Nikon MB-D10 Battery Pack for D300 & D700

I partly agree with the points made by the other two reviewers but thought I would write a review for the sake of balance. I love this grip and find myself using vertical shooting more often because of it. (Although I do find I take a few accidental shots if I forget to "lock" the shutter release) The reason for the "balance" in the title is because I find the camera feels more balanced when using lenses such as the 18-200mm VR Nikon. I mean "in the hand balance", when you place the camera down on the battery pack it will fall forward with the weight of the lens.
I agree Nikon should of supplied all the adaptors you need, but then again if you want to use the D3 battery you would also have to purchase a new charger (more expense)
I also agree with the comment about the placement of the battery, however I rarely remove the camera battery as it hardly seems to lose any power. It is not difficult once a month to swap the batteries over. Remember you probably have enough juice for 2000 shots before both batteries are flat.
Don't forget Nikon always name there battery packs after the camera, so the rumour is there's a new Nikon full frame camera due soon.wrapped inside a D300 body (Nikon D10?)
I suggest you try one in the shop attached to the camera and decide that way. Like I say I love it and my D300 feels very small without it attached.
Beautifully made and looks good on the camera, although the extra height of the camera when the grip is fitted makes it a tight squeeze in most camera bags (look for bags that are deep enough for a "pro DSLR")

I think this is a great product. When attached to the camera (the D300 in my case) the camera feels great, if not a little heavy. It does not come with an EN-EL3a battery so you need to buy another if you want double the battery power. The grip can be used with only one battery, either in the camera body or in the grip itself if you just want better vertical handling, but an extra battery will give you double the number of shots. Two EN-EL3a batteries will not give you additional frame rate but the included AA battery adapter does. I bought this for grip for the vertical handling and not for the speed, but I did try 8xAA batteries in the unit to see what 8 frames a second was like and the only thing I can say is, it's fast.

It does not come with the BL-3 for the EN-EL4, but at the cost of a EN-EL4 at £90+, EN-EL4 charger at £100+ (and a spare battery at another £90+) only a loony (or professional) would go for this option over the 8xAA batteries if speed is the driving factor behind the purchase (sorry if there are any loonies out there;-)). If you already have EN-EL4 batteries from the professional cameras then the BL-3 is worth the extra £15 (at the time of writing).

I don't agree that Nikon should have made space for both batteries in the grip. I do not always use the grip so in my opinion it is more convenient to have a battery remain in the camera body rather than have to take one out of the grip to use the camera and start messing with battery doors, etc, when the grip is not being used. Having a battery remain in the camera makes the grip quick to deploy, just remove the rubber contact protector on the bottom of the camera and screw it into the tripod mount and shoot.

The build quality is great and it feels solid in the hand. There are no creeks or groans from the grip while in the hand due to being made out of the same magnesium alloy (allegedly) that D300/D700 is made. The rubber on the grip looks and feels the same as nikon use on the D300.

Eventually I will probably buy a D700 and thankfully I will not have to replace the grip, in fact it was one of the features that convinced me to buy. Thanks Nikon for thinking of the users and their future aspirations.

All in all, if you want better vertical handling, the sheer speed of the 8 frames a second, or both this is a great addition to your camera system.

Hope you find this review useful.

Mark

Fresh out of the box, I had 2 Batteries already charged and ready to go.
I inserted 1 in the camera and the other in the MB D 10 and then fitted the pack to my Nikon D700.
The build and feel of the product resembles the D700 covering, a sort of rubbery, non slip feel which is excellent for my usage requirements.
The great thing about this item is that the Camera automatically recognises that it has had the pack fitted to it (shows up on the info screen) and it prioritises the battery to be used (battery Pack 1st).
The navigation button on the rear of the unit is a bit of a fiddle but after continued use it gets easier to work with.
Having the unit affixed to the camera does not really increase the total weight and it is very ergonomic to use when shooting in portrait view.
The unit is not perfectly streamlined where it connects to the camera but there are no jutting out bits that could catch on anything.
Having moved up from the D 90 with battery pack to the D700 with this battery pack I have to say that I am extremely happy with the match.
The pack also includes a further insert adaptor for AA batteries so if you lose power from the Nikon Lithium ones and are not near an electrical point to recharge them then you can still power up by using AA batteries.
If you have a D 300 or D 700, then this battery pack is a must have.Nikon MB-D10 Battery Pack for D300 & D700