My Thoughts on Olympus PEN E-PL6 (Updated with Sample Pictures)

Hello people, today I want to share my thoughts of my lovely little Olympus E-PL6. I bought the E-PL6 a few months ago as a secondary body for my GX7 and the main function of the camera is to have a secondary lens attached at all times to cover the blind spots of the other lens that's being attached to the GX7.

For example, if I have a 12-35mm on the GX7, I would want to have either a 7-14mm on my E-PL or a 75mm f1.8 depending on what I need. If I have the 17mm on the GX7, I want the E-PL6 to wield the 45mm f1.8. If I have a 14-140mm on the GX7, I would want to have either a 7-14mm or the 100-300mm on the E-PL6. You get the idea.

This is my E-PL6 with all of the lens that I usually attach to it.

Let's start with the basic spec

It is small, basically it is only 10cm wide, 6cm high, and 3cm thick. There's not a whole lot of buttons, it doesn't even come with a dedicated ISO and white balance buttons. There is a rotating dial that you can use to change aperture or shutter speed depending on the mode which then can also be used to adjust exposure compensation. The camera has a detachable extension grip that improves the handling a little bit which I always install on the camera. The shutter button feels a bit loose and you have to really concentrate to feel the half shutter position. However, to make things better, you can enable the Super Control Panel from the menu and you can quick access the settings that you need to change without going to the menu.

The E-PL6 with the 75mm f1.8 to cover mid telephoto portrait.

The screen is a bit old-res and outdated for a 2014 camera. It can be tilted 180 degree upward and 45 degree downward, but it can't be flipped. But it is enough for me to chimp on a picture to check for focus and motion blur.

Image quality wise, it has the same sensor as the one in OM-D E-M5, so basically you have the same top notch MFT image quality from the flagship camera. It is sharp and it offers plenty of dynamic range, but it isn't as clean as my GX7 on high ISOs. It has the in body stabilizer like every other Olympus MFTs but it's a bit crippled; I think it only improves your shutter speed for a stop or two stops, so it's not really like the one in the flagship OM-Ds.

The E-PL6 with the Panny 14-42mm II as a general purpose lens

Initially, not that impressive except for the image quality

The E-PL6 itself wasn't intended to be my main camera and I don't need it to have a spectacular level of performance. I didn't have the intention to bring it out on its own when I want to photograph something. For that, I thought I would always bring the GX7 as I trusted it to be the camera that can handle itself nicely.....until few months of using both the cameras together.

Surprisingly, the E-PL6 stood up its ground and it changed my mind

Yes, it doesn't offer the best control for manual settings, it doesn't offer the fastest autofocus(it hunts the focus badly at low light), it doesn't give the cleanest high ISO performance. Heck, even the handling is a bit too fiddly for my hands because it lacks the grip of bigger camera. But after a few times carrying it on a few casual trips and using it by itself without the GX7, it somehow managed to impress me!

The E-PL6 with 17mm f2.8 for ultimate compactness.

First, the small size makes it easier for me to carry it all day as it is smaller than my GX7. For non serious stuffs, I usually attach the 17mm f2.8 pancake to the E-PL6 and slip it to my cargo pocket on my short pants. At this point, I enabled the "Super Control Panel", set the Fn button to ISO button, put the camera on aperture priority, and shoot away. I can now bring this camera anywhere with me and extract good quality images when I need it to.

The camera bonds very well with normal sized or pancake sized prime lenses but it's no slouch when paired with bigger zooms too. The camera wields the 7-14mm wide angle lens very well and it is about the perfect match in terms of size and ease of handling. Even the mighty 75mm f1.8 bonds really well with E-PL6! There are times when I am crazy enough to put the 100-300mm and it can still be handled; but be very careful as now the lens gets heavy, you have to pay attention and hold the lens too with your left hand, otherwise you can hurt your right hand from the unbalanced weight distribution.

With 45mm f1.8 for general portrait.

I have survived many days without the GX7 and using the E-PL6 as my main camera, even for serious photograph needs. The layout of the camera forces you to think simple and be straight forward. It's limiting and frustrating sometimes, but it makes you approach photography with a sense of minimalism.

