Choosing a Grip for the Sigma fp and fp-L

The Sigma fp as shipped needs a grip. So I asked B&H Photo if they would send me all the ones they sell so I could try them all. They sent me four. I had a clear choice pretty much from the beginning, but I'll run down the plusses and minuses of all four of them for stills photography, in the order of least to most preferable to me. I'll use B&H's titles for each one at the beginning.

These comments also apply to the physically identical 61-MP Sigma fp-L.

FotodioX Deluxe Metal Camera Hand Grip for Sigma fp Camera with Wooden Accent and Battery Access ($59.95).

This one comes in a nice package, with the grip embedded in dense foam.

It's a baseplate-style grip. It struck me as having the least secure attachment to the camera—just the tripod screw and some ridges on the base into which the edges of the camera fit—although I'm sure it's secure enough. There's an oversize bronze-finished Allen wrench, longer than the baseplate itself (five and a half inches!), to help you batten it down.

The grip itself has beautiful wood grain and is deeply contoured. Although it's too small for my hands, I have to acknowledge that some people will be trying to preserve the miniature size of the camera itself, and will be looking for a small grip.

The FotodioX is the only one of the four that has an integrated Arca-style plate for tripod QR systems. The other advantage is that the baseplate depth is rather shallow, making it easier to grab the SD card out of the battery compartment with the grip mounted. A further disadvantage is that there's no augmented thumb grip, so you're stuck with the small pad for your thumb on the camera.

However this one is incompatible with the LVF-11 viewfinder, so it's a non-starter for me. Back in the box it goes.

Sigma HG-11 (small) Hand Grip ($58).

Of the four, the smaller of the two Sigma hand grips adds the least to the camera. And it's the lightest one, albeit by just a little. It attaches to the side of the camera, leaving the bottom and hence the battery compartment clear, and it provides a nicely ergonomic thumb pad that's helpfully slanted.

Note that although the grip attaches to the camera with a screw post, you can still add a strap lug for a neck- or wrist-strap. The hardware for the lugs is separate on the Sigma and are mountable into the camera or the grip using the extra screw hole on the grip. The grip is also nicely finished and matches the finish of the camera, as you would expect.

The trouble, again, is that the grip is just too small. It's not as bad as you might think; you can actually get your fingers partly underneath it which improves your carrying hold on the camera. But there's just not much extra to grab on to.

My guess is that this one would frustrate me on an ongoing basis. It was not for me.

Sigma HG-21 Large Hand Grip ($95)

This is the one Kirk Tuck recommended to me, and it's nice. Also made by the manufacturer, it's the most expensive of the four.

It's large enough. It offers the most secure connection to the LVF-11 viewfinder, which bolts directly into it. And of course, like the Sigma small grip, it matches the finish of the camera.

However, there are some design decisions here I could question. Why not give us a better area for the thumb grip? The one on the camera is not annoyingly tiny, but verges on that. Also, the baseplate is deep and both adds to the height of the camera and also makes it tougher to get your finger in to remove the SD card. And it's frustrating that, when it would be so easy to do so, there are no Arca-style plate grooves for a tripod connection, so you'd have to add still more height to the camera to get that. It's comfortable to hold, though, and I could live with it.

Which brings me to the one I chose:

SmallRig Wooden Side Hand Grip for Sigma fp ($40.14)

After trying all four I liked this one best. It's soft and smooth, with a good feel, yet provides a nice comfortable grip, and it provides a large blob in back for your thumb. It doesn't interfere with the bottom of the camera at all and yet still offers an attachment point for a wrist strap. It doesn't add much weight to the camera (49.2 g vs 44.6 g for the small Sigma grip, as measured), and it's the cheapest one of the four (now that the camera and 45mm lens are bargain priced, maybe that matters).

After I decided on this, I put it on the camera and went outside for a while to play around. Within fifteen minutes I had all but forgotten about the grip and was just enjoying the camera.

So this is the one that's staying at TOP Rural World Headquarters for the B&W Beastie.

Mike
(Thanks to B&H Photo)

Book o' the Week

Migrant Mother, by Sarah Meister. "Each volume in the One on One series is a sustained meditation on a single work from the collection of MoMA." Forty-two pages with many illustrations. An engaging guided tour of the history and lore of "American photography's Mona Lisa."

This book link is a portal to Amazon. You're very kind use our links, as they help support the site.

B&H Photo

Original contents copyright 2020 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

(To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below.)
Featured Comments from:

David Wilson: "Really enjoying this project of yours, Mike. I bought a Niceyrig Leather Hand Grip for my Sigma fp and it suits my large hands. It locates my thumb well, provides lots of attachment points and doesn’t cover the camera base."

Kirk: "I still like Kirk's choice best. But at 5'8" and 155 pounds I probably have smaller hands. And you've got to find the one that fits your hands. Someone wrote about the color but if you have your mitts wrapped around the grip the right way how would anyone know? And, if we have another winter here in Texas like the one we had in 2020 it's nice to know that the real wood grip will serve in the fireplace much better than my choice of grip. With your eye on the LVF-11 you never notice the grips."

T. Edwards: "I think the whole search for a monochrome camera is a complete waste of time, that the Franken-camera you are cobbling together is ugly and absurd, and I look forward to reading each installment in the series."

