OM System confirms the OM-5 II isn’t compatible with the best pack-in flash

OM System’s latest camera won’t work with the FL-LM3, a flash loved by the company’s users. There was some question about compatibility: charts on OM System’s website said it wouldn’t work with the recently-announced OM-5 II, but users wondered whether it was a mistake, since the flash was compatible with the OM-5, a camera that is physically very similar to its successor. (From the outside, the hotshoes look physically identical.) However, OM System has now confirmed the incompatability to DPReview, saying “the decision to not support it was the result of comprehensive considerations on the product’s characteristics.”

This will likely be a bit of a disapointment to long-time OM System and Olympus users. At DPReview we consider the FL-LM3 as one of the best pack-in flashes. It can tilt and swivel giving you lots of flexibility when bouncing it. That would already set it apart from most included flashes, but it also remains useful even when you buy a bigger flash, as it can be used to trigger other OM System flashes that support its RC system, such as the FL-700 and the FL-900 (both of which are compatbile with the OM-5 II on their own).

While the FL-LM3 hasn’t come with OM System’s cameras for a while now, it’s sad to see that the company’s latest cameras dropping support entirely for it, with little explaination as to why. But if you were considering whether to get the OM-5 II and are a big fan of the flash, at least the matter is settled now.

Our DPREVIEW Tribute:

After nearly 25 years of operation, DPReview closed on 10 April 2023. This difficult decision was part of the annual operating plan review that parent company, Amazon, shared earlier this year.

Over the course of 25 years, DP Review built up a reputation as being one of the most informative places to go for information about that new camera or lens you’re after. DP Review began as an independent reviews site based in the UK in 1998, the brainchild of Philip and Joanna Askey, but it was eventually purchased by Amazon in 2007 and relocated over to Seattle in the USA in 2010.

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