Very good

Excellent on all aspects

I was a little skeptical before ordering this, a $300 (now $224) grip... a grip!, does not even bring batteries with it. But the one beef I have with my new OM-D is getting used to the handling of its vintage body. I heard about this grip and read the reviews, which were raving, and coming from using an NEX-7 (that has great ergonomics), I wanted to be able to hold my new OM-D EM5 the same way. After 3 days of shooting with it, I decided to get my 300 bucks back and learned to get used to shooting without the grip. Why? before I start with the pros and cons of this item, please remember that this is MY opinion, because depending on who uses this, people will love it, hate it, not mind it, or like in my case: just don't need it...The good:+Much more comfortable than using the OMD-D without it+The grip feels solid, made of smooth/durable plastic/metal, perfectly integrates with the camera, in reality, it makes the OM-D almost a whole new different camera!+If you have a big zoom lens like the Lumix 12-35 f2.8 the grip helps balance the camera very well, allowing you to shoot with only one hand, very comfortable, very firm, non-slide material.+The position of the additional shutter button/trigger and turn dial feel much more natural on the the grip than on the camera itself.+When using both, the grip and the battery holder, this thing turns a "pocket" camera into a mini DSLR! with two shutter buttons for landscape/portraits and improving the hold on the camera.The bad (in my opinion):-Did I mention it costs $300? for a grip! Though it is well constructed and adds stability to the camera, I do not see $300 worth of value here, which is why I cannot give it 5 stars. Maybe if it was in the $130-50 price range.-When using both parts of the grip, it just makes the camera TOO big and bulky. Do we need the battery pack? why couldn't Olympus offer just the grip for a lower price?-(This maybe a bit superficial, but I think it's important so I'm going to say it anyway): You loose the OM-D vintage look, this grip makes the camera look more like a small DSLR, rather than the retro OMD look that we all love about this camera.-If you have big hands, and you use a large zoom lens (like the 12-35mm) your fingers get caught between the lens and the grip and all-of-the-sudden this is NOT so comfortable.--------------------------------------------I would give it 5 stars for what it is, and what it does, it certainly delivers, I love the additional shutter and dial buttons and how it becomes part of the camera instantly. But I hold my 5 star rating for two reasons:- 1st: Do you really need it? I don't think so (my opinion) you can easily do without it, you CAN get used to using your OM-D and griping it correctly, and get great shots! You can feel the difference between using the grip and not using it, but you can overcome that after some time using the camera.- 2nd: Not worth its value: at $300 this is an item that is way over-priced

First off at $299 this is a pricy accessory and barely worth the price. There is no way I would pay $399 for this grip.With that said this is the best grip I have ever owned and makes the OM-D behave like 3 different cameras.1) Without a grip. Put on the Pani 20mm and you have your go anywhere camera.2) With first part of grip you get a nice grip on the right side of the camera to help stabilize longer lenses another shutter release and another front control dial which changes either aperture or exposure compensation depending on which mode you have selected. This is the configuration I keep the OM-D in most of the time with the Pani 25mm f/1.4. This is a great combination.3) With the second part of the grip you now get a portrait shutter release and another front and rear control wheel. You also get 2 more function buttons which can be set independently of the first 2 function buttons. You also get a lock to prevent any of those buttons from accidentally being pressed. Finally, you get a space for an extra battery. Even in this configuration the camera is neither heavy or large. This set up is fantastic for the event photographer and portrait photographer. This setup makes this a fantastic professional camera for many many many situations. M4/3 has arrived into the working professional ranks with the OM-D and this grip.There are 3 main drawbacks to this grip. The first is the first part of the grip blocks off the battery compartment on the camera. So you have to take the grip off to recharge the batter. The second is on the second part of the grip the tripod lug is well to the right of the camera. I am really not sure what Olympus was thinking here. The 3rd and largest right now is the fact Olympus does not sell the BLN-1 yet. Which sort of makes the extra battery capacity a moot point.To solve the problem of no Olympus Battery, I purchased the following.This battery does not work in the Olympus charger. However, it comes with its own charger that is also a car charger. This charge also charges the Olympus battery so you get a way to charge your Olympus batter in the car. So far I have had no issues with this product.Overall, if you have the OM-D and some of the larger lenses such as the 100-300mm or 14-140mm then this lens will help stabilize and balance the lenses on the camera making them much easier to use.ProsBest grip I have ever boughtTurns the OM-D into 3 different camerasGreat build qualityConsBlocks camera batter compartmentTripod lug not centeredNo Olympus BLN-1 batteries available to put in grip

The Olympus HLD-6 battery holder is (at the time of writing) a bit pricey. In addition, with a second battery installed it adds weight to what should be a light, nimble camera.Those points being conceded, this battery grip is a very nice addition to the OM-D camera body.My major concern (after weight) was that the top grip would interfere with access to the front control button. However this has turned out not to be the case, the control button is easily accessed.The bottom part of the grip holds the extra battery (not included with the grip) and adds the major weight to the package. However the weight of the grip is well balanced when mounted on the camera and does not impose an undue burden when carrying the camera. When the kit lens (12-50mm) is mounted the weight of the grip is not enough to balance the camera squarely on the bottom of the camera, so the weight added by the grip is not really all that great.Of course the bottom grip does not have to be attached with the top grip; the top grip can be attached independently and adds nearly no weight to the package. The top grip offers a very secure grip and the shutter button is not overly sensitive.The Nikon grip for the D300 DSLR was noted for having a hair trigger on the vertical shutter button; the Olympus does not suffer from this malady.In addition the vertical controls can be locked out to prevent accidental usage when the camera is in landscape mode.As noted in the technical specs, the grip is, like the camera, weather resistant.Very nice piece of kit, and it appears that Olympus did not miss a trick when engineering it.Recommended.Jim