Get a grip on your OM

[newspaperguy]

Ever think you would like a side grip... you know, a nice bulge on the right hand side of your sveldt OM body... but you didn't want to spend more than you paid for the camera to get one?

Check out the chief bartenders site. CameraQuest has the side grip for the Bessa for $40 + S&H... and it fits the OM bodies nicely.

I tried it on my OM-1n last night and was surprised to see how well it 'mated' to the slr body. Not perfect, but secure, and it felt good.

See: http://www.cameraquest.com/inventor.htm
and scroll well down the page.

You do lose the ability to fit your OM to a tripod, but it is a simple matter to drill and tap a second hole (1/4-24) in the alloy base of the grip to provide a mounting spot.

 

[Pickett Wilson]

So, show us a photo of the grip on the camera! I love my OM's, but it's hard to hold comfortably for me. This could be the solution.

 

[feenej]

I put a Griptac cover on mine.

 

[newspaperguy]

PW - Will try to do so tonight.

 

[nikku]

Interesting...I was looking for something like this last fall. May still go for one.

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

I have tiny hands so the OM-4T with the little OM Camera Grip 1 (hard to find unfortunately) works great for me.

 

[Keith]

My solution has been to use a Luigi grip case made for an M2 which fits perfectly ... the strap lug holes don't line up unfortunately but I'm not really a strap user so it's no big deal.

I must try my Bessa grip though!

 

[newspaperguy]

I was a little optimistic... no pictures of the CV grip on the OM last night. Will try to shoot over the weekend.

Chris: I've been shooting Olympus for over 20 years and didn't know the made a grip. Can you provide a picture?

This thing started as I pondered whether to fabricate a grip in the vein of the M grips, and then realized the CV grip might just fit.

Keith, that's a beaut!

(and it illustrates how close the OM is to the Leica feel)

 

[Pickett Wilson]

Keith, that makes for a nice package. Unfortunately, I use a strap all the time, so I can't use it in my Luigi case. Using the bottom half of a never ready case helps, but a proper grip would be really nice. I also didn't know Olympus had made a grip for these cameras. Show us a photo, Chris.

 

[ruby.monkey]

I did think that, and then I screwed on a Winder 2.

Hasn't come off since.

 

[Pickett Wilson]

Yeah, I have the winder. And it offers a good grip. But I don't want to use a winder for the stuff I shoot with an OM, so it adds weight and bulk unnecessarily for me.

 

[jmilkins]

fantastic. Why didn't I think of the bessa grips...

mind you I like Keiths Luigi option.

Ahh Oly - an RF in SLR clothing ;-)

 

[Jinky]

I've a grip on my OM4Ti but the leather has a tendency to slide off, any ideas of waht I could use to bond it to the plastic?

 

[OurManInTangier]

I'm quite lucky, like Chris I don't have massive hands so my Oly's fit quite snuggly - I also tend to move the camera about in my hands rather alot whilst walking or standing, just an odd habit but it seems to stop any discomfort.

If I could find anything for my Oly's it would be a device that automatically pushes the film advance lever fully back in...I always jab my forehead with it whenever I quickly try to grab a shot in portrait format.😱

 

[Peter_Jones]

I've just tried it - the Voigtlander grip does fit, but would need a portion filing away to fit properly flush with the OM base. With this done, it would look a very neat solution.

The OM Winder2 really transforms the handling of OMs - still nice, but very different.

 

[nikku]

Has anyone tried a snake skin or lizard skin kit from cameraleather.com? Is it any more "grippy" than the standard leatherette? What about the kid skin or embossed leather?

I put griptac on my OM-1n, and it makes a noticeable difference in handling. Just wondering if anyone had similar experience with the other types of covering.

 

[newspaperguy]

I've got white cobra skin on my OM-1 MD (think Elvis)
and griptak on my OM-1n - griptak is the big winner.

Incidentally, John H just posted an OM grip on his site for $39 USD.

http://www.zuiko.com/index_017.htm

Apparently it only fits OM-2S and the 3 & 4 series.

 

[nikku]

I've got white cobra skin on my OM-1 MD (think Elvis)
and griptak on my OM-1n - griptak is the big winner.

Good to know. I'll probably replace my OM-2n leatherette with black griptac then, as it's my main workhorse.

And correct about the grip, there is a small hole on the front of the OM-2S through OM-4T series cameras where the grip screws in. The OM-1 through OM-2n do not have this same hole.

 

[ColinW]

The Camera Grip 1 Chris mentions can be found at this page (with various others):

http://zuserver2.star.ucl.ac.uk/~rwesson/esif/om-sif/phototechnicalgroup.htm

And an alternative, for use with a winder, can be seen here:

http://zuserver2.star.ucl.ac.uk/~rwesson/esif/om-sif/casegroup/grip_strap.htm

I've seen a few Grip 1's on Fleabay but the price for a bit of plastic is extortionate (There was a recent BIN for GBP50). I use the body part of my OM40(PC) ERC with my OM4 and the small bump at the one side does me just fine.

 

[newspaperguy]

Well... a little later than promised (forgot the "honeydew" provision),
but here's the CV grip on an OM-1n.

IMO it fits just fine... no filing, no cutting,
I just set it on and turned the screw.
(no jokes please)

I'm not sure how well it shows, but earlier, I had added a tripod mounting
hole just behind the attaching screw (1/4-24 tap). :dance:Works just fine.

(Click to enlarge the photos)