THIS BATTERY PACK MADE MY CAMERA A COMPLETE SYSTEM. NOW I DO NOT WORRY ABOUT LOSING BATTERY POWER IN CRUCIAL TIMES. I CAN TURN MY CAMERA VERTICAL AND USE THE BATTERY GRIP CONTROLS. GREAT DESIGN. FITS MY HANDS COMFORTABLE. I WAS LOOKING FOR THE NECESSARY BATTERY POWER WITHOUT THE EXTRA WEIGHT. GREAT ADDITION.

Don't pay more then $100 for this. Hold 2 rechargeable batteries, or 6 AA. Gives the XTI a larger surface area, great if you have larger hands. Adds enough weight to use a 70-300MM IS, helps keep balance. I'm not really a fan on the shutter/exposure buttons on the bottom of the grip (they do have on off switch ++). They are a little too far from the rest of the controls on the camera, and I have long fingers. Great addition, should have bought long ago.

I've used this for several weeks. Yes it adds a fair amount of weight to the camera but I don't mind that. If you want to keep your camera very light then you might want to avoid this. I really like to take a lot of photos without worrying about running out of battery power. I have used it exclusively with the 6 AA cell battery sled. I use NiMh batteries and these when fully charged will show a battery reading of low on the XT indicator. However, this will not affect the functioning of the camera. NiMh have a lower voltage when fully charged then the Lithium battery that comes with the camera. I'm still on my first charge and I've taken probably 200 flash pictures and 400 - 500 standard pictures. No signs of running out of juice yet. The overall quality of the Canon adapter is great and it gives a lot of surface to grip onto.

OK ... I bought this for several reasons ...

1 - Good reviews, duh.

2 - I didn't like switching out batteries in the middle of taking a run of pictures.

3 - Ease of portrait oriented images ...

4 - Solid feel in my hands

5 - Canon-made good quality :o)

Now ... on to the story of why I want to buy another one ...

I went to the Morton Arboretum last summer ... I was running late ... completely unusually oblivious to the camera I was juggling in my hands ... BAM ... dropped my expensive DSLR over three feet to the unforgiving blacktop-covered parking lot ... OMG OMG OMG ...

I bent over ... picked it up ... looked the entire camera over ... a scuff on the lens hood ... however the battery grip didn't fare so well ... the corner where the shooting button was ... yes I said WAS ... well the camera must have landed on that corner because a nice sized chunk of plastic was broken off ...

After a complete check of the grip ... the battery grip works as a grip, the batteries work fine ... in fact, I dunno if it's just me but it seems like the batteries last a lot longer as a duo, the down side ... I can't use it to take portraits easily due to the button damage ... and it looks a little shabby due to the damage.

After a complete check of the camera ... the camera was just like new! Nothing wrong with the camera body or lens! I have since taken thousands of pictures with the same camera/lens/grip combo ... all is perfect!

I could not feel more lucky!!!

I thought about removing the grip ... but I feel it saved me $900 for the camera plus $550 for the lens ... plus it still works like it did before (except that button issue) ... and I like the extended battery life ...

Maybe the grip's weight pulled it towards the ground ...

Whatever reason ... I want another one ... it's on my wish list :o) ... and some day it will be mine!!

I whole heartedly recommend this accessory!!

I have a canon rebel XT for about 1.5 years. It is a great camera for someone that wants a camera beyond the point and shoot and wants to try more.
The only concern I had was the size. It felt a littlebit small for my hands and w my Sigma 18-200mm mounted it was very unbalanced. I was reading the reviews and searching on the web about the battery grip so I finally order it. I have it for 4 days now and I am very happy. Extends the battery life (using two batteries instead of one), you can shoot easilly vertical and horizontal (offers second pair of controls, and the most importand te camera feels better in my hands.
The only con i can find is that w/ 2 batteries and my sigma 18-200mm its quite heavy. But still I am planning to leave it attached on my camera most of the time due to all the pros mentioned above.