Comments

[Clay Olmstead]

I guess it's a plus that the SmallRig looks like one of the elephants has escaped from a box of animal crackers and wrapped itself around your camera. We all need an occasional reminder not to take ourselves too seriously.

[Peter Williams]

To paraphrase the Rolling Stones,
I see a wood grip and I want to paint it black.

[Albert Smith]

I'll counter Pete Williams' musical reference with my second CSN related post in just a couple of weeks: "Wooden Grips on the..."🎶🎵😀

[Mark Sampson]

You're lucky to have so many choices. Glad you found one that works, and that you got to try them all before purchasing one.

[John]

Yes on the design of the SmallRig grip , but a strong no on the color. Is that really where you want to draw the eye?

[robert e]

That's one funky elephant grip, but it kinda goes with the "micro view camera" aesthetic. I wonder if there are any tilt-shift lenses or adapters for that mount.

[JTK]

Cor blimey mate, sabitofanandful, init?

It do look like a nelefant though dunnit?

[What? --Mike]

[Dave Riedel]

Mike - I'm afraid you can wiggle and shake all you want but in the end you'll finally agree your iPhone meets all your needs at this stage in your life.

[Thomas Mc Cann]

Re Small Rig

Fugly

[David Lee]

I love wood grips. First one I saw was on the Pentax 6x7. When I bought my Pentax LX there was a guy selling wood grips on his site in Australia. I got one and I love it.

[Mike Chisholm]

Good to see you haven't forgotten the style notes of the Hasselbling of blessed memory.

Mike

[Timothy Auger]

I understand your reasons, but all those grips add too much to the bulk and complication of the camera for my taste - and they're so uglee (as a Singaporean friend of mine used to say)!

[Martin Pallett]

Permit me to elucidate on JTK's comment:

I say, sir! That looks rather a hand full!

But it does remind one of an elephant does it not?

Enjoy your self Mr. Johnston 🖖

[Ken Brayton]

Many camera's have been given bad reviews because they didn't fit in the hand of the reviewer. Plus when you get to be an old foggie you get to do it your way, you earned the right. For me I don't care what the camera looks like, I care if it does the job I want it to do. Seems like you have that covered.

[Daniel Sroka]

I *love* the idea of having a wooden handle in such a techie block of equipment. I am jealous, I wish I could have one.

[Jeff1000]

“Too much sanity may be madness. And maddest of all, to see life as it is and not as it should be.”

—Señor Don Quixote

[JTK]

Cor blimey mate, sabitofanandful, init?
It do look like a nelefant though dunnit?

Roughly...
I say old chap, it's a bit of a handful, isn't it?
It does look like an elephant though doesn't it?

Source: Goggle Translate;-)

[Hank]

It is starting to remind me visually of the Mamiya 645 Pro.

[Jim Arthur]

I'd like to commend everyone for not observing that Mike is getting a grip on getting a grip...oh, wait.

[Kenneth Tanaka]

Having just spent nearly a week with a Sigma fp-L rig I'm sorry to say that I can't muster your enthusiasm for this camera. While I don't know if it merits dPreview's "Worst Camera of 2021" I can can certainly understand their impressions.

I do have to say, though, that that optical viewfinder was a real kick. Yes it obscures the touch screen controls but it's sure easy on the eye strain! Unfortunately, when paired with a longer lens it makes for a bit of a public spectacle!

But that's beside the point. One man's beast is another's beauty, eh? And you're clearly having a good time with this camera project, much like this guy. So may the lightning strike soon!

[r]

A camera that needs add-ons to be usable is badly designed. Change my mind.

[If you look into it at all, you'll find that the camera body is designed primarily for video and is intended to be the core of a modular system that allows you to build your own video rig. There are a large number of aftermarket cages marketed for it, and a large number of accessories. Google "Sigma fp rig" and then hit "shop" to see some examples. Sigma makes two grips themselves and there are many other options. It's not a camera meant to be set-and-forget for one purpose. --Mike]

[Cliff]

As cheap as the grips are keep a couple! Down the road if you want to run a minimal sized rig for a specific trip or event, you could remove the viewfinder and have a completely new camera before switching back.

I’m excited about this project and dying to see more pictures (especially after conversion!] Maybe a weekly feature post of a few pics from the camera? Thanks for doing this Mike.

[Michael T.]

Following up on Kirks comment about his size, Mike, what size do you consider your hands to be? Your grip of choice looks quite large.

[I would call my hands "large-ish." Not overly so, but on the large side. As for the size of the grip, I wouldn't say it's large. The camera itself appears larger in pictures than it is; I posted a large (yes) number of comparison photos with it and other objects for scale, in the post called "Becoming a Sigma Fan (Sigma fp)." --Mike]

[darr]

“The road to excellence is always under construction.” – Anonymous

[Andy Wilkes]

Two thoughts.
Mike's photos of the camera are excellent -says the EBay wannabe (Wannabay?)
DPReview is a poor copy of what it was, even though it claims to be "editorially independent of Amazon". It is in my list of reviewers to take with a large pinch of salt. And please don't give me a video when I could read what you have to say in a quarter of the time.