Well, I finally did what I'd been promising myself not to do - picked up an E-M5 (thank to the wonderful Buy/Sell/Trade forum here)! I had planned to wait for the 4th generation Pens, but couldn't hold out for Photokina.

At any rate, the camera is here now, and my first thought is that it reminds me a great deal of my old Olympus E-420, save for the fact that the VF is vastly nicer and the camera has about 5x more buttons.

What's a bit surprising is that the handling with the ZD 12-60 lens has not been good at all - in fact I'm getting hand cramps. It's odd because I used that lens with the E-420 for several years and was quite happy with the combo., and the E-M5 as close as I can tell has a very similarly-sized grip.

So I'm left pondering several choices:
1) Stop using the ZD 12-60, as I originally intended, in favor of smaller lenses. Downside is that I might get larger lenses in the future. I've got my eye on the Panasonic 14-140, and it seems that lens would have the same problem?
2) Go for the grip that jlm is machining. Price is right, and I like the look. But I'm not sure about the ergonomics, particularly for reaching the front dial and shutter release. Small hands probably don't help.
3) Bite the bullet and get the HLD-6. For financial reasons, I'd really rather not...
4) ?

Suggestions and ideas welcome! Thanks,

DH

P.S. My new 'sleek black beauty'

The hld-6 will probably help tremendously...can't vouch for the other grip option.

I was saying in another thread that a 300g lens is about as heavy as I'm willing to go on this camera body. Anything heavier and it just doesn't feel right (to me).

__________________
Olympus OM-D E-M5
Panasonic Lumix 12-35mm F2.8
Panasonic Leica Summilux 25mm F1.4
Panasonic Lumix 45-175mm F4-5.6

Even when I use the PL25, I have to use the grip - at least the landscape one. There isn't enough real estate on the body for my fingers.

And yes, it works wonders for handling.

__________________
E-M5 | M. Zuiko 45mm f/1.8 | Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm f/2.8

Flickr

I find the omd a tad bit difficult to hold too but it's more to do with long skinny fingers, and the strap eyelets add to the discomfort.

That lens does look heavy but I think you should rather invest in the hld-6 if you think you'll get another big lens anyway. I've seen a couple of used grips sold on here already.

Off topic, where did you get your adapter? I'll be getting one soon and the official one costs almost $200 new.

And the black version is looking more and more appealing now. The rubber grip looks like carbon fibre. Nice, clean product shots btw :)

I felt that the Oly grip was absolutely necessary for larger lenses.....night and day. I can't speak to the one you picture though. My guess is the handling performance upgrade would be similar.

Right. Sounds like the HLD-6 is what most folks have done. And the 12-60 is easily 2x your 300g limit!

All my other lenses are pretty small, so it's hard to tell if the issue is just the 12-60, or other less large lenses would require the grip too...

I'm not much of a fan of the eyelets either. The standard buckles (like those on the E-PM1) don't look as slick, but they're less fiddly. Oh well.

I got it secondhand on eBay. The Panasonic ones should be a lot less than $200. Mine unfortunately is slightly loose, meaning that occasionally the camera and lens lose communication. If you're brave, there's a 3rd party clone adapter for $60 on eBay.

Thanks (surprising what 2 sheets of paper can do in lieu of a studio). I think silver looks a bit slicker actually, but I prefer less conspicuous where possible.


It would be awfully useful if somebody had measurements of the E-M5 + landscape grip. I'm having a tough time getting a sense of how much the HLD-6 adds, in terms of dimensions and weight.

Thanks,

DH

__________________
E-M5 | E-PM2 | mZD 12-50 | ZD 12-60 | P 14-42 X | mZD 40-150 R | PL 25 | mZD 45

I happen to really like the Olympus HLD-6 grip. One other option that is not quite released yet is this Really Right Stuff grip and arca-swiss compatible plate combo. Note that this is pre-production and they are showing the grip before anodization as a bunch of customers were asking (me included).

Really Right Stuff Grip

To answer your question, the landscape grip adds 0.4 inches in height. The grip portion itself sticks out about 0.75 inches, but that depends on where and how you measure it. The vertical grip adds 1.22 inches in height. With a big lens, such as the Panasonic 100-300mm I do like both parts on the camera as the vertical grip portion gives me something to grab with my pinkie finger. It is much more comfortable.

I use my (gripless) E-M5 with the 14-140. I don't particularly like the handling of the combination when holding them in the traditional manner, but it is easy to hold and keep stable when held at waist level using the screen flipped out and a thumb trigger grip on the shutter button or by using the touchscreen shutter. I really don't want to be taking a small camera and making it bigger by attaching grips to it.

__________________
Nic
E-M5, GH1
Flickr Photostream
>> Insert quote here <<

Interesting. Hadn't seen that before. I don't really need the L-plate, but the grip looks good. Same question as with the custom one listed here though in terms of reach controls.

So it adds about 10mm to the height and 19mm to the thickness. Overall, that means a grip that's larger than the one on the Olympus E-620. Should definitely be enough. Thanks for taking the measurements,

DH

__________________
E-M5 | E-PM2 | mZD 12-50 | ZD 12-60 | P 14-42 X | mZD 40-150 R | PL 25 | mZD 45

No problem. As to the RRS setup, I have it on order and will post about it when it gets here. I use tripods a lot, so the l-plate is very useful. One advantage of the RRS setup, and the one from the guy from NY, is that you can access the battery compartment with the grip on. The Olympus grip has to come off, unless you use the full grip an put the battery in the vertical grip.

Luckypenguin,

To each their own. I understand your view, but even with the grip, this Olympus is very small compared to my previous Canon 1 series cameras. The handling is much more important to me than the absolute size. I may end up with the RRS grip/plate setup and use the Olympus grip on a second body, but I will have to see.