OEM Panasonic Battery Grip will run you $199 dollars (as seen here). The good news is now there are aftermarket battery grips available for the Panasonic GH3 camera starting around $65 bucks. The bad news is that they still have the tripod mount located offset from the optical center, which mainly sucks if you're trying to use a set of rails.
Still, I guess you can't complain when it's $135 dollars less than the OEM version. Some listings include an extra set of batteries and charger. Check them out already available on eBay (click here).
Aftermarket Battery Grip for Panasonic GH3 Battery
RRRoger
Let us know when a two battery version is available
Ean
I bought one about 2 weeks ago on ebay out of hong kong and it works great so far. It doesn't feel cheap and it looks good. No complaints…
Frank
@ Anthony - I did make a mistake with an incorrect link. This is the one I was talking about.
https://www.coollcd.com/coolraiser-to-raise-a-second-set-of-15mm-rods-up-down-left-right_p936.html
Anthony
Frank, I dont see how that swing clamp you linked to would help correct the offset tripod thread.
Anthony
I bought this battery grip a few weeks ago. It looks identical to the Panasonic one but I havent used the Panasonic one to compare build quality with.
This cheapie is doing the job fine and feels well enough built. It feels cheaper than the GH3 because its made of plastic compared to the GH3's weatherproof magnesium body but then the Panasonic grip isn't weatherproof like the body anyway.
I highly recommend it. the whole camera feels much better in the hand with the battery grip attached although it is a shame that the tripod mount is offset when using on my rig.
Frank
@ Emm - Sorry I posted the wrong link. Here it is:
https://www.coollcd.com/coolraiser-to-raise-a-second-set-of-15mm-rods-up-down-left-right_p936.html
I have not purchased this myself yet, but it looks like it will fix the offset. I'm not sure though what happens though with the increase in height. I would have other adjustments to make like increase the height of the camera some...
Frank
@ Emm - I wouldn't worry about the tripod mount being offset. I'm having the same issue when using my Carryspeed VF3 viewfinder. A buddy of mine showed me this to correct the problem - offset for me only is bad when using a mattebox. Follow Focus works fine when offset.
Lanparte Swing Clamp
https://www.lanparte.com/html/144.html
I hope this helps!
Adam
I bought one a few weeks ago, and on monday the shutter button broke. Now whenever the battery handle is on, its starts taking pictures....the handle it self is very good, but the buttons are not high quality.
Rob
Um.... the bad news is that all of the aftermarket handgrips I've seen, are complete crap. I'm here in China at the moment, and I've seen several. All are really cheap (thin, easy to crack) plastic. I've seen them anywhere from 140RMB to 200RMB (about $22 to $40 US).
My suggestion is to avoid them.
Emm
Post author@UserK - Touche'. Not sure I would trust it to be weather proof.
UserK
Will they be weather proof ?
Emm
Post author@Johnny - Those look the same. Most of the time it's just different sellers all using the same product.
Johnny
Emm, I wanted to buy the same batteries you used in your GH3 aftermarket battery test, however, I noticed the seller on eBay isn't selling them individually. Do you think these will be okay?: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Camera-Battery-1860mAh-7-2V-for-Panasonic-DMW-BLF19-BLF19E-DMC-GH3-GH-3-NEW-/171049976285?pt=Batteries_Chargers&hash=item27d35f81dd