I finally bit the bullet and got the Fujifilm X-T2 battery grip. I’ve been putting it off because I wasn’t sure if I would take advantage of all the extra features it offered. Long story short, I bought it, and it’s awesome.
Here are a few of my thoughts and a breakdown of how it works.
XT2 Vertical Battery Grip | First Impressions
The first thing you’ll notice when using this grip is that it adds a lot of weight to the camera, but this is not too bothersome because it makes the camera feel like a different class of camera. By adding the grip, you upgrade the X-T2 from this small, nimble mirrorless camera to a professional-feeling camera with battery life that lasts for days, extra video record times, and increased burst speeds.
I don’t use this camera professionally; anything I do that could be called professional would be with landscape photography, which I use a full-frame camera, so for me, it’s become my full-time blogging / everyday camera.
The grip adds a ton of battery life, which makes it more than worth it. It’s like using a DSLR again, where you can go days without having to think about running out of battery life—just charge everything and go!
Shooting vertical portraits is a lot easier with the extra grip because you get a shutter release and a focus joystick on the grip as well as a few other buttons.
Unlike other battery grips, the grip does not plug into the in-camera battery compartment and allows you to keep that battery. So if you need to dump the grip, you unscrew it, pull it off, and still have your in-camera battery, which is usually still at full charge because the grip batteries get used first.
This means if you’re a studio photographer and your two batteries in the grip run dead, you could pull off the grip and start charging them while still using your camera battery because the grip also works as a charger.
So, even if you don’t use the grip daily, it functions as a dual battery charger, which is pretty cool.
What I Love & What Could Be Better
What I Love
I love a lot about this grip, which I already mentioned, but I’ll bullet it out just for fun.
- Three batteries will power the camera for days with casual use.
- The extra grip makes the camera so much easier to use, especially for portraits. I love it!
- You can pull the grip off very easily and use it as a stand-alone charger. While still using the in-camera battery.
What Could Be Better
There are only a few things that bug me. First, you can’t charge the in-camera battery with the AC adapter that charges the grip battery. So, if everything is dead, you have to plug a USB into your camera and the AC adapter into your grip or use other external chargers after taking everything apart to get the camera battery out.
Also, the AC adapter is big and annoying to carry around. It’s 2017, and there is no reason why USB-C can’t replace the AC adapter. I know Fujifilm probably developed all this before USB-C was mainstream, but how awesome would it be if both the camera and the grip could be charged with USB-C? All the GoPro devices do it, the Samsung phones and tablets all do it, and even Macbooks can do it. It’s time. No more AC adapters, and then we could charge all our devices with backup battery banks.
- The AC adapter is cumbersome and could be replaced with a simple USB-C.
- Charging the grip does not also charge the camera battery when attached and charging.
XT2 Vertical Battery Grip Known Issues
The XT2 vertical grip isn’t without its problems; I’ve had a few issues myself and have found others with similar issues. I’m unsure if the XT2 vertical battery grip can get a firmware update, but it needs one.
XT2 Battery Grip Showing Dead Batteries
The battery indicator shows that the grip batteries are dead and flashing red even though they are charged.
There is no sure way to fix this, but a few tricks help. One is to ensure the two batteries in the grip are identical. When I had this issue, I had a new Fujifilm battery and one of the older ones in the grip. When I swapped to two of the new Fujifilm batteries, it fixed this problem for me.
Some temporary solutions is to switch the grip into boost mode and back to normal or pull the battery tray out and pop it back in.
XT2 Won’t Turn On With The Battery Grip Attached
I still occasionally get this problem and have no idea how to fix it completely. My solution is to eject the battery tray and pop it back in. Refreshing my batteries also seems to help this issue.
To refresh your batteries, allow both batteries to drain and recharge completely. If you’re experiencing strange issues, try doing this every couple of weeks.
XT2 Battery Grip Review | Bottom Line
Should you get this grip? You know if you need one or not. If you do need one, don’t hesitate. This thing is very well-built, feels one with the camera, and enhances the usability of the camera. It unlocks the full potential of the X-T2.
If you’re on the fence about getting this grip, I would consider trying one out. I have been on the fence for months, and now I wish I had bought it earlier. Even if you end up not using it very much, you’ll still get a dual battery charger out of it.
The grip is a little bit expensive, especially considering that you should use the new Fujifilm batteries, which cost around 60-70 dollars each. So that’s around an extra 130 for the two batteries plus 300 for the grip, which means you’re looking at 430 for everything. Now, I only use the Fujifilm battery in the camera and two third-party batteries in the grip and I haven’t had any lockups or issues, but that’s not to say that won’t happen, it just hasn’t happened to me.
It would be nice if the grip included at least one battery. You know it costs Fujifilm nothing to make a battery, and those things are all profit, but I guess that’s just how they get you.
I’ll post some sample photos from using the grip even though they don’t show or tell you anything about it, but photos are fun, so here you go!
Fujifilm VPB-XT2 Battery Grip – Amazon
See the full Fujifilm X-T2 Review
Using The Fujifilm VPB-XT2 | Sample Shots
Sample photos with this grip, because why not!
