The Olympus EP-11 Eyecup. For this is a must have for the OMD EM5 especially if you shoot in bright light. Compared to the stock eye-cup that comes with the EM5 (EP-10), you get much better results with this EP-11 Eyecup. It does a significantly better job blocking out outside light. Thank God the EM5 can swap eye-cups unlike the Fuji X-E1. To some the eyecup may look a little weird at first because its so wide and protrudes out from the camera so far, but you get use to the look after a while. I actually started to like the look of the camera with the EP-11 after a few weeks of seeing on my the EM5.
Durability: Mine has been pushed off a few times from sitting in my bag in a bad position or being pulled out of my bag the wrong way, or even placing it in the front seat of my car without attention to the angle. The last time this happened the plastic frame cracked :(. It still works, and holds on to the camera pretty well, but I’m much more careful now. If it cracks even more and does not hold well, I can always switch it with the frame of the EP-10 (the stock eye peice) since the frame is exactly the same. I would just peel the rubber cup off and refit it to the intact frame of the EP-10. Cosmetically it picks up scuffs marks and scratches pretty easily, that’s normal for this type of material I guess. Functionally, it works but defiantly take caution how you store this while on the camera.
Performance: In bright light the EVF on the EM5 can become pretty impaired due to glare and brightness. Compared to the EP-10 (the EM5 stock eye piece) I would say this is where the EP-11 is most effective.
It provides a substantial amount extra coverage in comparison. When I use the EP-11 though I find it hard to get eye entire eye covered so depending on where the light source is coming from, I usually use one side of the eyecup (either left or right) and push that side against my face to block it more then the other. Maybe its just me, but I can get a perfect coverage on both sides the way I did with the round eye-cup on my E3. I think it may be because the horizontal “narrowness” of the eye piece, thanks in part tot he space needed for the accessory port.
Overall, I strongly recommend, there are benefits for both inside and outside shooting. There are not many alternative options out there (I wish there was a round cup version), but you can get some good results with this, you just have to play with it and make it work for you. Improvise :). The results and worth it.