With 25mm f1.8 for tight walk-around lens.

There was one time when my only kit consisted of only an E-PL6 as my main camera, a 17mm f1.8 and a 45mm f1.8; it was during a travel which means I couldn't access my other gears. I left my GX7 at home, and carry no other lens. Heck, I didn't even carry an extra battery nor an extra SD card for the E-PL6! But to my surprise, it made me think and concentrate before I shoot and I pick my shots carefully. I survived and I was quite happy with the quality of the photos that the E-PL6 spits out to my computer. A healthy restriction can make you experience photography in a better way, I guess.

And that brings us to the conclusion

The E-PL6 is a good camera and it's a bit underrated by the other big guns in MFT world. It handles almost anything quite nicely and you can definitely use it as a main camera when you need it. After a few months using it, I am very confident that the E-PL6 will continue to deliver great results in any circumstance that demands specific photography needs from it. Sure, there are many flaws as I explained above and those flaws may cause you to miss a shot, but for what it can do and for the price, the E-PL6 fits my needs and it is the best bang for the buck camera ever!

With 17mm f1.8 for a wide walk-around lens

As of now, the price of E-PL6 slowly drops as the E-PL7 is already present in the market. Many people will ask if they should buy/upgrade to the E-PL7. My answers: if you already have an E-PL5 or an E-PL6 then don't buy E-PL7. If you own anything older than E-PL5 or if you are looking for a new small camera with interchangeable lens, then you should consider E-PL 5 or E-PL6 if you want cheaper price, but consider E-PL7 if you need the front wheel for better manual control.

With Panny 7-14mm to cover ultra wide shots.

For me personally, I will keep the E-PL6 for a long time until there comes the time when I need to upgrade it to a significantly more enhanced camera with much better IQ.

That's it for now, folks. I hope you enjoyed this post, cheers and God bless you :)

Here's some sample images taken using the Olympus E-PL6:

The E-PL6 wields the Panasonic 7-14mm with no problem. 

The 7-14mm does make it a bit too front heavy for the E-PL6 but not too much.

Again with the Panasonic 7-14mm.

Also with the 7-14mm

This was using Olympus 45mm f1.8

The 45mm f1.8 is the best matching lens for the E-PL6.

With the 7-14mm again.

Taken with Olympus 17mm f1.8. Also one of the best matching lens for E-PL6.

7-14mm again.

7-14mm again.

With the 75mm f1.8.

I think this was 25mm f1.8 if I'm not mistaken.

45mm and E-PL6 is the best!

Again 45mm.

Again 7-14mm

Again 45mm.

The Perfect Camera??

GX7 and E-PL6

I am really happy with my current camera gear with all the lenses and accessories; to me all of them combined enables me to shoot almost anything anytime anywhere. If I want to shoot low light and be invisible, I will pick my E-PL6 with an Oly 17mm f1.8 or 25mm f1.8. Or maybe I want to shoot high quality portrait of some people in an important event, I will use my GX7 with an Oly 45mm f1.8 and pickup the Oly FL600R flash as well.

Or maybe I'm on a holiday and I want to take tons of different style of pictures? I will bring my GX7 with the Pan 14-140mm. Wildlife and ultra long range photo? GX7 and 100-300mm. Interior and wide field architectural? E-PL6 and 7-14mm. Be as small as possible but still take great picture? E-PL6 and the 17mm f2.8.

In fact, I can carry them all in just one small messenger bag and still weight less than 3kg and be ready for anything with the E-PL6 wielding one of the utility lenses such as the 100-300mm or 7-14mm to cover the blind spot of the 14-140 on the GX7 on the daytime or the 45mm or 25mm at night to complement the 17mm on GX7 in low light.

Imaginary Camera

However, there is always some time when I get a little bit more imaginative with my thinking and I've been wondering if there's such a super camera that can do more than what both my GX7 and E-PL6 combined can do.

So I started the process of writing down what I like from my current cameras and what is still missing on them that could be added. If any company makes this, I will surely be a happy geek.

E-PL6 with Olympus 45mm f1.8, perfect for quick portrait and long range street photo.

So here it goes...

