OM-5 weak tripod mount

[skiggety]

After hanging my OM-5 off my PD capture clip a few times, the latest with the Oly 12-40 F2.8 pro lens attached, you can see the tripod mount ripped right out:



So, whatever they did or didn't do since the OMD EM-5 mkIII, it wasn't good enough.

 

[Danielvr]

After hanging my OM-5 off my PD capture clip a few times, the latest with the Oly 12-40 F2.8 pro lens attached, you can see the tripod mount ripped right out:

That's bad.. they were supposed to have fixed that.

Was the mount firmly attached to the metal frame anywhere at all? From what I recall, in the E-M5 III, it was only attached to the plastic bottom plate, not to the body's inner frame. Its construction resembled that of a compact camera, not an SLR.

 

[Regor250]

Yikes... not good... not surprised. The only way the tripod mount can sustain repeated flexing with such clip carrying setup would be to be screwed onto a stainless steel base, which the EM/OM5 design lacks. The plastic used in the OMDS cameras can't take the constant flexing of the base plate/body induced by such setup obviously. The manual should have a warning to that effect (it kind of warns you but not explicitly). From your photo it's obvious that the tripod mount isn't designed for transport. I said not surprised as for every step taken the body/base flexes back and forth ever so slightly; it is bound to break eventually. No PD Capture Clip for me... ever, that's for sure! Tx for sharing your unfortunate experience with us.

--
Roger

 

[rnder72]

oh man! so sad to see. I really wanted the OM-5 to have this issue fixed. For the size, weight and features (E-M1MkIII lite) the OM-5 would be the camera for me. I kinda got the feeling nothing had changed and ended up with a pre-owned E-M1MkIII instead.

Hope the fix is not too painful $

Rick

 

[Hakana]

Sorry about your camera!

From OM-system website

"DURABLE

Noticebly tough. The OM-5 will tackle anything your advanture can throw at it."

 

[cba_melbourne]

That's bad.. they were supposed to have fixed that.

If I remember well, their German marketing guy explicitly said they fixed it, but refused to say how. And their R&D people did not comment.

Lesson learned: never blindly trust their marketing people again. They will claim whatever sells, no matter if true or not.

 

[briantrying]

After hanging my OM-5 off my PD capture clip a few times, the latest with the Oly 12-40 F2.8 pro lens attached, you can see the tripod mount ripped right out:



So, whatever they did or didn't do since the OMD EM-5 mkIII, it wasn't good enough.

Don't believe marketing but certainly DON'T use a camera with a lightweight plastic body on a PD clip! It only works because metal bodies are strong enough because they are metal.

 

[Impulses]

After hanging my OM-5 off my PD capture clip a few times, the latest with the Oly 12-40 F2.8 pro lens attached, you can see the tripod mount ripped right out:



So, whatever they did or didn't do since the OMD EM-5 mkIII, it wasn't good enough.

Don't believe marketing but certainly DON'T use a camera with a lightweight plastic body on a PD clip! It only works because metal bodies are strong enough because they are metal.

Umm, it's really not about the material but more about the construction and design. What happened to skiggety is truly unfortunate and I feel bad for them, but this is an E-M5 III / OM-5 issue more than anything. I've used my very plastic GX850 on a PD Capture clip for years (hanging off the side of my bag so it's not even as stable as people that use it on backpack straps), often with a 300g 75/1.8 mounted, and it's no worse for wear.

I even have some cork padding stuffed between my PD plate and the GX850 to prevent the tilt display from jamming (but it's tightened quite firmly against it, still it could add a miniscule amount of extra flex/leverage)... So between that and the fact that I carry the Capture clip + GX850 + 75/1.8 on the side of a sling bag it's really a worst case scenario as far as the dynamic forces on it and yet it's survived it just fine.

