OM-System Camera Battery Compatibility Charts

Battery finder: Which battery does your OM System camera take?

At some point, you’re going to need a new battery or spares for your camera.

Lithium batteries do degrade, which is why some cameras even have battery health check features built in.

And a full day of shooting can deplete the charge quite quickly; mirrorless cameras tend to be especially power-hungry. So carrying spares is always a good idea. There’s nothing more annoying than your camera dying when you want to keep shooting.

But keeping track of which battery model is right for your camera isn’t as straightforward as it could be. Camera makers seem to have all decided to use cryptic model numbers that really make no sense in relation to the camera models.

And just because cameras might share similarities doesn’t mean they share the same kind of battery. The OM-D E-M5 Mark II and E-M5 Mark III, for example, look like siblings from the outside, but their batteries aren’t shared; the Mark II takes the BLN-1, while the Mark III switched to the smaller BLS-50 that the OM-5 and the E-M10 bodies use.

Which is why I’ve created these charts. I hope it makes it easier to get the right battery for your camera and get out shooting more quickly.

OM System & Olympus camera battery compatibility charts

Which battery your OM System camera uses

The chart above has the full details. If you just want the one-line answer for your camera — or want to know which of your other bodies can share spares — here’s the same information grouped by battery. It comes from the same verified data as the chart, so it stays in step as new models are added.

Things worth knowing

• The manufacturers do sometimes come out with newer versions of some batteries. And sometimes there’s more than one model that’s compatible. I’ve noted those cases below.
• With Olympus and OM System, the battery families do most of the work: BLX-1 covers the OM-1, OM-1 Mark II and OM-3; BLH-1 covers the E-M1 Mark II, E-M1 Mark III and E-M1X; BLN-1 covers the older E-M1, E-M5 and E-M5 Mark II and the PEN-F; and the BLS-50, along with its older BLS-5 and BLS-1 relatives, covers the OM-5, E-M5 Mark III, the E-M10 bodies and most of the PEN line. The confusion is in the chargers. Neither the OM-1 nor the OM-5 ships with an external charger — both come with a cable and a wall adapter and charge the battery inside the camera, so charging a spare means buying the charger separately: the BCX-1 for the BLX-1, the BCS-5 for the BLS-50. And the BCX-1 dual charger comes with neither a USB-C cable nor a power adapter, so you supply those yourself.
• There’s an extra wrinkle in the BLS family of batteries. The BLS-1, BLS-5 and BLS-50 share the same shape, but don’t assume they swap freely: Olympus’s manuals for the E-420, E-450, E-600, E-620 and E-PL1 say to use the BLS-1 and that other batteries cannot be used. The chargers are split too: BLS-1 batteries charge in the BCS-1, while the BLS-5 and BLS-50 charge in the BCS-5. So if you’re mixing old and new batteries, check which charger you actually have before you travel with only one of them.
• And despite both being flagship-body batteries, the BLX-1 and BLH-1 aren’t interchangeable. If you’ve moved from an E-M1 Mark III to the OM-1, your BLH-1 cells and BCH-1 charger don’t carry over: the OM-1 takes BLX-1 batteries and charges them in the BCX-1, and that’s what the HLD-10 grip uses too.
• This is a growing document that I try to keep updated as new models are released. So please let me know if you spot any issues that need updating or correcting.

Still to verify

• Pen FT
• XA2

The Pen FT is a different camera from the Pen F above — it added a built-in meter (i.e., the part that needs power).

Third-party batteries for Olympus & OM System cameras

I’m focusing here on original Olympus and OM System branded batteries because those are the ones the manufacturer guarantees to work in their cameras.

But there’s also a whole universe of aftermarket batteries out there. They’re often significantly cheaper than the OEM versions. Sometimes they’re the only option that’s available in stock.

I’ve used many aftermarket batteries over the years in many different cameras and have found many of them to work well. I’ve also come across some that don’t. So I can’t give a blanket statement that you should or should not get third-party batteries. Because the reality is that some are better than others.

One thing worth knowing before you buy: the official chargers are matched to specific battery models, and third-party cells and official chargers don’t always get along. Owners have reported aftermarket BLX-1 batteries that the camera itself runs quite happily but that the BCX-1 charger refuses to charge. So if you go aftermarket, it’s usually simplest to buy the battery together with a matching third-party charger, rather than assuming your OM System charger will top it up.

So a third-party battery that has served you well in one body isn’t automatically a safe bet in another, even when the label says the same model number.

I’m not saying don’t buy them. I am saying that if you do decide to buy them, it’s worth doing so knowing that it does come with more risk than buying the Olympus or OM System branded versions.

In nearly all cases, the third-party batteries are listed on retailers’ sites using the original model numbers. So doing a search for those should surface any third-party alternatives that are available.

Battery charts by brand

Cameras: Canon · Contax · Fujifilm · Leica · Mamiya · Minolta · Nikon · OM System and Olympus · Panasonic Lumix · Pentax · Ricoh · Sigma · Sony · Yashica

Action cameras: DJI Osmo · GoPro · Insta360