First, it has to be in the advanced compact rangefinder style, like a GX7: 

- built in EVF that doesn't add bulk like on the GX7,
- lots of manual controls with preferably dual assignable control dials and a separate dedicated ISO dial wheel with 1 stop increments,
- standard hotshoe,
- built in bounce-able pop-up flash like in the GX7,
- assignable custom program modes,
- swiveling screen like the GH4(not just tilt and flip, it's difficult to do video with it),
- generous grip with front-positioned shutter button access preferably similar to E-M1
- it must not be bigger than the GX7.
- and it must be able to accept external vertical grip option if I want to have extra battery or extra ergonomics.

My GX7 with 100-300mm lens, perfect for wildlife and ultra telephoto needs.

Then, the technology must also be good: 

- 16MP Micro Four Thirds sensor will be enough but with removed optical low pass and AA filter so I can get more sharpness and detail,
- wifi features as good as the GX7
- super control panel like in the E-PL6
- improved ISO performance,
- improved dynamic range,
- video quality as good as the GX7 (I don't mind the absence of mic and headphone input, I always do external audio anyway),
- I don't need 4K, 1920x1080 is good enough for me but the video resolution down-sampling process must be at least as good as my GX7,
- 5 axis in body stabilizer like E-M1,
- some degree of weather sealing,
- good tracking auto focus,
- 10fps mechanical shutter burst with at least 20 shot buffer RAW,
- metering and white balance as good as my E-PL6,
- color processing as good as my E-PL6,
- bold focus peaking colors and indicators,
- in camera RAW editing with lots of parameters to edit the image and save it to JPEG,
- and also built in white balance compensation.

Anyway

This camera doesn't exist yet, with the closest one being the GX7. If the GX7 have a better grip with front-located shutter button, a swiveling screen, an Olympus-like color, an Olympus-like white balance accuracy, in camera RAW editing/processing, 5 axis in body stabilizer even during video, a dedicated ISO wheel, and weather sealing, then it will become my perfect camera. I actually won't mind if it's not a Panasonic or Olympus; any brand will do as long as it is still compatible with all my lenses.

This is just a sort of imaginary perfect camera, it doesn't exist.....yet. Nevertheless, I am happy with my current setup of GX7 and E-PL6 and I am sensing that they will be used for quite a long time. That's all for this post, I hope you enjoy this post. Don't forget to follow me at plus.google.com/+GaryWiryawan. Cheers and God bless :)

Update: The newly announced Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II is getting closer to my idea of the perfect camera. We'll see how it turns out.

More Update: The newly announced Panasonic GX8 answers almost all of my requirements, better than the E-M5 Mark II for sure!

Why Micro Four Thirds?!?!?

Why are you switching to Micro Four Thirds?? 

"Are you out of your mind?? That camera is so small, people won't take you seriously!! Don't you know that the sensor is smaller than APS-C?? I want you to take a picture of me with the big Canon instead, put that small camera down and start being serious!! Don't you know your small sensor has more noise compared to my Nikon even in low ISO?? You're gonna be left behind after the new 7D Mark II and D810 get released!!"

Those are what photography people said to us mirrorless shooters, especially Micro Four Thirds (MFT) shooters like me.

March 2013, everyone praise and worship Canon and Nikon as the legends of DSLR photography with cameras like 5D Mark II, D800, 7D or D7100. I was in a need to buy a camera that time and I didn't even understand a thing about photography; all I need that time is just a "nice, sturdy, semi-pro camera". Naturally, I want a camera with large megapixels and excellent image quality but without breaking the bank. I asked experienced photographers and they always suggest either a Canon or a Nikon DSLR. I have no clue at all why but those people are kind of respected in the world of photography so I naturally bought a Canon DSLR.

650D, EOS M, Tamron 18-270, Tokina 12-24, 22mm pancake and 35mm f2.0

When I held my 650D, I felt like I am a "real" photographer with a gigantic camera that makes loud shutter sound! Everyone then respected me as a photographer when I carry that camera and I gained the confidence of being a semi-pro. Good so far! I then started buying lenses, learned to shoot RAW, learned this and that, doing this and that, to the point where I think I am comfortable with my photography skill. From that day, I kept saying to myself: "One day I'm gonna upgrade to 5D Mark III and people will respect me even more!"