Plenty of people use other plastic bodies with the PD Capture and reports of failures are pretty few and far between (I have seen some, with much older NEX bodies and a couple Canons, but they're pretty isolated)... If the plastic around the mound were properly reinforced (plastics come in many different kinds/strengths) and/or the tripod mount was attached to the metal structure that usually holds the lens mount and sensor then there'd be no issues, as is usually the case.

TL;DR: Absolutely don't use a PD Capture with an E-M5 III / OM-5 (I've avoided it myself), it'll be fine on the vast majority of other bodies tho (yes even plastic ones).

P.S. It's also worth noting the extra flex in the E-M5 III bottom plate had also been observed and criticized by one reviewer in 2019 long before the rash of PD Capture issues started (and continue to) happen, it's kind of an annoyance to some even for regular tripod use since it isn't as stable as say the Mk II or other bodies with a better reinforced tripod mount. Live and learn, OM really could've handled this better tho.

 

[Skeeterbytes]

Well, that's disappointing. Have been wondering since it was announced whether the M5iii bottom plate issue had been addressed in the OM-5 and your image (thanks for it) shows it has not. I use a tripod mount sling system and would never trust it with either, based on this.

Best of luck on a fix!

Rick

--
Equivalence and diffraction-free since 2009.
You can be too; ask about our 12-step program.

 

[challenger12]

I’m one of those who loves the 5 series. Great feature set, weather resistance etc. But the plastic bodied EM5iii and OM-5 have really devalued the brand. I’m sorry, but all those who defended the “engineering plastic” of the Em5iii when the first reports of tripod mount failure arose must feel a bit silly now. It was a howler by Olympus to produce such a poorly constructed camera, and they should shoulder the blame.

But we have to ask what have OM Systems been doing since they acquired the assets in 2020? All the new products in that time were Olympus designs - OM-1, 150-400mm, 20mm, 90mm macro etc. would all have been in the pipeline, nearing production.

For that reason the OM-5 was a pivotal product when it came to gauging OM Systems commitment to the new venture. A revision of an existing product with a known (major) problem. And they have dropped the ball spectacularly. I understand the need to economise by recycling old tech, but to not even attempt to resolve the tripod mount issue is extremely disappointing. They were happy to remold the top plate to include the new logo, but to not even attempt to redesign the baseplate is unforgivable.

 

[Danielvr]

They were happy to remold the top plate to include the new logo, but to not even attempt to redesign the baseplate is unforgivable.

We still don't know that -has anyone actually compared both plates?- and we don't know if the manufacturer has changed the plastic mix used.

What we do know is that they said they had addressed this, which to me means that any and all cases of a broken tripod mount should be fixed/replaced for free, even when out of warranty.

 

[cba_melbourne]

I’m one of those who loves the 5 series. Great feature set, weather resistance etc. But the plastic bodied EM5iii and OM-5 have really devalued the brand. I’m sorry, but all those who defended the “engineering plastic” of the Em5iii when the first reports of tripod mount failure arose must feel a bit silly now. It was a howler by Olympus to produce such a poorly constructed camera, and they should shoulder the blame.

But we have to ask what have OM Systems been doing since they acquired the assets in 2020? All the new products in that time were Olympus designs - OM-1, 150-400mm, 20mm, 90mm macro etc. would all have been in the pipeline, nearing production.

For that reason the OM-5 was a pivotal product when it came to gauging OM Systems commitment to the new venture. A revision of an existing product with a known (major) problem. And they have dropped the ball spectacularly. I understand the need to economise by recycling old tech, but to not even attempt to resolve the tripod mount issue is extremely disappointing. They were happy to remold the top plate to include the new logo, but to not even attempt to redesign the baseplate is unforgivable.

Especially since they claimed to have fixed this specific problem in the OM5. Today's picture shows that was a blatant lie. It's exactly the same tripod mount as in the EM5.3.

I hope OM realizes that their future depends on how they handle this now. The OP should not be forced to pay anything for repair. Ideally he is given a brand new exchange camera, or a voucher over the whole purchase price to be used towards an other OM product. At the very least a completely free warranty repair. Anything less, and their brand is doomed.

