Before you buy HLD-10 grip for OM-1 II (update)
Before you buy the HLD-10 grip for OM System OM-1 Mark II, it is worth considering the downsides because after using this grip for a while I came to the conclusion that it was a waste of money.
Olympus OM System HLD-10 Advantages:
Zooming or focusing can be done by resting the hand underneath the grip and using only the fingers to zoom or pull focus which is less likely to cause the camera to rotate when using the zoom ring or focus ring.
Olympus OM System HLD-10 Disadvantages:
Landscape grip is very uncomfortable
HLD-10 weighs 242g without the battery included. It is even heavier with the battery which make it difficult to hold the camera for a long time. In fact the Olympus HLD-10 grip alone with the battery weighs more than the OM-1 II half cage that only weighs 120g. So the OM System HLD-10 grip is more than twice as heavy and that doesn't even include the BLX-1 battery which will be inserted in it, that would take the weight up by around 80g.
The two batteries won't be easily accessible when the grip is mounted on the camera. This makes it more difficult to charge both batteries quickly in an external battery charger.
The HLD-10 portrait grip is too short in comparison to the Olympus HLD-9 grip for the E-M1 III
The OM-1 II and HLD-10 do not balance well in terms of weight distribution which make it less stable in comparison to the E-M1X or the E-M1 III with the HLD-9 battery grip.
The OM System HLD-10 grip does not provide the ability to run the OM-1 II camera without batteries unlike the Olympus OM-D E-M1 III with the Olympus HLD-9 external portrait grip which had a DC port.
🎥 Video Timestamps / Chapters 🎬
00:00 HLD-10 grip advantages for OM-1 II
00:22 HLD-10 grip disadvantages
00:27 landscape grip on HLD-10
00:45 portrait grip of HLD-10
00:57 BLX-1 batteries with HLD-10
01:39 Weight of HLD-10 plus BLX-1 battery
02:19 HLD-10 usage update
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• Olympus OM-1 and OM System OM-1 Mark II