Fast forward few months ago, I got very frustrated carrying my cameras and lenses with me on trips. Bringing a single 650D with two lenses added so much weight to my carry on luggage. Not only that, I started noticing the pictures from the Canons, while they are sharp and contrasty, I noticed that the dynamic range is very low; I kept getting blown sky on landscape pictures! I tried underexposing the camera, I even tried turning on the Highlight Priority on both Canons, they worked sometimes but still the rate of blown highlight didn't get reduced significantly. Furthermore, I also felt that the controls on both cameras are somewhat being deliberately "handicapped"; I discovered a third party firmware called MagicLantern that can make my cameras turn into a high bitrate videography machines with added photography functions such as electronic shutter, time lapse shooting, zebra, focus peaking, etc; all the features that are only available in a 5D Mark III.

If it is possible, why didn't Canon include it in the camera on the first place!?!? Are they trying to push me to buy their higher end stuff by making the functionally capable low end camera into a less capable camera than what it really is?!? I simply said "F*ck you, Canon!", gave up my dream of owning a 5D Mark III and then proceed by selling all of my Canon and Tamron for Canon gear except the 650D(and I still have it until today as a memento) and buy a full MFT kit.

Onto the World of Micro Four Thirds

Well, MFT isn't a perfect camera system, just like Canon; but at least it's the one that suits me best right now. I jumped to MFT because:

1. The controls on the system is so much better than Canon or Nikon low end APS-C for the same price range; an Olympus E-PL7 priced around $499.00 has a dedicated control dial that you can use to adjust aperture or shutter; an EOS M of the same price during its launch doesn't have a dedicated control wheel, it simply uses a rotating dial pad that's being shared to navigate the menu.

2. The dynamic range is at least better than the Canon APS-C system (Nikon still enjoy better if not the same dynamic range due to the Sony sensors in Nikon bodies). This is a very important thing for me since I don't want my shots to have dull blown skies.

3. The weight of carrying an entire system is so much less on MFT when compared to carrying my Canon system with the same amount of lenses. This is also very important since I travel a lot.

4. The MFT bodies are very inconspicuous; they are the most ideal street photography tool. I can just put a prime on my Olympus and start shooting without people looking at me like I'm a scary pervert or something. When I did that with my Canon, everyone notices me and they don't act naturally while I'm trying to frame someone on my street photo.

5. Super advanced performance on MFT bodies as well as lenses. My GX7 focuses in less than a tenth of a second in good light condition with its kit lens; my E-PL6 with its kit lens focuses at least two tenth of a second in good light. My 650D with its 18-55 focuses slower than the Olympus even in good light although not by much; don't even mention the EOS M, it focuses almost a full second in good light even after firmware update with native lens. But my $499 E-PL6 which is $200 cheaper than my 650D can shoot 8fps, while my 650D can only do 4 to 5fps at the most. All of my MFT cameras has focus peaking as well, which I don't have on my 650D and EOS M without MagicLantern hack but is available only on 5D Mark III.

My GX7 with Olympus FL600R flash

6. Better connectivity to my devices. On my GX7, I can wirelessly transfer files to my Android phone easily as well as controling the camera settings from my Android phone. Even on high end Canon or Nikon bodies with Wi-fi, all you can do is just transfer pictures. It opened up so many possibilities of picture taking and sharing process.

I can go on and go on about why MFT is better than Canon or Nikon APS-C. But if there are some things where Canon APS-C does better than my MFT system is in the tracking auto focus and slightly lower noise in high ISO. Nevertheless, MFT isn't performing better when compared to Sony Alpha series and Fuji X series but thankfully MFT has more collection of lenses when compared to those system. I love prime lenses and MFT prime lens selection is the best for mirrorless camera!! The only lens lacking for MFT is only long telephoto with wider aperture such as 35mm equivalent of 400mm f2.8 or 600mm f/4.

