Value of EPL5 and EPL6

Been very happy with my EPL1.  Great value.  Thinking I would like the 16 MP sensor, but budget is limited.  I was thinking of one of the above. Olympus has so many models now. How do the above rate as improvements in this line.  Thanks.

I still have a working EPL1. I usually take it out at least once a year for a day of shooting. It's a fine camera. I bought mine in 2010 and it actually cost more than twice the price of the refurbished EPL5 that replaced it in 2014.

The EPL5, which I also own, has better handling. The tilt screen really helps when the sun might reflect off the EPL1. You can shoot low without getting down on your knees. It also has touch screen, touch to fire the shutter. A big upgrade is the dial, which makes using the SCP practical.

The 16MP sensor is just better for extremely poor lighting conditions.

The menu is pretty similar. You should be able to pick up an EPL5 or EPL5 and use it. They also use the same battery as the EPL1. The newer cameras have a metal body too, and are smaller. You do lose the built in flash, and you might lose the accessory flash too. I've misplaced two of those flashes.

My recommendation is to upgrade if you can still find either of the EPL5 or EPL6 for sale.

My advice is to buy a used or refurb E-M10 unless you are determined to stick with the pen style of body. I bought the EPL-6 at blow out price as a second body to my E-M10 and returned it. The ergonomics were terrible, it only has one control wheel, lacks the 3 axis IBIS, has lower resolution LCD and does not have the zero second anti-shock setting. The E-M10 is just a better and more advanced camera. Prices are cheap now that the model II has come out.

I've not owned an E-PL5 or 6, but do own a PL7 and have owned an E-M10 which can be purchased for about the same price as the earlier PL 5/6 versions, and have the newer firmware, 3 axis IBIS, and 0 sec anti shock.

I did sell the E-M10 to upgrade to the E-M 5 II, but keep the PL 7 as my street/festival camera...wonderful little gem.

gary0319 wrote:

I've not owned an E-PL5 or 6, but do own a PL7 and have owned an E-M10 which can be purchased for about the same price as the earlier PL 5/6 versions, and have the newer firmware, 3 axis IBIS, and 0 sec anti shock.

I did sell the E-M10 to upgrade to the E-M 5 II, but keep the PL 7 as my street/festival camera...wonderful little gem.

Isn't the E-M10 $449 or $499? About the same price as the E-PL7. The E-PL6 is $299.

I have an epl6 that I like very much.  One thing to note though, it is very easy to lose the cover for the battery and sd card spot on the bottom of the camera.  I ordered a couple of extras to have on hand.  You don't want to get dirt into the sd card area on the bottom of the camera.

I like the layout of the pl6.  With the articulated lcd I can keep the flash on the camera at all times and not have the worry of losing it.

I bought the one lens version of the camera for 299,00.  I would recommend buying the 399.00 version with two lenses.  I also have a pl2 with two lenses so I didn't need the upgrade.

I need a camera that will stop movement better as I have many grandchildren and great grandchildren.  I have been thinking about getting the gx8.  That should remove the blur that I get with many images of the grandchildren.

Regards,

HGreblo

Gesture wrote:

Thanks for responses. I'll have to check Olympus store and see if refurbs are offered on any models.

If you're going to Olympus's Refurb store and you're not in a hurry, wait for them to bring out the 20% off sale that they have every so often - the E-M10 goes for $349 normally, the 20% coupon would bring it down to $270.

Hi

I also agree that you should wait for the right deal on a EM10. It is a great camera, and has some truly useful features over the epl5/6.

Hgreblo1 wrote:
I need a camera that will stop movement better as I have many grandchildren and great grandchildren. I have been thinking about getting the gx8. That should remove the blur that I get with many images of the grandchildren.

Nope. GX8 is not going to do any better than the EPL6 with the same lens.  To remove fast-moving-grandchildren blur, there are only two solutions.

The first is to set a higher shutter speed, get a lens with the fastest aperture you can afford,  learn how to focus it properly, and perhaps add a bounce flash,

The second is to have them like you enough that they will pause for a proper portrait.

