When I'm on the road in outdoor settings, I load up the battery grip with 6 Sanyo Eneloop rechargable AA batteries. That way, if I'm away from power for extended periods, I can keep shooting as long as I have AAs on hand. You can also use two LP-E5 lithium batteries instead. This configuration is much lighter than AAs. You get inserts for each of the two configurations. So switching back and forth is easy.
The built-in control buttons for vertical shooting include shutter release, AE/FE lock, main dial, and aperture/exposure. So no matter which way you turn the camera, you have maximum comfort.
Unlike with bigger cameras, when you want to travel lighter, just remove the battery grip, insert a single LP-E5 lithium battery, and you're ready to go. The bottom battery door does need to be removed to use the grip. It's easy to snap on and off. Just make sure you don't lose it when it's not in use.
Other Posts on the Canon Rebel T1i
Canon Speedlite 270EX Review - Versatile, Compact Flash
Canon Digital Rebel T1i Field Test at Bodie State Park, California
Street Shooting with Canon 500D/T1i
"Hands On Review of the Canon T1i (500D) - Digital Photography Podcast 179
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Some other grips (such as Nikon's MB-D80 for the D80 or my D90) hold the battery door in a slot inside the grip, so you don't lose it. I also like the chunkier feel and greater flexibility of using a grip, which is especially appropriate for larger hands, and to me feels much more secure to hold.
Many SLR manufacturers like Canon offer grips for their entire line, while some, like Nikon, only have them for midrange and higher-end models (or integrate them in the design for top-end pro models like the Canon 1D, 1Ds, Nikon D3, and D3x). It is useful to be able to remove them when you want a smaller and lighter configuration.
One final note: there are many less expensive third-party grips available on Amazon, eBay, and elsewhere. I haven't tried them and know nothing about how well they work, but at the very least they might feel better to some people who for whatever reason don't like the particular shape or control locations of the manufacturer's designs.
Good points Derek. Actually, seems like Canon has had some models in the past where the battery door didn't have to be removed. My guess is that the grip has to be larger to accommodate that. I haven't lost the door cover yet :) I put it in my camera bag right away, and in the same spot every time.
I haven't tried the 3rd party grips either, mainly because this one is so nice.
You can store the battery cover in the grip! There's a storage slot just in front of the plastic piece goes into the battery compartment. When you remove the battery cover, put it into the storage slot before connecting the grip.
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