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Older Revision of Meike MK-6D Battery Grip Review

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Meike MK-6D Battery Grip Review

The Meike MK-6D Battery Grip is a direct replacement for the Canon BG-E13 Battery Grip and should function exactly the same. Normally, I would order an used Canon battery grip, but the Meike MK-6D is priced at $29.99! (See "Related Links" section below.) It is less than half the price of a used Canon BG-E13 Battery Grip.

As soon as I ordered an used Canon EOS 6D from Adorama, I went over to Amazon to order the Meike MK-6D Battery Grip. It came within 2 days because of my Amazon Prime membership. The Canon EOS 6D was still on the way, whereas the Meike MK-60 Battery Grip had arrived. I am reviewing this battery grip without the camera. But I will come back to update this article once I get the camera and use it with the grip for a while.

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Package and Content

The Meike MK-6D Battery Grip came in a nice compact box shown below. The front of the box highlights the following enhancements to the Canon EOS 6D:

  • Vertical Shooting
  • Double the Shooting Time
  • Improves Stability

The back of the box, shown below, mentions a number of the battery grip's features:

  • Thick Gold Plating
  • Japanese Buttons
  • All-Metal Transmission Gear
  • Marvelous Touch Feeling

The photograph below shows the content of the box:

  • Battery Grip
  • LP-E6 Battery Tray
  • AA Battery Tray
  • Instruction Manual
  • Warranty Card

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Vertical Grip

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AA Battery Tray

One of the primary reason--other than the vertical shutter--I always get a battery grip for my DSLR cameras is for the AA battery option. Have the AA battery option means I won't have to continuously shell out money and maintain propriety battery packs that will become obsolete. AA will always exist, whether with the ancient heavy duty chemical or the newer chemicals--Alkaline, Lithium, Ni-Mh, Li-ion. Today's Ni-Mh and Li-ion rechargeable technology is excellent, comparable to the proprietary battery packs. And I'm certain there will be even better AA technology in the future.

So when I picked a Canon EOS 6D, I made sure it has a battery grip that can use AA batteries. The Meike MK-6D battery grip comes with an AA battery tray that accepts six AA batteries. If you use Ni-Mh rechargeable batteries (1.2v), the total would add up to 7.2 volts. On the other hand, if you use Alkaline, Lithium, or Li-ion batteries (1.5v), the total would add up to 9 volts. Educated guess tells me that the Canon EOS 6D can handle a voltage range of 7.2v to 9v. I have not verified this claim, but you can easily verify it with a digital multi-meter on the battery grip connectors.

The photo above shows the AA battery tray. Note the contacts on the side. There are only 2 pins, meaning that only the positive and negative are sent to the battery grip.

The photo above shows the locking latch at the end of the battery tray. The locking latch allows you to lock the tray into the battery grip. To insert, you push the tray into the battery grip, rotate the latch into lock position, and close the latch. To remove, you open the latch, twist it, and pull the tray out via the latch.

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LP-E6 Battery Tray

The LP-E6 battery bray uses the same latch locking mechanism, mentioned in the previous section, as the AA battery tray.

The LP-E6 battery tray takes two battery packs. The LP-E6 is the standard battery pack for the Canon EOS 6D. And it seems that the LP-E6N and the LP-E6NH are the same form factor, so they can be used as well. Being able to hold two of them means you can practically shoot twice as long before changing the batteries.

Of course, carrying two batteries on your camera means you are carrying more weight than necessary. Therefore, you still have the option to only use a single battery in the tray. Either battery slot will work.

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