Aftermarket Vertical Grip for Alpha A200

[Hobbitofny]

I own a grip for the A2200, A300, and A350 made by Travor. It has the same buttons as the Sony grip. I paid $73 USD for it on ebay. It was shipped from Hong Kong.

It works very well. It uses the internal connections like the Sony grip. The fake leather is not a perfect match to the Sony grip on the A350, but it looks good. Sony's grip is over priced. Their grip is not worth half the price I paid for the A350 body.

I recommend the Travor grip as a great grip at a good price. I am very happy with it.

Has anyone else tried this grip?

[KevinBarrett]

Great! That's good to hear! I don't own a compatible camera, but it certainly puts pressure on Sony to bring their prices in line with demand. I noticed that the Sony a700 vertical grip is now listed at $299.99 on Amazon...I'm tempted now, but its still hard to justify.

[Javelin]

I think I'm wanting one too for my A700. I didn't find it so bad holding the camera in portait mode the way it is but it depends which way I turn it. it works better for me with my hand at the top but the other way it makes it too hard to hold. and now I'm wanting better access to the dials. Also I learned on this forum because I looked it up for someone that the grip is magnesium where I thought it was plastic so the money they want doesn't seem so bad now

[BigRich]

There is an official vertical grip which fits the A200, A300 and A350 - the VG-B30AM

I just bought this grip, and though I haven't given it a full workout yet, I love the way the camera now feels in my hand. I have big hands and I felt without the grip my A200 was a little cramped. The grip now makes it more to my liking, like the grip on my 700si. Hopefully this grip will prevent my accidental pressing of the AEL button! The only thing I wish they did, was add a strap loop at both ends, like my Minolta. I am a user of both hand and neck straps.

Rich

[KevinBarrett]

As of 11/16/2008, the a700 vertical grip is now just $199 on amazon.com. This makes it significantly less expensive than the plastic vertical grips for the a200-350.

[bfitzgerald]

Cheapest to date on the A200 grip is about £120 odd, that I have seen. Bit better, but they really need to be sub £100 to shift in any sort of numbers.

I still say a lithium battery with the grip would sure help them sell much better. As it is, I probably won't bother with one..
Another issue here, is will sony keep the same grips for the updated models? If they do, then that is great, may be worth a look, if not, then they are going to have to discount them pretty heavily.