E-PL6 a good choice?

Roger Wiseman wrote:

I am looking for a second body to back up my EM10. I want to replace my E-P1 with a newer generation Pen. Budget is an issue. Now that the E-PL6 is available in the US, I see a very good price of $299 with the 14-42 kit lens at several stores, including Olympus itself.

I would sell the lens, since I have better alternatives in my kit, leaving me with a net price of $240 or $250. Is this a good idea? What alternatives are there that would be better?

The E-PL6 is a perfectly nice camera, but be aware that it is of the previous generation to the E-M10; it is basically an E-PL5 with a new paint job and some nice little firmware tweaks (99-frame interval timer, the "short release lag" option, 2-direction level gauge display option, and compatibility with the VF-4 EVF's eye sensor operation [albeit a little bit slow]).  Unfortunately, the US Olympus site claims it has 3-axis IBIS (like the E-M10) but it doesn't - it is 2-axis, just like the E-PL5 - I know this for sure since I have an E-PL6.  Interestingly, when you look at the hidden codes of the E-PL6, it actually has the same internal model number as the E-PL5.  Because of its generation, it doesn't have the 0-second Anti Shock option, which I find very useful.

Though price might be a barrier, I'd say that the E-PL7 would be an interesting possibility, since its IBIS and internal features are the same as the E-M10 (obviously it has no EVF, built-in flash or second control dial though).