Olympus E-M1 battery gauge

[PeterAit]

Before going out the other day I checked the camera's battery gauge and it said full - all 3 bars. But it crapped out after about 80 shots, so be warned that you cannot rely on the gauge. I am now "Mr. Spare Battery."

[Paulo Bizarro]

Is that with an Olympus battery? The gauge in my EM1's seems fine, more or less reliable. The only thing I have noticed is that the power goes down fast when doing lon exposures, but that is expected. I have the battery grip installed it allows one extra battery to be used, quite convenient for longer outings.

[PeterAit]

Actually, no, it's an off-brand battery - and maybe that's the problem (and why it was so cheap!). I'll see if the original battery does better.

How do you like the battery grip (extra battery aside)? Does it help camera handling?

[Paulo Bizarro]

I have 5 batteries, and only 2 are from Oly, the others are off brand, but good and reliable. I don't see a difference in performance, or in charging status accuracy by the cameras.

I like the extra battery grip very much, it helps immensely when shooting verticals, especially with the 25mm lens from Panasonic, or the Oly 75 f1.8. Even when shooting with my newly acquired Oly 12mm f2 lens (on tripod) I tend to use the grip. I am not very careful with my gear (I don't tend to baby it) and since I shoot a lot on the coast with rocks and sand, and I tend to put the camera on the ground often, the grip provides a bit of extra protection. The whole thing just feels more robust with the grip.