On the other hand, the smaller sensor on MFT naturally gives more noise even in low ISO ratings but it is still acceptable to me and it's easy to remove during post processing up to ISO 3200. It also creates more depth of field which makes it difficult for me to get blurred background ("Bokeh"), but with the abundant choice of different prime lenses, I can just switch lens and blur the background nicely. Even on my Canon with 17-50 f2.8 I always shoot above f5.6 because 2.8 on that lens doesn't blur the background much and I ended up using 50mm f1.8 for some crazy background blur picture which I do only sometimes.

So yes MFT is a system with a compromise, but those compromises are on the right places and thus it suits me better than Canon APS-C. The system is also not being handicapped, the bodies are as capable as they can be, rather than having some of the potential features removed to push you to buy the high end stuffs which I think is a very bad way of doing business.

So there you have it, my full reason on why I dumped my APS-C Canon and jump into the MFT. I hope you enjoy this post. Please take my words with consideration, I simply wrote this post based on my subjective experience hence your experience might differ and APS-C Canon or Nikon might still going to be an option for you. Cheers and God bless.

Don't forget to follow my Google+: plus.google.com/+GaryWiryawan

My Current Photography Gear

Hello people,

To get you started, I am going to tell you a little bit more about my photography gear. I previously mentioned that I started my photography on a Canon EOS 650D, well that camera is still here today but I no longer use it and it is now being stored securely and will be kept as a memento.

When I started with my 650D, I have the kit 18-55mm II lens that comes together with it. I then started to grow more photographically and it demanded more lenses with different reach and functions. I then bought a Tamron 70-300mm non VC which I used extensively to shoot the Moon as well as some long range landscape. I then also bought a Canon EF 50mm f1.8 mighty plastic, a Canon EF 35mm f2.0 non IS non USM, a Tokina 12-24mm f4, and I finally ended my lens buying journey with Tamron 17-50mm f2.8 non VC as well as a Tamron 18-270mm VC. I later upgraded my 70-300mm non VC with a Tamron 70-300mm VC which is noticeably much sharper with better color contrast.

I spent a full 4 months forcing myself to only use the 35mm f2.0 as my main lens to get acquainted with "50mm full frame focal length" and that lens served me well. I then spent a full 4 months on the 17-50mm as my main lens, and then finally I spent 2 months using the 18-270mm as my main lens.

Then I bought Canon EOS M and it became my second body that takes all of my 650D lenses. Soon it became my preferred camera that I take everywhere with its little pancake 22mm f2.0. And then I would bring the EOS M on vacation trips with the 17-50mm attached on it and the 18-270mm on the 650D. It became my main setup....until August 2014!

I discovered that while the pictures from both Canon are quite sharp(they share the same imaging sensor), the controls that are on both of my Canons are a bit limited and I feel like it could have been more flexible, especially when I am looking to the competitors from the"new age" such as Sony NEX or Fuji XE. I then discovered Micro Four Thirds and decided to take a leap of faith, sell all my Canon gear except my 650D with its kit lens and a Tamron 70-300mm VC, and jump into a new system.....and I wasn't disappointed!! Now I shoot exclusively on Micro Four Thirds:

Here is my current Micro Four Thirds full kit:

I started with a Panasonic Lumix GX7 with the 14-42mm II kit lens and then I slowly added lenses and a secondary body, an Olympus E-PL6. In that picture, you can see all my lenses from left to right: Panasonic 7-14mm f4, Panasonic 14-42mm II, Panasonic 100-300mm f4-5.6, Panasonic 14-140mm f3.5-5.6 attached on the GX7, an Olympus 45mm f1.8 attached on the E-PL6, Olympus 25mm f1.8, Olympus pancake 17mm f2.8 and Olympus 17mm f1.8.

The flashgun on the GX7 is an Olympus FL600R. It's quite amazing but it added so much weight to the system so I only use it on important documentation events, some video work, and some set-up studio-style shot(which I normally don't do), I will not bring it on my day-to-day shooting or during travel.

The whole kit covers everything that I need in terms of focal length and aperture range. The only thing that I missed in that picture is a fast zoom lens; I am planning on adding a 12-35mm f2.8 sometime next year when I have the budget.

So that's my full photography kit. I hope you enjoy this post, and if you do, please don't forget to follow me on my Google+: plus.google.com/+GaryWiryawan

Cheers and God bless