T7i Battery Grip.

[fewcrank]

I, for the life of me, can't find any battery grips for the t7i. Are they any at all that fit it?

[John_]

Ok best of luck to you!

Since that Canon UK site listed my T6i along with yours for that grip it has to be the E18 but with UK number of E8. I think you can trust that UK Canon site but any warranty issues will be a nightmare, you will have to ship it back to the UK. most likely on your dime too.

As a side note, I just emailed Adorama Camera with this question because I am curious now too! When I hear I will post it.

[Waddizzle]

---

@Cassell wrote:

Thank you, Waddizzle!

But you got me wrong. I'm not talking about a third party gear. The grip is originally manufacured and sold by Canon. Canon itself claims that the grip BG-E8 can be used with the T7i.

My only problem is that I don't trust their website.

---

Okay, some third party manufacturers assign model numbers to accessories that are similar to Canon model model numbers.

[John_]

Yes I saw a BG-E8 battery grip in Adorama Camera made by some company Green-something

[Waddizzle]

“I am almost positive the BG-E18 battery grip will work on the T7i.”

All of the cameras that do not have a battery grip released by Canon share one thing in common.  They lack extra contacts in their battery compartments for control buttons, like the shutter and main wheel.

I have no idea what those extra contacts on a battery grip would inside of a battery compartment not designed to accommodate them, but it might not be a good thing.  It just might damage the camera.  

I find it hard to believe that Canon would endorse such a configuration of camera and accessory.  I strongly advise against using a Canon grip designed for another model.  I think you might let the smoke out of the camera.

[Cassell]

Canon contacted me.

And they said that their website is wrong. The grip can't be used with the T7i. There's still no grip for that camera.

So it's their mistake. And it was a wise decision not to trust the Canon-website.

What a pity!

Thanks again, guys!

[John_]

And I also just got an email back from the good people at Adorama Camera who also said the BG-E18 is not compatible with the T7i but Canon will be releasing one shortly. I explained how that UK site confused the issue.

[Cassell]

Hi John!

Yes, the website is confusing. And it is disappointing that there isn't a grip for the T7i.

But Adorama told you that Canon will release a grip? Shortly? That sounds great! Canon didn't tell me about that. They only confessed that their website is wrong.

The T7i is a good camera and Canon should release a grip. Well, we will have to wait. I really hope that Adorama is right and that Canon will do so.

Have a great day!

[Waddizzle]

I do not care what Adorama says.  If Canon did not release a grip when the camera was released, then they are not suddenly going to release one more than a year later.  It is not going to happen, at least not from Canon.

Besides, like I pointed out above, the battery compartment lacks the extra contacts needed to make a batttery grip more than just a battery holder.  There are no provisions to connect a shutter button through the battery compartment.

The Rebel T5 lacked control contacts, too.  Third party manufacturers made “grips” with an external wire that plugged into the remote shutter input, which allowed for the shutter button to work on the grip.  But, you still had no main wheel to control shutter speed, and the external wire meant the port was continuously exposed.  They were only good as a battery holder, which is really not too bad of a deal.

[John_]

Yeah, go figure that one out! I guess it is a wait and see deal. Will be interesting to see if that UK site removes it from the list of battery grips. 

[Waddizzle]

---

@John_ wrote:

Yeah, go figure that one out! I guess it is a wait and see deal. Will be interesting to see if that UK site removes it from the list of battery grips. 

---

In addition to the lack of control contacts, I would also be worried about the actual operation of a third party grip.  

Consider how a grip works.  First and foremost, some cameras are not designed for use with a battery grip.  A battery grip does not connect two batteries in parallel, which could cause the batteries to short out one another.  

Cameras that use battery grips seem to only use one battery at a time, and alternate between the two batteries as their charge gets used up.  I am not so sure that a camera not designed for a battery grip has the smarts to do that.  

Maybe I am wrong about how a grip works, or how a camera interacts with the batteries.  One thing is certain, though.  The batteries are not connected in parallel, as that would smoke the batteries.  

I can look in my menu at the battery status, and I can see the percentage charge remaining on each battery.  Immediately after a recharge, the will both read 100%.  After a little bit of use, one may read 98%, while the other may still read 100%.  

If I take some more shots, then the second battery will start showing signs of discharge.  It might drop to 96%, while the first will stay at 98%.  At this point it might switch back to the first battery discharging.

To me, it strongly suggests that the camera body can read the remaining charge on the batteries, and switches between using one or the other.  What does that tell you about how a battery grip might work?