Canon BG-ED3 Battery Grip

I call it the Big Ed. The Canon BG-ED3 battery grip is affordable. It's been around for along time. Big Ed gives you more shooting capacity, vertical shooting controls, and better balance. See the graphic below.

Battery grip benefitsBig Ed Benefits

Here is a Canon 10D with and without a Canon BG-ED3 Battery grip.  Battery grips really do have an impact on the balance, weight and size when you shoot with one.  

For a complete look at all of them go to the of the Canon Battery Grip page and you'll see the compatibility chart for all the Canon grips. There are links to the battery grips BG-E3 through BG-E22.

Canon 10D with BG-ED3 Battery GripCanon 10D with and without BG-ED3 Battery Grip

One of the surprising benefits of using a grip is that there is a tendency to have less camera shake because of the added weight.  The added battery capacity is commonly what most people think of as the primary benefit.

The second biggest benefit are the addition of the vertical controls.  When used vertically, the grip gives you a second shutter release and primary control wheel.  This accessory also has a button for Flash Exposure Lock and Focus Point Selection.

The on-off  switch actually only deactivates the vertical controls-it does not prevent the BG-ED3 from powering the camera.


BG-ED3 compatability

The Canon BG-ED3  Grip works with the CANON 10D, the CANON D30, and D60 cameras.  It takes the BP-511 batteries and, unlike the other battery grips, does not an option for using AA batteries.

The BG-ED3 is one of the original battery grips made by Canon and is not readily available.  

There are a few used ones on ebay and Amazon but you'll be very hard-pressed to find one new.


That's likely not a big deal if you are still shooting with a Canon 10D.  If you are shooting with a D30 or D60, it might be time to upgrade to a newer camera anyway. Here's the full line-up of Canon DSLR cameras and their respective battery grips.

Canon DSLR battery grip compatibilityFeel free to share this battery grip compatibility compatibility chart

Battery grips double the length of shooting time.  The 10D, D30 and D60 do not have video capabilities.

This article was written for CanonCameraGeek.com.  CanonCameraGeek has Canon camera reviews, reviews of other canon accessories, speedlites and related equipment. If this content appears somewhere else it has been stolen.

Have a blast. Keep shooting your Canon.

Author Bruce Lovelace
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Bruce Lovelace is the publisher of Canon Camera Geek. Read more about him on the About Page. He also publishes how to articles and camera gear reviews at the Photography Tips website.

View some of Bruce's photos on Instagram  and Flickr  Join the tribe of followers on YouTube. Bruce also runs photo workshops and provides 1 on 1 digital photography coaching.

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