Originally Posted by nimblybimbly85
Absolutely none. A battery grip holds two batteries, but when you buy one, you don't get a second battery - you need to buy that separately. You can buy the second battery alone, and just bring it along, and you'll still double your shooting time. For $10 more than the price of a Canon BG-E5, you can buy three extra Canon LP-E5 batteries instead, and quadruple your shooting time.
The main advantages to a grip are better balance with heavier lenses, and much easier shooting in vertical orientation. The AA-battery tray is nice, as Nate mentions, but you also need a place to buy batteries! IMO, useful if you're going somewhere that you cannot rely on availability of power, but you can find somewhere to shop (on a trip I took to Africa, in many remote places power was an iffy thing, and when I was in Belize, the whole country lost power for hours on several occasions, but batteries were fairly available).
So, don't buy the grip for more shooting time, just buy batteries and charge them up before you go. Another tip would be to avoid 'chimping' (reviewing your shots on the LCD). If you want to check a histogram, fine, but minimize - the LCD uses a lot of power. Bring along enough memory that you can keep shooting and worry about sorting through your pics when you get home.
Have a great trip!




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