New M1 MarkIII Grip Material Confirmed by Olympus

[Schroeder]

I just received the following from Olympus Tech Support regarding the new grip material on the M1 Mark III:

“The grip on the E-M1 MkIII is a new formulation that is considered an improvement over the material used on the E-M1 MkII. The new material was designed to be more dense to prevent softening and stretching that would eventually lead to the material lifting and separating from the camera body.”

[Rob Trek]

Thanks for sharing that. It makes sense. Softer material will loosen and stretch.

[MagRat Garlic]

Depending upon what you want (and your craft skills) you can replace the leatherette material on camera bodies with something else.

When I was working as a cave expeditions photographer -- going down very wet and often muddy caverns -- grip was a problem. I replaced part of my OM-2's leatherette grip with neoprene. I used car upholstery glue to fix it to the camera. A less extreme option would be to simply replace a key part of the grip area with a more appropriate material for your needs. Simply remove with a scalpel and use as a template.

Another option is to paint part of the grip with coloured latex rubber. This also improves the grip.

I've often thought that re-upholstering an Olympus Pen with really beautiful leather would be a great way to highlight the beauty of this design icon.

Rick Bear