We went to a local forest to pick some blueberries. The division of work was clear, suggested by my wife; she picked the berries and my job was to carry the camera while looking after the kids. I did not complain. First I thought not to bother to bring the camera with me (what a stupid question!), but I wanted to test my newly bought vertical battery grip in action. Initial feel of BG-E13 Battery Grip for Canon 6D was that it is heavy and makes the camera huge. Due to that the camera also takes more room when put inside the camera bag.

I was a little sceptic about the benefits of the battery grip for vertical shooting as I normally mount my right hand against my forehead when shooting vertically. I use left eye so my hand and camera gets good support from my head in that position. But after using the new grip in real action the benefits became obvious. It really is easier to switch between horisontal and vertical shots and it is much easier to take vertical shots with the  battery grip. Moreover the camera’s balance with the big 70-200mm lense was better with the battery grip. 6D is normally quite a light camera and with a big lense the balance is not optimal. With more size and weight added to the body the balance becames better. My hand fits well in the grip and it is easy to use its buttons. It is also actually easier to use the so called back-button focus also in vertical positions with the battery grip.

Then there is of course the benefits about having two batteries in the camera when going on a long photography session. It seems that this year the forests are full of berries, so our bucket was soon filled and I did not have to test the longer battery life this time.

Battery grip seems to work well also with the sling strap so it was as easy to carry the camera that way as without the batter grip. The battery grip tightens well to the camera body with a screw so it should hold the weight.

So, the verdict is that I really have positive feelings about the battery grip at least after this short usage.

What about blueberries and photos then? Well, I am happy that I brought the camera with me. The forest was nice, the weather was brilliant and everybody had a good time. We got a full bucket of berries really fast and I managed to catch some really good photos.