Hi,

I took a look at your gearlist but you only list your cameras, so I don't know what lenses you own. But I agree that a faster lens is a better buy for less blurred photos.
I would recommend the olympus f/1.8 lenses. You could start with a 45mm f/1.8, a great portrait lens that can usually be found at a reasonable price. But be aware of the ever present danger of GAS! If you like the fast prime more will somehow appear in your camera bag

Hi,

Thanks for the reply, I only have 2kit lenses withy the camera, but I have some legacy glass that I use with manual focus.   I have a super takamer 50 mm 1.4, and a 135 mm 3 something.

Regards,

HGreblo

Hgreblo1 wrote:

I have an epl6 that I like very much. One thing to note though, it is very easy to lose the cover for the battery and sd card spot on the bottom of the camera. I ordered a couple of extras to have on hand. You don't want to get dirt into the sd card area on the bottom of the camera.

I like the layout of the pl6. With the articulated lcd I can keep the flash on the camera at all times and not have the worry of losing it.

I bought the one lens version of the camera for 299,00. I would recommend buying the 399.00 version with two lenses. I also have a pl2 with two lenses so I didn't need the upgrade.

I need a camera that will stop movement better as I have many grandchildren and great grandchildren. I have been thinking about getting the gx8. That should remove the blur that I get with many images of the grandchildren.

Regards,

HGreblo

Depends on what the blur is from. If the blur is from kids being out of focus (running around so that the AF has trouble locking onto them before they move again), then yes, a Panasonic with DFD (G7, GX8, GH4) would help.

However, if your blur is from having to use too slow a shutter speed (say, slower than 1/60, maybe slower than 1/80, depending on how hyper those kids are), then a prime lens with an aperture of 1.4-1.8 would do better than your kit lenses. They'd also reduce your need to use the flash.

As a point of comparison, if you're currently using your kit lens at 25mm, f/4.2, ISO1600, and 1/30 sec, the Olympus 25mm f/1.8 lens would allow you to shoot with the same ISO setting, but at about 1/160 sec shutter speed.

Thank you aliasfox for the valuable information re:  blur

HGreblo

pterosonus wrote:

My advice is to buy a used or refurb E-M10 unless you are determined to stick with the pen style of body. I bought the EPL-6 at blow out price as a second body to my E-M10 and returned it. The ergonomics were terrible, it only has one control wheel, lacks the 3 axis IBIS, has lower resolution LCD and does not have the zero second anti-shock setting. The E-M10 is just a better and more advanced camera. Prices are cheap now that the model II has come out.

I had a E-PM2 which shares the same sensor, 2-axis IBIS, and control layout as the E-PL6 but is a lesser camera (no movable LCD, no mode dial, smaller and cramped) and the camera took a lot of good pictures: a lot better than a E-PL1 (which I had at one point), much sharper, more dynamic range, much higher usable ISO. I think you will notice it as a great improvement (though there are those who claim they like the colours on the old 12 mp sensor better). Ok, sometimes shutter shock happened with the E-PM2 - but very infrequently.

Sure if you have the extra cash and like the OMD style, the E-M10 is clearly the better camera. I would say it depends on how much you can pay or want to pay. For example

$399 for the E-PL6 with the twin lens kit! Sell the lenses on e-bay and the camera is like $150 (figuring $100 for the 40-150 and $50 for the 14-42).

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1188622-REG/olympus_v205051bu040_pen_e_pl6_mirrorless_micro.html

$499 for the E-M10 with the 14-42. So you are looking at a $450 camera

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1026114-REG/olympus_v207021su000_om_d_e_m10_mirrorless_micro.html

Still the E-M10 is clearly better deal than the E-PL7 which comes in at the same the same $499

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?Ntt=e-pl7&N=0&InitialSearch=yes&sts=ma&Top+Nav-Search=

alexisgreat wrote:

gary0319 wrote:

I've not owned an E-PL5 or 6, but do own a PL7 and have owned an E-M10 which can be purchased for about the same price as the earlier PL 5/6 versions, and have the newer firmware, 3 axis IBIS, and 0 sec anti shock.

I did sell the E-M10 to upgrade to the E-M 5 II, but keep the PL 7 as my street/festival camera...wonderful little gem.

Isn't the E-M10 $449 or $499? About the same price as the E-PL7. The E-PL6 is $299.

Since budget was an issue, I checked the Olympus refurbished site and both  bodies were about $359. Prices will vary there, though.

Hi baxters,

Thanks for the information on blurring and the gx8.

HGreblo