Link: http://www.linkdelight.com/Standard-Battery-Grip/Battery-Grip-for-Nikon-D5000-+-2x-EN-EL9a.html

Not very often you see me do a review of something. In this case I kind of wanted to write up a review for a D5000 battery grip I just got from Link Delight. After all, Nikon does not make one for the D3000 or the D5000 (But, they DO for the D7000)... seriously Nikon, why?

First Impression:

This was the "Travor" brand (as it said on the box). The box/packaging was fair enough. My first impressions of it weren't the greatest after unboxing. "It feels light and cheap." I thought to myself. Well, that was a bit premature. It's not that bad. I removed the battery cover off my D5000 after glancing thru the included instructions (wouldn't have figured that one out otherwise), and thought "neat" because the battery grip included a little slot in it for me to slide the battery cover into. Hooray for not losing stuff in a drawer, right?

Setup:

I popped open the battery door on the new grip, and slid in my OEM EL-EL9a battery. The door, well, it's alright. It seemed a bit flimsy, but it stays closed and does its function. That's fine. (It did ship with 2 "EL-EL9a" style batteries, but I've heard they have a tendency to blow the camera up, so, I'd rather not risk it - read that on other reviews)

Installation:

I slipped the grip into place, and it clicked in with authority. Spun the locking wheel to tighten it to the base of my camera body. Ok, now it's feeling more solid. Then I attached my tripod baseplate to the battery grip. Again I got the "uh oh" feeling. It still seemed a bit thin for my liking. Well, I cranked that baseplate down, and the grip didn't budge. So, I'll bite my tongue and press on. (Edit: after using it a week on/off the tripod, the base is strong enough)

First Use:

Now for the test... I power on the camera and - it works! I decided to install the vertical shutter cable. (included, luckily) I flipped back the connector cover on my camera body, and it plugged into the GPS port. The battery grip has a nice little rubber 'weatherproof' cover for their end of the deal. I pried that back, and plugged in the other side of the cable. Turned the camera back on and gave the 'vertical shutter button' a half-press. AUTOFOCUS! Cool. It works so far. Pressed it all the way, and I heard the reassuring shutter click. Nice.

Build Quality:

Overall, the plastic bits matched 'closely' to the texture of the camera body. The foregrips rubber, felt good, definitely not slippy at all. The plastic does feel a bit thin compared to the D5000 body, but hey, it was $50 shipped with 2 batteries. You get what you pay for. The shutter release button feels identical to the Nikon button (it's just not silver) - but I wonder how it will stand up to repeated use. My guess is it will do fine.

Things to Note:

Now everyone who wants a grip for the D5000 wonders "well, can I use the articulated LCD screen with this grip?" - The answer: Mostly. You can flip the screen around. You can position it in most ways. You don't get 100% range of motion because well, the grip *does* block it a bit. Badly? No. Is it annoying? Not really actually. You have to remember, you did install a big fat block of plastic to the bottom of the camera.

It doesn't add all too much weight to the camera (remember, I'm running just one battery) - if loaded with both batteries I assume it will give it a bit more heft. One other thing to mention - It does not take 6 x "AA" cells.  Some grips do, this one doesn't. An issue? Meh. It would have been nice but again, you get what you pay for.

Final Thoughts:

Overall I'm liking the grip so far. It barely fits in my camera bag now, but it still fits. Would I reccomend it to others? Sure. If you feel a big grip with a vertical shutter is something you need, go for it.

Here's a parting shot with the grip installed: