OM SYSTEM Olympus Pen E-PL6 Two Lens Kit + FlashAir Memory Card

I used this camera to take photos on a 10-week trip to SE Asia. I managed to get some 7,000+ photos. I loved the camera, but didn't really care for the touchscreen aspect of it. The touchscreen seemed to have a mind of its own as to turning on -- probably from frequent trips in and out of my backpack -- and I frequently had to turn it off. The menu is learnable and almost logical once you get used to it. I won't add much to the many other reviews, which cover many technical details. But I will say that I was thrilled with the photos I did take, the camera was light and it held up nicely through uncountable trips into and out of my backpack, being exposed to 95+ temperatures for much of the trip, and much being banged around while on the wrist strap I used in lieu of a neck strap. It took much better than expected night photos and even the high ASA photos look good. The rest of my review talks about an oddity with RAW and the JPEG photos. I set the camera to take both RAW and JPEG images of every photo. For reasons discussed below, I ended up favoring the RAW images over the JPEG images, but the quality of the JPEGs was excellent. The downside of RAW images is that they essentially require individual post-processing in software, which is time-consuming, but yields wonderful images. I have a Macbook Air and purchased Affinity Photo software for use alongside my Photoshop Elements 14. I ended up favoring the Affinity software. But I did notice one unexpected thing with my camera for which I have seen no comments about. I discovered that my RAW photos had a much greater field of view than my JPEG photos. The photos in JPEG conformed to the viewfinder screen, but the RAW field of view is much greater. This turned out to be a great advantage insomuch as I took many photos in tight quarters and the RAW view captured much more of what was in front of me. So I took photos with the camera set to save both a JPEG and a RAW file of the same photo. To illustrate, I have attached two photos to this review. One photo is a JPEG made from the RAW file, showing a temple in Bagan, Myanmar with the total view captured by the RAW file (with RAW editing done to straighten and some small amount of cropping). The second photo is the untouched JPEG photos file. You can see the tremendous difference in field of view. Now, I shot the photo from the seat of my scooter as I was arriving at the temple, and I was guessing as to how much of the scene would actually be caught in the RAW format since the RAW view is not in the view given by the camera screen -- by this time I was not expecting to use the JPEG files for anything useful and decided to worry about fine adjustments later. Shocking difference. I wonder if anyone else has had this experience or it is unique to my camera? Now I will say this. I prefer the wider field with RAW even though I had to do a lot of post-processing that isn't necessary with a JPEG file. But since the RAW field is not shown in the view screen, one has to do some guessing.

I have the EPL-1 and wanted to upgrade to the EPL-6 for the new 3-axis stabilization sytem and 16MP sensor. However, this camera only has a 2 axis stabilization system, similar to the EPL1 (The amazon description says 3-axis ! (3/11/2016). See below: 2 axis stabilization from Olympus EPL-6 website([...]). Is Olympus aware of the problem and trying to disguise it with the "*3" (this is just asterix, not 3 axis btw): "IMAGE STABILIZATION SYSTEM Type Built-in (Imager shift image stabilizer*3) *3: yaw/pitch" Real 3 axis stabilization from Olympus EPL-7 website([...] "IMAGE STABILIZATION SYSTEM TypeBuilt-in (Image sensor shift type for movie & still, 3-axis* image stabilization) *yaw/pitch/roll" The dynamic range and sensitivity of the EPL6 sensor seems to be better than the EPL1's . However, the image quality when zooming 100% seems to be slightly worse. The EPL-1 picture is very crisp in comparison. Maybe I had a defective camera... I liked the EPL-1 and the EPL6 should be better. I hope that the "*3" in Olympus website is just an innocent but confusing note, and not an attemp to pass a 2-axis camera as a 3 -axis one.

This is a great starter camera for anyone looking to move away from using just their point and shoot or phone camera, or if you want something lighter and more portable than a traditional DSLR. The Olympus makes a great starter product and with two lenses and the FlashAir card it is a great deal for under $400. The camera was very easy to use in auto mode and it has a ton of features for advanced users. The only challenge is the FlashAir card isn't super intuitive, but it works!

(Beginner user, week 1) Awesome experience with the Olympus PEN E-PL6, so far. It's relatively cheap and takes very nice pictures. The camera itself is cute, compact, and a joy to carry around. It's not very user-friendly though - controls drive me a little crazy but I suppose it'll grow on me.

Read this wrong. Did not expected to another camera. Thanks for the Xmas gift for giving to a family member. Costly

Very Good quality images, even with the "kit" lenses. movable screen a good feature. menu is more complex than it should be.

I don't have much experience with the camera but I like it very much. I have a Canon Rebel XT (350D) that it's about 12 years old and was looking for a replacement. I choose a Micro Four Thirds because of the size and the Olympus E-PL6 two lens kit for the price. The thing I like the most is the thing I hate the most. It's size. It's great for carrying around, the camera with the 14-42 in one pocket and the 40-150 in a chest pocket. Some day I'll probably get a pancake lens. The lenses are mostly plastic and very light. I found myself a couple of times checking my pocket to make sure the 14-42 was still there. When taking pictures with the camera soon I'm missing little more grip. AND better controls. There are a lot of adjustments but the menus aren't very user friendly. It takes time to learn and get used to them. A few days ago there was in Buenos Aires a military parade for the 200 years of Argentina's Independence. I found a lot of failed pictures because I accidentally changed exposure compensation or focus point. When I realized that I turn off the touch screen and the wheel in the back. I was taking pictures with the arm extended to the air and my 4yo son on my shoulders, so I can't fully blame the camera, but, at least until I get used to it, I have to adjust my grip after a few shots. The tele lens falls a little short. On the Canon I have a Sigma 70-300 and with the Olympus I miss the extra zoom. The Sigma is equivalent to 420 mm and the Olympus it`s "only" 300mm. What I can't find at a reasonable price is a Macro Lens (not a screw in glass). The external flash (included) is a little anoying, but not a big deal, it works nice and you can choose betwen several power settings. I also bought a Yongnuo YN560 III external flash. Compared to the camera is huge!!! This is my first external flash and just starting to learn how to use it. I took only a few test shots, all manual, a few in the hotshoe, but mostly as a slave. I love it, and I'm thinking on get a another one and a YN-560 TX transmiter (to control both flashes wirelessly). Another interesting thing is the possibility of getting adaptor for old manual lenses. I bought a Fotga Leica R to M4/3 to use a Leitz Wetzlar Summicron-R 1:2 50mm lens. I used the lens at home for a few test and it's interesting. Because of the crop factor the lens is like a 100mm in the leica, with an aperture of 2! Can`t wait to try it outside. I used it only with the aperture in 2 and it's not easy to focus. There is an focus aid that zooms on a small part of the image to help adjusting the zoom, but at 2 it's a very "shallow" focus. But for smaller apertures I use the kit lens. Saludos!

Great camera for the money. I'm still learning, but the EPL6 has filled my need for high quality images for web use nicely. The quality seems to be good. Easy to use.