With the huge increase in the capability of smaller sized D-SLRs more and more of us have grown fond of carrying smaller cameras like the Nikon D300, D700 or D90 or Canon 50D. For travel and convenience they can't be beat, and image quality is nearly the equal of their larger cousins. But there are some sacrifices. The lack of a convenient way to use the camera vertically and the loss in speed are a burden when you're shooting locally and not hampered by travel issues.

Fortunately there is a convenient and inexpensive answer. The vertical grip. There are a wide variety of Vertical Grips for Nikon D-SLRs and Vertical Grips for Canon. Personally I've always been a big fan of buying the grip that matches your camera from either Nikon or Canon. Most recently I really love my  [amazon B000VDF5RO full] grip. It gives me 8fps (up from 6) when used with 8 AA batteries (I use the IMEDION long-life AAs) and of course a great vertical shutter release and focus point joystick. Since I have 2 D300s I leave a grip on one pretty much all the time (except for my Asia trips where I take both cameras but usually not the grip). For sports that camera gets a 70-200 or 200-400 and for wildlife it gets a 200-400 or 600f/4.

What has surprised me is how many alternative vertical grips have come on the market. Some, like the Zeikos ZE-NBG300 Battery Power Grip for Nikon D300 & D700 and Sakar Vertical Battery Grip for Nikon D300 / D700 (Replaces MB-D10) are simply very low cost alternatives to the Nikon grip. Others, like the Satechi LCD Timer Vertical Battery Grip for Nikon D80 and D90 and Satechi LCD Timer Vertical Battery Grip for Nikon D300, D700 offer very cool options like a built-in interval timer and LCD--and include a simple Infrared Remote Control.

Canon Rebel shooters can take advantage of what seems to be a great bargain, getting a Canon brand vertical grip plus two Lithium batteries for $109: Canon BG-E3 Battery Grip for Digital Rebel XT & XTi Digital SLR Camera + (2) Spare NB-2LH Lithium-Ion Battery Pack

A similar deal which also includes a cleaning kit is available for the 20D, 30D, 40D and 50D for $189: Canon BG-E2N Battery Grip for EOS 20D, 30D, 40D & 50D Digital SLR Camera + (2) Spare BP-511A Lithium-Ion Battery Packs + Precision Design 6-Piece Deluxe Cleaning Kit So do you need a vertical grip? If you miss the convenience of holding your camera vertically there is no excuse for not picking up one of these or another grip for your camera. And of course if you need the extra battery life or the extra features (I can really feel the extra speed I get when photographing action at 8fps instead of 6fps, for example). So if you're envying the feature set of those heavy, expensive large cameras a vertical grip will go a long way to helping level the playing field.