The OM System OM-3 is one of the most fun and capable cameras I’ve shot with in recent years — and it looks gorgeous too. It’s a fantastic travel and everyday camera, combining classic design with modern computational features and a huge range of lenses.

I’ve written about the best lenses for travel photography with the OM-3 here.

That said, it’s not the most comfortable camera to carry for long periods. To help you get the most out of this little pocket powerhouse, I’ve put together the essential accessories I use with my OM-3. Every item on this list has been personally tested and compared against alternatives — these are the ones that earned a permanent place in my kit.

Field-tested in September 2025: These recommendations come from real-world use with the OM-3 here in the Philippines.

Affiliate Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission if you purchase through them — at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products I’ve personally tested and genuinely find useful.

Haoge OM-3 Handgrip – Comfort & Control

Haoge OM-3 Handgrip – The Om-3 is a lightweight and compact camera which is perfect for when you want your kit to be minimal while travelling. However, there isn’t any grip on the front of the camera so when I’m shooting all day or with zoom lenses I attach this Haoge L grip. It doesn’t add much weight but makes a World of difference to the comfort of carrying the camera with pro lenses. It still allows access to all ports and both the battery and memory card compartments so doesn’t interfere with quick operation of the OM-3. The base is made from metal with solid build quality while the siliconised grip is comfortable and gives just the right amount of purchase to confidently hold the camera one handed. The only downside is that it comes with an allen key to attach the plate to the camera rather than an integrated key like on Smallrig grips but I simply slip it in my bag and haven’t lost it yet.

Spare BLX-1 Batteries & Charger

The OM-3 uses the same BLX-1 battery found in the OM-1 series so it has decent battery performance. I’ve found it to last most of a days shooting. However I never want to be caught short and miss a good shot so I do still carry multiple spare batteries with me. I have a mix of original Om System BLX1 batteries which offer the best performance. But I also carry some third party batteries as they are so much cheaper and I’ve found them to offer around 75% of the performance of the originals for way less money. I use a mixture of third party batteries but the best ones that I’ve used so far is this Wasabi kit. It comes with two batteries and a USB-C compatible charger for roughly the same price as one original battery.

Memory Cards – Reliable, Fast, Affordable

One of the only compromises with the OM-3 is that it comes with just a single SD card slot. This isnt a deal breaker for me becasue I always use Sandisk Extreme Pro SD cards and in all the years I’ve been shooting, I’ve never had one fail me, unlike cards from other brands. The best compromise between speed, capacity and price in my opinion are the 256gb cards which fit over 5000 images on when shooting Raw + Jpeg.

Peak Design Everyday Sling Bag

The best camera bag that I’ve ever used is the Peak Design Every day Sling bag. I use the 10L version as it fits all my gear in perfectly when I’m travelling. For reference it will fit my OM-3 with a pro lens such as the 12-40mm f/2.8II attached along with the OM-1 Mark II and 25mm 1.2 pro attached plus the 17mm f/1.8 II lens and there is still room for chargers, wires, cleaning kit and my Ipad Pro 13″ with magic keyboard and Magic Pen. It’s comfortable to carry all day, is highly weather resistant so keeps off the rain while you find cover and has flexible compartments including a separate internal zippered section which holds batteries and memory cards. I’ve tried a lot of bags over the years, in fact I have a pile of different bags sat next to me as I write this, inlcuding ones from Lowepro, Manfrotto, ThinkTank and other no name brands and the Peak design is still my favourite. If you want to keep your kit even lighter then the Peak Design Everyday Sling 6L version offers the same quality in a smaller package.

Peak Design Camera Leash

Although I carry my kit in the Peak Design bag, I often leave that in the hotel and head out with just the OM-3 attached to a camera strap and an extra lens in my pocket. I’ve tested mulitple straps including the OEM one, multiple Peak Design straps as well as ones from BlackRapid and no name third party brands. The reason I don’t use the OEM strap is because it takes far too long to attach and detach from the camera and I often want to quickly remove the camera from the strap for shots at various angles and I find having a strap attached restrictive. After lots of testing, I have found the Peak Design Camera Leash to be the best fit for the OM-3 as it is still lightweight and flexible, similar to the OEM strap yet made from stronger materials. Unlike my Peak Design Slide Lite strap it isn’t stiff and so doesnt bunch up near the camera and the one handed adjustment on the Leash does actually work one handed. The key factor though is that it is so quick and easy to take on and off your camera thanks to the Peak Design Anchor attachment system which allows you to quickly clip the anchors into the camera strap. It’s such a good fit to the OM-3 that I’ve settled on it and have stopped looking for anything else now. In fact I also recently bought a bunch more anchors and now have them fitted on every single one of my cameras so I can just quickly attach either of my Peak Design camera straps to the body I’m using that day.

Conclusion

Each of these accessories has been tested in the field and earned its place. If you’ve found something that works brilliantly with the OM-3, let me know — I’m always open to trying gear.