We have seen a number of people reaching out for advice on battery grips for the last few months so we have decided to start a series of reviews featuring what we feel are the best battery grips for specific cameras. Without a doubt, the most popular camera that we have seen people reaching out for advice on when it comes to battery grips is the d5300.
Due to this, we have decided to kick this new series off with our article on what we feel is the best battery grip for Nikon d5300 cameras on the market right now. We know that the battery grip market is a bit of a minefield these days with a fair few products that are a total waste of time. We feel that this is probably the main reason we have seen so many people reaching out for advice on what is actually a decent product that is worth their time and money.
Thankfully, the Neewer EN-EL14 Battery Grip (Click here to check for product prices and availability) that is our recommendation when it comes to a battery pack for your Nikon D5300 has one of the best reputations within the community. This is due to its excellent performance, ease of use, and solid build quality while also being available at a very low price point allowing people to pick it up without having to worry about budget issues.
Click Here To Check For Current Prices On The Neewer EN-EL14 Battery Grip!
User Interface And Control System
So, first up, the control system of the Neewer EN-EL14 Battery Grip has been made to be as easy and simple to use allowing you to mount it directly to your Nikon D5300 as shown in the image above. If this is your first battery pack, you may naturally be a little courteous when mounting or unmounting your pack at first but once you are used to it then you can mount it to your camera within seconds.
Once you have attached the grip to your Nikon D5300’s camera body simply lock it in place with the simple yet very effective flip locks on the battery grip to secure it in place. Once it has been locked in place the Neewer EN-EL14 Battery Grip has an excellent record of staying in place and not randomly falling off like some of its competition, especially at this low price point. In fact, when reading independent reports from users who use the battery grip, we were unable to fine one who said that the locks had failed causing the grip to fall off their camera body during use.
The Neewer EN-EL14 Battery Grip uses the standard locking system found on most modern grips as shown in the image above. If this is your first grip then there is no need to worry about some confusing locking system as it is very easy to use. Once the grip has been placed against your Nikon D5300 camera body you simply rotate the locking dial to raise the locking pin that locks in place on your Nikon D5300’s tripod thread.
Additionally, the actual EN-EL14 Battery housing on the grip shown in the image above has been designed well and allows for efficient heat dissipation minimizing the chances of any overheating issues during use. You simply place your battery in the housing, close it and then the locking clips kick in and keep in it place. Just like the main locks to keep the grip on your Nikon D5300, the battery locking clips keep the battery housing closed during use and we were unable to find anyone who has had problems with it randomly opening during use.
The Neewer EN-EL14 Battery Grip has its own tripod screw thread in its base as it uses the screw thread on your camera body to secure itself to your Nikon D5300. This allows you to mount your camera body on your tripod of choice without issue while still having your battery grip attached to your camera. The threads on the grip are solid and we doubt they will wear down any time soon or cause any issues with accidental cross threading when used with your camera body.
Click Here To Check For Current Prices On The Neewer EN-EL14 Battery Grip!
Performance And Functionality
Without a doubt, the most common problem we see with battery grips these days is that they offer poor performance but thankfully, the Neewer EN-EL14 Battery Grip absolutely smashes it when it comes to its performance and functionality. We feel that this is why it stands apart from the crowd of the other grips on the market and enjoys the popularity and excellent reputation that it has today.
The Neewer EN-EL14 Battery Grip holds Two EN-EL14 batteries (Click here to check for product prices and availability) that are NOT included with your purchase so will need purchasing separately. This helps to extend the potential battery life of your Nikon D5300 during use ensuring that you are able to capture all the photographs you like while out and about without having to worry about running out of juice.
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The quick and easy system of opening and securing the battery holding bay that we covered in the section above also allows you to easily swap out batteries for a new set when required for those extra long sessions. If you are involved in travel vlogging, travel photography, or travel videography where you will be away from mains outputs for extended periods of time this can be a godsend as it will provide an efficient way to keep recording as required between re-charging opportunities.
The actual grip has also been designed to help increase the stability of your Nikon D5300 when in use to help improve your image quality when possible too. This is a nice little feature that Neewer have added to their grips that some competitors miss out that helps set it ahead of the other brand’s grip units. The vertical shutter release button on the grip is also a nice touch that some other brands miss off helping to push it even further ahead of the products trying to compete with this Neewer grip.
Click Here To Check For Current Prices On The Neewer EN-EL14 Battery Grip!
Build Quality And Design
Another problem many of the older generations of battery grips used to have was that their build quality was terrible. Thankfully, the majority of modern battery grips on the market right now seem to have upped their game when it comes to build quality and this is not just specific to the Neewer grips but pretty much the whole market. Gone are the days where you will be getting on with your session using your battery grip to power your camera only for the battery housing door to open causing your batteries to fall to the ground and turn your camera off!
Another complaint that we often see regarding battery grips that we feel is unfair is about the weight of the grip. Now, an easy way to test this for yourself is to hold the grip in your hand while empty and then put the two EN-EL14 batteries in the grip and feel the weight difference. Batteries are pretty heavy bits of kit and housing two of them in the grip does add a bit of additional weight to your camera rig.
This is not due to the actual grip but the batteries it is holding. We just wanted to point this out to our readers as this Neewer grip is actually pretty lightweight due to the materials it is made from while also being pretty robust too. In fact, a number of people have specifically commented on how robust the grip is and how it has taken a bunch of punishment for them without breaking.
Click Here To Check For Current Prices On The Neewer EN-EL14 Battery Grip!
FAQs
Question – What camera bodies will the Neewer EN-EL14 Battery Grip mount to?
Answer – This particular grip from Neewer will mount to your Nikon D5300 without issue while also being able to work with the Nikon D5100 and D5200 if you own either of those camera bodies too.
Question – Can you mount your camera to a gimbal while this battery grip is mounted on it?
Answer – This totally depends on the load capacity and dimensions of the gimbal system. As we touched on earlier, the battery grip does add a little additional weight to your camera body while also increasing its size. As the grip has its own set of mounting threads you are able to mount it to gimbals that are large enough to support your Nikon D5300 with the additional size and weight of the grip though.
Question – Do you have to prep your Nikon D5300 before mounting the Neewer EN-EL14 Battery Grip to it?
Answer – No, this grip from Neewer is plug and power so you simply plug it in, lock it in place and you are good to go.
Third Party Reports
We always like to share some independent reports of the products that we recommend to our readers, unfortunately, not many people post reviews of battery grips so we have been unable to find anything to share from external blogs. If you like though, you can click here to read some other third party reports from people who use the Neewer EN-EL14 Battery Grip as their battery grip of choice and have decided to post mini-reviews online of their experiences.
Our Verdict
That brings our article on the best battery grip for Nikon d5300 cameras to a close. We hope that you have found it helpful and understand why we feel that the Neewer EN-EL14 Battery Grip is the perfect match for your d5300. It is cheap, has a great build quality, performs very well, and is very easy to use. We feel that it is a quick and easy way to help extend the battery life of your camera while also making a solid addition to your collection of camera accessories.
Click Here To Read Independent Third Party Reviews Of This Product!