New and in need of advice - Olympus Pen EPL6

[Col779Photo]

Hi, my name is Colin and I have just joined the form in need of some help and advise please.

I have have been shooting APSC for quite a few years and recently purchased a second hand Olympus Pen E-PL6 from japan along with the 14-42 2R and 40-150mm R ED MSC lenses with the aim of doing more street photography. I know very little about Micro four thirds so on a learning curve here the camera has 2.5k shutter count and is like new and describe as in perfect working order by the seller, however after receiving it I quickly found out the IBIS is faulty ! flashing red S-IS1.

So my first question is has anyone encountered this and had it repaired, if so any recommendations outside of sending it to Olympus as I suspect it will cost more than I paid for the camera !

Secondly and I'm still diving into the menus, have set up the super control panel and watching you tube videos lol, the camera seems to be over exposing quite a bit so any tips would be appreciated. At the moment I'm using aperture priority with an ISO range set from 200 to 12800, image does not seem to get brighter or darker on the view screen when applying exposure compensation?

Also as the IBIS is not working I have rightly or wrongly activated the Anti shock setting, camera is noisy at start up which I guess is related to the faulty IBIS?

Ver sharp imagines though, just trying to get the colour balance right.

Oh also forgot to say the screen has a yellow tint on the far right, a bit like faint screen burn - hope I have not bough a complete dud!

look forward to hearing from you all.

thanks
Colin

[Miketoll]

I have no knowledge of that camera but I have two immediate thoughts.
First is to do a factory reset which should sort out any weird behaviour due to odd settings.If that does not cure weird results then you have a faulty camera.

Secondly, a dead IBIS is probably too expensive to repair or at that age impossible to get repaired, my guess the latter.

Honestly all my instincts are to return the camera if you can and get a refund.

[blackfox]

Welcome to the forum colin , unfortunately the i.s seems to be a common fault on EP series cameras got the same problem myself . But saying that it doesn’t seem to make any difference to the photos .. the lenses should however be fine . Your upper iso limit is way to high around 3200 iso is max for that model .. my best advice is to just put it down to experience and find a better used body for the lenses unless you can return the camera or get a refund . Or partial refund ..
most Olympus bodies are excellent .. but ask advice before your next purchase and what you intend to use it for . I have two full body cameras for general use and my e.p body is just used for casual pocket photography work or e.bay ads

p.s if your anywhere near flint I can give you practical help

PPS also notice from your screen grab your using F9 no need for that at all most Olympus lenses are sharp either wide open or near as never more than two stops smaller in my experience .. can’t recall ever having stopped down a long lens .. Olympus the same rules but differently

[ronidog]

Colin welcome to the forum. Please use the knowledge of the forum to get what you want. I have found it a great help over the years. It is always honest and friendly advie

[Miketoll]

Colin being dumb and not very observant I didn't realise that you are new to the forum so please forgive me for not welcoming you and,er, somewhat belatedly welcome to the forum.

[blu-by-u]

Welcome to this place. practically the home to all Olympus and not OM-Systems cameras.

As mentioned, do a full reset then work from there.

A blinking S-IS-1 could be you have set to only 1 of the 2 IS axis (which we do if we are panning or something) In the SCP, you can just set it to AUTO.

[Ian]

Definitely worth a try, though a factory reset is what I'd recommend.

[Ian]

I've asked OM System to find out if their service centre will fix an EPL6.

I will post back here when I get an answer.

Ian

[Col779Photo]

Hi all, thank you for your kind welcome and helpful advice, I will certainly try a full factory re set. I have tried changing all the IBIS axis modes but to no avail so I think its a dead duck, having said that ill just have to make allowances and shoot as a non IBIS camera ( photographers had to manage without it not so many years ago right Very helpful comments on the ISO and not needing to shoot at higher F stops.

As I got the camera from Japan I could not be bothered to send it back so got 50% of my money back from the seller , so in theory the lenses alone are worth more than I paid which is good. Ill persevere with the body to see what I can do with it before looking at a replacement, this time from somewhere with a guarantee like MPB.

