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    • Architecture Edinburgh Events Landscapes Outdoor Places They Things Urban All
      Architecture

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      Miminka

      January 18, 2018

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      Cupola of Szent Istvan Bazilika

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      Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias, Valencia

      September 12, 2017

      Edinburgh

      Vaults and Closes

      March 6, 2019

      Edinburgh

      From Winter to Spring

      March 3, 2019

      Edinburgh

      Towards Balmoral Hotel

      February 17, 2019

      Edinburgh

      Saturday Hill Walk on Pentlands

      September 16, 2018

      Edinburgh

      Photowalk – Hermitage of Braid

      May 28, 2018

      Edinburgh

      Walk on Blackford Hill

      February 21, 2018

      Edinburgh

      Edinburgh Castle from Churchyard in the Evening Sun

      January 23, 2018

      Edinburgh

      Winter in Edinburgh on Boxing Day

      January 9, 2018

      Events

      Pride Edinburgh 2019

      July 8, 2019

      Landscapes

      Last Sunset of 2019 at North Queensferry

      January 23, 2020

      Landscapes

      Port Ellen lighthouse

      July 1, 2018

      Landscapes

      Muir Beach Overlook

      May 2, 2018

      Landscapes

      Foggy Green Fields

      April 1, 2018

      Landscapes

      Lomo de San Pedro

      March 13, 2018

      Landscapes

      Rocky Roads of Gran Canaria

      March 2, 2018

      Landscapes

      Greener Side of Gran Canaria

      February 27, 2018

      Landscapes

      Sunset at Minus 25

      January 15, 2018

      Outdoor

      Sunday Sunset Silhouette

      November 6, 2018

      Outdoor

      Photowalk – Hermitage of Braid

      May 28, 2018

      Outdoor

      Walk on Blackford Hill

      February 21, 2018

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      Winter in Edinburgh on Boxing Day

      January 9, 2018

      Outdoor

      Pentland Hills Walk in Dull Colours

      September 1, 2017

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      New Macallan Distillery

      July 15, 2018

      Places

      Bruichladdich warehouse experience

      June 29, 2018

      Places

      You Have Arrived at Your Destination

      May 22, 2018

      Places

      From Edinburgh to Berwick

      April 24, 2018

      Places

      Antiguo Muelle de Agaete

      April 4, 2018

      Places

      Visit at Torres Winery in Vilafranca del Penedès

      November 16, 2017

      Places

      Dusk at Misty Hollywood Hills

      October 16, 2017

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      Western-Style Old Town of San Diego

      October 8, 2017

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      Our Neighbour Winter

      July 21, 2018

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      Red Riding Hood

      June 28, 2018

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      Stam1na, Audio Glasgow

      May 31, 2018

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      Amorphis, The Cathouse Glasgow, 2016

      May 24, 2018

      They

      Moment Alone

      May 13, 2018

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      Dear Diary

      March 29, 2018

      They

      Wöyh!

