Panasonic G80 / 85 BGG1 Battery Grip Review

Micro Four Thirds fan David Thorpe has put the BGG1 battery grip, for the G80 / G85 MFT camera from Panasonic, to the test to see if it can end your battery power woes or if it's just an unnecessary drain on your bank account.

After discussing why MFT cameras are power hungry, David explains how using a battery grip can, essentially, mean your G80 will never be out of power. Basically, if you tell the camera to use the battery in the grip first, it won't switch to the battery in the camera body until the one in the grip is running on empty. Then, if you swap the dead battery in the grip for a fresh one, the camera will then switch back to using the battery in the grip rather than draining the camera's battery fully. What this means is you'll always have power in your camera's main battery so you never have to worry you'll be out of juice at the most pinnacle of times, so long as you stick to using the batteries in your grip.

As well as power reassurance, the grip improves the ergonomics of the G80 / 85 and there are extra function and shutter buttons as well as rear and front dials for when shooting in a portrait orientation.

David does say that he feels the grip changes the G80 into a different camera as without it, the camera feels petite but once the grip and bigger lenses are added, it feels much bigger and serious with more custom options available. It also feels well made, integrates with the G80 really well and for those who use mains power when shooting, the mains cable has space to pass through the grip.

"Fit the grip and you have two cameras for the price of... well, not one but less than one and a half," David Thorpe.

The price isn't too bad either for the BGG1 grip as it comes with a spare battery which is priced at £50 on its own.

For more information on how the Panasonic Lumix G80 performs, take a look at our review.