L-bracket or battery grip for better grip?

[Talos]

Hi all,

I am soon planning to buy the 70-200 f/2.8 VR S lens for my Z7 and I am considering if I should also add the MB-N10 battery grip in the order. I already have a smallrig L-bracket which is solidly made however I'm debating whether the MB-10 battery grip will a provide a much better grip. I am also thinking if I would be better without any of these and cut the extra weight. I am going to have a strap on the camera all the time so its mostly for "feel" than safety. If any of you have used the L-bracket and/or the battery grip I'd be glad to know if you consider it necessary or I could live without it. Thank you for your time!

 

[Replytoken]

I also consider weight and balance when I decide if I want a grip and/or a bracket on my body. I have the 70-200 VR II and it does not balance as well as I would like on my DSLR bodies without a grip and/or bracket. I am not sure how you feel about weight vs. balance, but I would wait until buying the lens to decide if that is possible.

Good luck,

--Ken

 

[Talos]

Thanks for the reply Ken! I just did the weight comparison and the MB-N10 grip plus one extra battery is plus 508 gr instead of 155 grams for the smallrig L-bracket. If I remove the vertical side bar of the L-bracet it should be closer to 100gr I guess, so its a 5 to 1 difference. I think I'll maybe wait as you suggest.

 

[Replytoken]

Thanks for the reply Ken! I just did the weight comparison and the MB-N10 grip plus one extra battery is plus 508 gr instead of 155 grams for the smallrig L-bracket. If I remove the vertical side bar of the L-bracet it should be closer to 100gr I guess, so its a 5 to 1 difference. I think I'll maybe wait as you suggest.

I would, because your hands are going to be the best judge. I used to shoot a lot with a D300/70-200 combo with an L Bracket. It was not terrible as far as weight for holding, but it was a bit heavy in action after shooting for a while. I now keep a grip on my D500, and have one available for my D750 and Olympus bodies, and then just add brackets or plates if I am using a tripod. You may eventually want both if your budget permits.

--Ken

 

[ac12]

Unless you have really big hands, where the grip on the Z7 is too small, I would not get the battery grip, for additional grip.

As for additional power, that depends if you need more continuous power vs. swapping the battery in the camera when it runs low.
I just swap batteries. That makes the camera smaller and lighter.

As for the L-bracket, do you use a tripod a LOT. If so, then the L-bracket makes sense.
In my case I use a RRS L-bracket on my cameras and attach the right strap to the L-bracket, to get it away from the right deck of the camera. So the L-bracket also serves as the strap attachment point.

 

[acnomad]

For handheld vertical shooting, it's hard to beat having a grip. If I had a Z 6 II or Z 7 II, it would be hard for me to resist buying one, as I have for my DSLRs (the grip for originally released Z cameras are missing vertical controls). I do use a SmallRig L-bracket on my Z 6, which makes the bottom of the camera just large enough to rest my hand more comfrotably when handholding in landscape orientation. Equally importantly for me, it makes mounting the camera vertically on a tripod with good cord management possible. If you don't handhold vertically very much I think an L-bracket is the way to go. If you do, the grip for the II looks very enticing.

 

[ac12]

For handheld vertical shooting, it's hard to beat having a grip. If I had a Z 6 II or Z 7 II, it would be hard for me to resist buying one, as I have for my DSLRs (the grip for originally released Z cameras are missing vertical controls). I do use a SmallRig L-bracket on my Z 6, which makes the bottom of the camera just large enough to rest my hand more comfrotably when handholding in landscape orientation. Equally importantly for me, it makes mounting the camera vertically on a tripod with good cord management possible. If you don't handhold vertically very much I think an L-bracket is the way to go. If you do, the grip for the II looks very enticing.

As you say the grip really needs to have a shutter release, to use it in the vertical orientation, or your right arm is sticking out like a wing.

 

[Talos]

Thanks again for the replies guys. Sure the additional power is welcome but if it was just for that, I agree with ac12, I'd rather swap batteries and save weight. Its mainly for the extra grip that I'm thinking the battery grip. If I need some vertical shots I don't mind using the standard shutter button, its not like I do so many vertical shots that I need an additional button. I think I'll wait to receive the lens and see how it feels in the hands with the l-bracket and without. I'll post again here my findings : )

 

[gnagel]

If I purchase a Z7ii, I'm not sure if I'll add the vertical grip or not. I've always used grips--mostly because of the extra frame rate that it provided with my D850 and other cameras. I liked how the extra batteries are stored in the grip as well as the ease of shooting verticals (of which I shoot many).

It's my understanding that the Z7ii eliminates some of those benefits. I believe the frame rate is just as fast without the grip. I might be happy to swap batteries more often to save the weight and bag space of the grip. And, I shoot so often from a tripod with a cable release that my shutter button can go a long time without being pushed at all!

Glenn

 

[Lance B]

I use the SmallRig plate on my Z7 and now Z7II but have removed the vertical part. Perfect fit for my hand and makes little difference to the weight.

 

[Talos]

I got the lens and I can confirm, that using the SmallRig with removed the vertical bracket, it feels nice in the hand. A strap also helps for stability during shooting.

 

[dgwhitham]

The 70-200 balances well on the Z 6 and 7 bodies without the grip.

I have always bought a grip when it provides a vertical shutter, going all the way back to the Minolta X-370.

Since there is no vertical shutter on the MB-N10, I don’t think it’s worth the price.