This is a vertical grip with two dials, two programmable buttons, a lock switch and a battery compartment for a single battery. The HLD-7 is taking pictures with E-M1-housing for people with large hands much better possible, both in either landscape as well as in the vertical position. It has camera and lens better control. The quality is Olympus typically very high (though feel the dials on the camera just a tad bit of valent). The asking price is also very high, while gold-plated contacts were not even installed in the battery compartment. The battery compartment in the camera can still be used as such and you can even set the order in which the batteries are to be used. But you have to disassemble to change the battery in the camera under control again.
Edit April 2015: After 1.5 years of use of the handle, I am still convinced of the quality and can only underline my original comments on the handle. The only point at which the handle is not so great, is the (eye glued) gum on the bottom. The fact is too thick and therefore too soft. If you use a small quick coupler (I use Novoflex Mini Connect) so the coupling piece may loosen (eg after major temperature fluctuations). One must make halt d'up if you want to let the coupler always under the camera ...
