E-PL6 kit for $299 - the best mFT entry level deal?

sderdiarian wrote:

Knowing my friend likes to travel, I went to the "which camera will he appreciate the most given his limited knowledge (i.e., which won't bite me later ) rule. After checking into where things currently stand, my shortlist initially included:

• Panasonic ZS50 travel zoom: $347, EVF and 3" LCD, 12MP sensor for less noise, 24-720mm/OIS lens, video features, flash, 8 oz.; downsides, slow f3.3-6.4 lens and small 1/2.3" sensor (same as some smartphones). Likely the safest choice, though.

I had to recommend a "pocketable" compact with viewfinder, reasonable manual controls and decent zoom a few months ago and ended up recommending the ZS50/TZ70. Compared to the previous model (ZS40/TZ60), the viewfinder was substantially better - a similar progression to that seen with Panasonic's MFT models, I guess - and the controls are pretty usable given the audience.

Being an E-M5 user myself, I had looked at the Olympus Stylus 1 as an alternative, but it's a bigger camera. And the 10x zoom requirement makes cameras with larger sensors larger still, of course, as well as quite a bit more expensive (thinking of the Sony DSC-RX10 product line).

But I guess that if "zoom" isn't a priority, the GM1 or one of the E-PL series could be pretty attractive. Where I live (and probably everywhere else), the E-PL7 seems to be on sale bundled with the pancake zoom, albeit not at $299 or equivalent.