Although people had problems with the first generation of this grip, I've been completely satisfied with mine. Recently, I've been shooting with a 300 2.8L, and it would be much more difficult without the extra length the grip ads to the body. Similarly, the second set of buttons for vertical shooting makes a big difference, too. (One note: when shooting vertical, it is hard to actuate the thumb wheel and impossible to use the joy stick--which I do frequently to change focus points--without moving my right hand.) By holding two batteries, the grip also keeps me from worrying about running out of juice during high volume shooting sessions.The grip still has a little flex in it, but I've never had any of the power problems that I've read about here and elsewhere.