Review: Olympus E-400 digital SLR

Billed as the world’s smallest digital SLR, the E-400 doesn't compromise on power or usability

Weighing only 375g (excluding both the lens and battery), the E-400 is significantly smaller and lighter than any other digital SLR on the market.

Despite its small size, it’s not a true entry-level camera; its specification and price place it in a tier above products such as the new Nikon D40. As a 10-megapixel digital SLR, it’s bound to invite comparison with other similarly specified SLRs, including Nikon’s D80 and Canon’s EOS 400D.

The E-400 is the smallest of the three; a little more compact than the 400D and practically dwarfed by the D80. It’s also far lighter than either of these main competitors, both of which weigh upwards of 500g. If a small kit bag is what you’re after, then the E-400 is already way ahead.

In terms of usability, there’s nothing cramped about the E-400’s design. Like the E-series cameras before it, it makes excellent use of its 2.5in LCD status panel for user input. The Menu button brings up the usual menu-driven configuration pages, but the regular information displayed between shots is not only informative but interactive.

Pressing the OK button lets you use the status display like a control panel, stepping though it with the cursor buttons to access individual settings quickly without the need to navigate up and down menus. It’s a little slower than having dedicated buttons for functions such as ISO and image resolution, but being an LCD it’s brightly illuminated so there’s never any problem reading button labels in darker environments.

Two levels of detail are available, or you can turn it off altogether to save battery power. The display is also de-activated while the shutter release button is depressed.

Since the introduction of the E-1 back in 2003, Olympus has used its own FourThirds lens system. Since then, the range of available lenses has expanded, incorporating not only Olympus-branded products but also lenses from Sigma and Leica/Panasonic.

A total of 17 E-system lenses are available from Olympus, with a further six from Sigma and now the image-stabilising lens from the Panasonic DMC-L1 is available as a stand-alone product.

In keeping with the E-400’s small and light design, two new lenses have been introduced simultaneously with the camera; a 14-42mm and a 40-150mm lens, both of which are tiny compared to their closest previously-existing models and weigh a lot less. These focal lengths need to be multiplied by a factor of two to arrive at their 35mm film equivalents of 28-84mm and 80-300mm respectively.

Both of the new lenses are available as kit lenses with the E-400. Our review model came with both, in a twin lens pack (£850). A single-lens kit is also available (£700)as is a body-only pack (£600), although this is currently a rare item due to Olympus prioritising the kits at this stage.

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The FourThirds system mentioned earlier refers to the aspect ratio of the photo sensor of, and hence the photographs taken with, the E-400. These are the same shape as a typical non-widescreen monitor or TV and “squarer” than typical 35mm film or many other digital image formats.

The CCD sensor itself is also somewhat smaller than in other digital camera systems, presenting additional challenges when it comes to dealing with image noise.

In testing, we found very little noise in evidence: At ISO 100 and with noise reduction turned on, we had to look very hard for noise – but it was definitely there. A similarly low level of noise was maintained at higher ISOs, so we feel that fears of excessive noise in the FourThirds system are largely unfounded – especially in a mid-range product such as this.

The E-400’s built-in flash doubles as an auto-focus illuminator, flickering rapidly and repeatedly until the proper focus is achieved. If you don’t want to draw attention to yourself like a mini fireworks display, you can turn this function off.

Dust can be a major problem for users of cameras with removable lenses. Because the camera is open to the air while lenses are being exchanged, the possibility arises for foreign objects to enter the camera body and become attached to the CCD sensor.

To help combat this, Olympus’s anti-dust system, called SSWF for Super Sonic Wave Filer, kicks in each time the camera is turned on. As on the E-500 and E-330 models, a small blue LED flickers for about one second until the process is complete.

Unlike these cameras, the E-400 doesn’t force you to watch a time-wasting animation each time the feature activates. The camera is ready to shoot as soon as the SSWF has finished – it’s not quite as quick to get going as a Nikon D80, but if it prevents time-consuming cleaning later this very short delay isn’t really much to put up with.

We were very impressed overall with the quality of images produced by the E-400. In addition to the low image noise, we found the supplied kit lenses to produce very sharp pictures that certainly didn’t suffer from their significant size reduction.

Combined with the excellent metering in the camera body, this makes the E-400 a worthy contender in the increasingly crowded mid-range digital SLR market. A range of accessories including an underwater housing is available.

Also consider:
Nikon D80
Mid-priced 10-megapixel digital SLR for professional-looking pictures

Canon EOS 400D
The Canon EOS 400D builds on the success of the 350D and is an excellent entry-level digital SLR

Olympus E330
More than just an upgrade to the E-300, Olympus's digital SLR now has a live LCD viewfinder

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