 

[Danielvr]

Anything less, and their brand is doomed.

Well, that's a gross exaggeration -- it's an issue known only to a very small minority of Olympus/OMD users who participate in internet forums. But yes, they should fix or replace these cameras for free.

 

[Ergellegre]

Please make them aware. We like the cameras, but they can't keep under-engineering cameras.

 

[Joe Lynch]

... and I hope OMDS sends you a new camera.

You can add a grip and tie the top of the grip to the right side strap eyelet and minimize the flex of your replacement body if you wish. Mine has been fine using that modification on a tripod for a few years now, but no clips and belt hangers for the 5iii or OM-5.

And with that, I'm outta here and I will leave it to others to wrangle for days about the details. I already know all I want to know about this failure.

 

[Silver1962]

Robin Wong even before he left OM/Olympus he always was pointing to the plastic body vs the durable body in upper scale line …. here is the testimony to his point..!!

I wish they replace it for you, they should … and they are graceful from issues I had before with pro lenses, top notch customer service.

 

[challenger12]

Anything less, and their brand is doomed.

Well, that's a gross exaggeration -- it's an issue known only to a very small minority of Olympus/OMD users who participate in internet forums. But yes, they should fix or replace these cameras for free.

Maybe not doomed, but certainly devalued.

The whole schtick around the OM-5 launch was durability and "take-anywhere". Unfortunately for OM System, the majority of hikers, explorers and adventurers will probably carry their camera on a PD clip at some point (if not all the time?). So it really is a red flag for anyone in the target audience considering this purchase.

The tripod mount on my EM-5iii completely detached after 6 months of relatively benign use. In comparison my EM-5ii was still intact after 5 years of similar use. There's simply no excuse for them following up the flawed EM-5iii with another model with the same problem

 

[challenger12]

They were happy to remold the top plate to include the new logo, but to not even attempt to redesign the baseplate is unforgivable.

We still don't know that -has anyone actually compared both plates?- and we don't know if the manufacturer has changed the plastic mix used.

What we do know is that they said they had addressed this, which to me means that any and all cases of a broken tripod mount should be fixed/replaced for free, even when out of warranty.

Whatever they've done, it wasn't sufficient to solve the problem.

The fact that the weight of the OM-5 is exactly the same as the EM-5iii would indicate they did exactly nothing.

A few extra grams would be expected if they'd used a denser plastic or reinforced the plate around the tripod mount or a bit of both?

This failure looks exactly like the ones documented for the EM-5iii

 

[Matthew39]

ON System has not said that the tripod mount in the OM-5 has been improved from that in the EM5 iii. Some marketing guy let people believe it, that's all.

 

[cba_melbourne]

ON System has not said that the tripod mount in the OM-5 has been improved from that in the EM5 iii. Some marketing guy let people believe it, that's all.

Well, OMDS is fully responsible for what their marketing employees say. And several OMDS marketing people said that, in different countries on different continents. So it was official global OMDS marketing policy, to systematically mislead their customers. Besides, marketing departments do not make up such claims on their own out of thin air, it all needs approval by top OMDS management.

From DPReview's article "OM System OM-5: what's new and does it compete?" published 7 Nov 7, 2022 ( https://www.dpreview.com/articles/2125228181/om-system-om-5-what-s-new-and-does-it-compete?slide=4 ):

The one thing that Olympus shooters want to know about is durability. The E-M5 Mark III got a reputation for being "plasticky," which was only reinforced when a number of cameras had their tripod sockets damaged when in use. Yes, the bottom plate is still plastic on the OM-5, but OMDS says it's been strengthened (while noting that third party accessory compatibility is never guaranteed).

There is not even one gram weight difference between the EM5.3 and the O-M5. It looks exactly the same, it feels exactly the same, it weighs exactly the same - and it breaks exactly the same.