Of course not. The operative word is "optional." Many don't care to add anything, some like me want a little more to hang onto when hauling the camera around in one hand. Plus, you most likely are going to add a mounting plate for your tripod head anyway. Might as well kill two birds with one stone. It only adds a couple of ounces to the weight and is almost unnoticeable in bulk except the added finger grip, which now looks a lot like a smaller OMD-EM1.