *Special* one!


BTW... I just put a 14-35 Olympus 2.0(1.95lb) on with the battery grip and it flexes pretty good. So I am going to have to order a lens support to help it. Im scared with too much bumping etc the grip will break with the weight.

Can anybody comment on if the grip improves the comfort level of holding the GH2? It's just too small to hold for an extended period of time and my right hand gets crampy quick. It takes me back to my Canon XL2 days in terms of ergonomics. My Olympus Evolt E-500 is a joy to hold after using the GH2. Many thanks.

Most definately makes the camera more substancial to hold. Its one of the main reasons I got it, just so it felt more comfortable holding it.

just wondering if anyone else had trouble with the grip. After 3 months the LCD screen would start flashing and the battery meter would drop from full to 1 mark. Camera would work fine without the grip. They took it back and sent me another one within 2 weeks. After about 3 months this one started doing the same thing.
So I tried putting some thin piece of foam in each battery compartment including the camera one, now all is good for the last 2 months.

I had same problem last week, I'm done with it.