Olympus has released for sale the Pen Lite E-PL6 with two lenses, including the electronic pancake 14-42mm zoom lens. The other lens is the 40-150mm zoom. Olympus did not offer a suggested retail price for the kit, which is available in either black or white. White bodies will have chrome lenses, while black bodies get black-barreled optics.
It went on sale May 23, 2014. It looks to be offered only in Japan, although it is available as an import by Amazon for US$739.
The "pancake" refers to only when the lens is collapsed. Extended, it's a bit more compact than the standard 14-42mm kit lens. Changing focal lengths is handled electronically - not manually. The pancake zoom has eight elements in seven groups, including three aspherical elements and one ED element, plus one S-HR lens. Aperture range is from 3.5-22. There are five aperture blades.
Highlights of the Pen Lite E-PL6:
- 16MP sensor
- A ISO LOW (equivalent to 100)
- Can accept the 2.36 million dots, high-powered 1.48x Electronic Viewfinder VF-4
- 3.0-inch LCD monitor that swivels 170 degrees for self-portraits
- Touch-control LCD allows you to focus and take the photo by touching the screen
- 35-area multiple autofocus
- New functions include interval shooting and time-lapse movie
- An e-Portrait mode optimizes skin tones
- 12 Art Filters