Attached two images taken with the camera this week in RAW then converted to Jpeg after post processing. The Museum is at F8 ISO 8000 and the statue is at F4.5 ISO 200 both put through DXO noise removal.

thanks again
Colin

[Ian]

If you want to try, you can enquire directly via the OM System website:

https://my.omsystem.com/uk/p/repair-service

[OM USer]

The IBIS went in my E-PM2 after a few years. The camera was old stock/demo from Campkins, like new, and now has a shutter count of 3332 (yes, under 4 thousand). When I checked it was cheaper to buy a second hand one rather than get Luton cameras to repair it IF they could get the parts. Olympus could not repair it. I just use it hand held old school style. I keep it so that I have a camera that can (just) go into my suit pocket. The biggest probelm with the failed IBIS is that it buzzes. It is not loud to the ear but will ruin the soundtrack if you record video.

[Col779Photo]

Thanks for message, mine is not buzzing after start up thank goodness, but not quiet when switching on, like an angry bee ! I'm just going to use it as much as possible and see how long it lasts, hopefully a long time.

p.s that is quite a lens collection you have. Ever adapted any old Pentax glass on any of your cameras, I have a few Pentax primes and was thinking about getting an adaptor?

[OM USer]

I have a cheap OM fit to OMD converter, completely manual, with stop down lug so the lens is permantly stopped down to the set aperture. I have used this, my 100-500mm. and a 1.4x to take pictures of jupiter. As with all these cheap adapters you can focus ever so slightly beyond infinity but I have not found this to be a problem - if I was bothered I could shim the connectort. I have tried the 500mm mirror on my E-M5 but it is difficult to keep focus and more than a bit soft - pity really as that would have made a good setup. We only have 2 pentax lenzes (standard kit and a tele zooms) in the family and they are not worth adapting given my OM collection.

[MK1]

Late welcome as I don't know your your camera enjoy the forum

[biggles3]

Hello and welcome to the Forum.

One thing you might try is to examine the camera's error codes which will determine if there is a genuine issue. If you check on how to get the E-PL6 shutter count on Apotelyt.com and follow the instructions up to items 12/13, you can then move to page 4 of the hidden menus and if your camera has a problem, there will be a code (or codes) following the letter D (for damage presumably). That will confirm there is a real problem and will also let someone like Luton Cameras know exactly what it is and whether it is financially viable to resolve it.

[Col779Photo]

Thanks I will check that out

[Col779Photo]

Hi

Would anyone know if I can use the Panasonic Lumix G X Vario PZ 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 ASPH Power O.I.S. lens on my Olympus PEN EPL6, as the IBIS is not working on my Pen would I still be able to use the Pany with the IOS switch regardless, would the faulty IOS in the body cause any issue if I have it switched to off?

many thanks in advance

[blackfox]

Being a Panasonic lens I’m not sure it would work anyway .. I presume your trying to introduce a form of i.s via the lens rather than the body ? Someone else may b3 able to help but buying a similar focal range to what you already have isn’t really going to help ..
my suggestion would be to look for a used om10-mkii body if possible ,there small light and highly rated and get the best out of the lenses you have .. as I said before I just use my EP for e.bay etc shots

[Col779Photo]

Hi, thanks you have given me some food for thought, are the om10 bodies reliable, any know issues like IBS I should consider before possibly considering one. Looking at the measurements the body is not much bigger than the Pen so still small enough to go in a jacket pocket for street work?

[blackfox]

The mkii is considered the best model .later ones were dumbed down . But no known problems that I’m aware of .its only the ep series that seem to have faulty ibis that I’ve heard of

[blu-by-u]

Sorry for the late reply, The OIS do work. you need to switch in the manual to use the Lens IS and not the body.

[Col779Photo]

Hi,

Just an update that I tried a Panasonic Lumix G X Vario PZ 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 ASPH Power O.I.S. on the EPL6 after MPB thought the IS would work, but I could see no evidence of it working after doing test shots with lens IS turned on in the EPL6 and IBIS switched off, it has gone back to MPB. They do have an OM10 mkii body which I am considering purchasing, but the whole IBIS thing has made me a bit nervous ! Any know issues or things to look out for on the OM10 Mkii?

[griffljg]

The E-M10 Mk II was probably the best of the E-M10 series. The later ones weren't real improvements. The Mk II has a good reputation. The only downside is that none of the E-M10 series are weather sealed.

Edit: I forgot to say welcome to this friendly and helpful site. Don't be afraid to ask questions. You'll probably find that most of us have been in the same position.