Practically every camera I get I end up either getting a grip extender just to make it nicer to handle. I did this with my Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III, my Fujifilm X-T5 and my Sony A7R II (actually, I got a full battery grip for this). So why?
It’s because I’m fed up of having my little finger dangling off the bottom of the grip when I’m holding the camera in my right hand. I haven’t even got particularly big hands. And yet just about every modern mirrorless camera (and a few older DSLRs) have this problem. Well, it may not be a problem for a lot of people, but it’s a problem for me.
A grip extender is a perfect solution. The one I got for my EOS R8 is the official Canon EG-E1, which also fits the EOS RP, just in case you have one of those instead and feel the same way. I did. There’s not much to say about the EG-E1 except that it’s not massively expensive, it fits perfectly, matches the camera’s trim and materials perfectly and has a big, easily tightened locking knob. The underside of this knob has a tripod socket and the base of the grip has its own battery/memory card access door – with a place to stow the old one so that you don’t lose it and can refit it again later. Neat.
So my question is, if a tiny design change like this one makes so much difference, why didn’t Canon do it in the first place?
The EG-E1 adds about 1cm to the height of the camera, and it can tend to tip forward on to the lens when you place it on a flat surface now, but that’s a minor thing compared to the difference it makes to the camera’s handling. That extra 1cm of height transforms it, making it a much more comfortable camera to use.
So my question is, if a tiny design change like this one makes so much difference, why didn’t Canon do it in the first place? I’d ask the same question about just about any current mirrorless cameras – especially the Sony A7 series, which has a very low body height and becomes quite awkward to handle with bigger zoom lenses (and on a full frame camera, that’s just about every proper zoom).