      February 7, 2018

      Things

      National Monument of Scotland

      July 19, 2018

      Things

      Edinburgh Castle from Churchyard in the Evening Sun

      January 23, 2018

      Things

      USS Midway at Sunset

      September 27, 2017

      Things

      Lonely Trees on Hills of Edinburgh

      September 7, 2017

      Things

      Getting to Know Scotland

      August 27, 2017

      Urban

      Vaults and Closes

      March 6, 2019

      Urban

      Sunset in Graz

      March 26, 2018

      Urban

      Before Rush Hour

      January 20, 2018

      Urban

      Balmoral and Princes St

      November 12, 2017

      Urban

      Griffith Observatory on Mount Hollywood

      October 11, 2017

      Urban

      Fort Mason View of the Golden Gate Bridge…

      September 30, 2017

      Urban

      Queensferry Bridges

      September 11, 2017

      Urban

      Lights of Edinburgh from Salisbury Crags

      August 29, 2017

      Photos

      Last Sunset of 2019 at North Queensferry

      January 23, 2020

      Photos

      Pride Edinburgh 2019

      July 8, 2019

      Photos

      Vaults and Closes

      March 6, 2019

      Photos

      From Winter to Spring

      March 3, 2019

      Photos

      Towards Balmoral Hotel

      February 17, 2019

      Photos

      Sunday Sunset Silhouette

      November 6, 2018

      Photos

      Saturday Hill Walk on Pentlands

      September 16, 2018

      Photos

      Out of the City

      August 6, 2018

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      Accessories

      Aluminium Dummy Grips for Olympus E-M10 mark II…

      September 9, 2017

      Accessories

      Inexpensive Chinese Q666C Carbon Fiber Travel Tripod Review

      September 3, 2017

      Accessories

      Formatt-Hitech 85mm Filter System

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      Issues with Laowa 7.5mm on Olympus E-M1 mark…

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AccessoriesReviews

Aluminium Dummy Grips for Olympus E-M10 mark II and E-M5 mark II

by Tomi Nihtila September 9, 2017
by Tomi Nihtila September 9, 2017
  • Grip significantly improves handling non-gripped bodies with large lenses
  • Arca-Swiss compatible third party dummy grips cost a fraction of Olympus’ grips
  • Some design flaws may exist though…

All Olympus OM-D models except the E-M1 have a very small grip which does not provide stable enough handling with bigger Pro-series lenses. For better grip, Olympus offers their own line of external grips. For E-M10s this is just a plain dummy grip without any electronics but for E-M5s you can have battery grips offering the required extra grip but also place for two batteries and doubled controls for portrait orientation (or official dummy grips as well). Needless to say these official accessories cost a lot so unless you need the extra batteries and controls, a third party dummy grip is a significantly cheaper solution – £20-30 vs. £150-250.

I bought my first aluminium grip for the good old E-M5 after buying the 12-40/2.8 Pro zoom. I also had it in my E-M10II and now have one in my M5II I bought to replace the M10II with. Sizes and shapes of bodies differs so each model requires a specific grip model.

Horizontal grip with removable vertical bit

Below is a photo of the M10II and grip which I have sold already. Of the three body-grip combinations I have used, this has been the best one in terms of both fit and style. Unfortunately I did not find a photo with the grip attached. I cannot find these on Amazon anymore but here is one for the first E-M10.

Below are photos of my current M5II grip which is a bit chunkier than the M10II grip was. The same seller does not have these anymore but this looks the same.

All of these grips retain access to battery compartment and have threads for a tripod plate. They also have a removable vertical bit for portrait tripod operation and come with Allen keys.

Arca-Swiss compatibility

While Arca-Swiss is a camera equipment company, the name has become a synonym for their quick release system. Many manufacturers have their own proprietary quick release plates, Arca-Swiss being almost the only standard-like.

Therefore, among the best features in these grips is that they support Arca-Swiss clamps directly. This is something not even the Olympus’ own grips have, and something that is extremely handy for a tripod user. No need to worry about forgetting that quick release plate home anymore.

Both of my tripod heads have Arca-Swiss clamp, below shown my travel tripod. Obviously the vertical bit has this feature as well.

M5II grip issues with large lenses

I recently swapped some kit, sold my M10II and few lenses and got the E-M5II and Olympus 12-100/4 Pro zoom. This lens is huge in the Micro Four Thirds world so grip is essential. However, there is a design flaw with this grip as there is not enough space for fingers between the lens base and the handle. I can just fit my fingers there but it is not very comfortable. I also needed to add some duct tape over a sharp grip surface on the lens not to destroy my nails.

I am sure future grips will take this into account as these big lenses are quite new in the system but this is definitely something to pay attention to. I will probably see if I can modify the grip somehow. Nevertheless, it is still more comfortable with this lens than being without the grip.

Conclusion

I highly recommend getting a grip if you have or are planning to have some of the larger lenses. This cheap grips are excellent alternative to Olympus grips. However, as has been seen some problems may occur.

I highly recommend the iShoot E-M10II grip. For M5II you may want to look for slightly smaller grip that gives more room for fingers with the biggest lenses.

By the way, iShoot make these grips for many other cameras than Olympus as well.

E-M10 mark IIE-M5 mark IIgripOlympus
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