Model Design / Appearance
The E-400 looks like many typical DSLRs, but smaller. The shallow handgrip is significantly responsible for the small appearance. The E-400 is mostly plastic, but Olympus uses heavy, thick material. Like other models, the E-400 feels solid. Though we examined a prototype, the fit and finish were excellent.
Size / Portability
The E-400 is 5.1 x 3.5 x 2 inches, and 13 oz., which is very small for a DSLR. It’s still a DSLR, though, and we expect most users will need a separate camera bag, particularly if they add an additional lens and flash into their kit. The E-400 will be comfortable on a neck strap.
The E-400 should have better environmental seals than it does. Though its sturdy construction should prevent dust from entering though joints between structural elements, the ports and doors are not well-sealed, and the camera needs the typical level of care for a DSLR.
Handling Ability
The E-400 is small enough that a fair portion of users will find it cramped. The handgrip particularly feels tiny. We didn’t get the firm grip we wanted with our right hand, and found a need to rely on our left hand to maintain our grip on the E-400. That’s unusual – we find it typical to hold a camera with our right hand, and simply brace it, for steadiness, with our left.
Control Button / Dial Positioning / Size
Olympus tends to be careful with their control buttons – they’re well-made, they feel good to use, and they seem durable. The buttons on the E-400 fit in this laudable tradition.
A symptom of the E-400’s small size is that the buttons are close together. The E-400 has only one control dial, so it is necessary to turn it while pressing a button to access various functions, and that’s hard when everything is so close together. We prefer 4-way controls that are built as a single dish which rocks in two directions, but the E-400’s 5-button configuration works well. The buttons are large enough but close enough together to be easy to operate quickly, without making it likely to hit two buttons at once.
Menu
Olympus burdens its DSLRs with very long menus. On the E-400, there are fewer than on some other models, but they are split into 5 tabs: 2 for shooting parameters, one for playback and two for setup. Still, the tabs for setup scroll down to reveal their long lists of content.
In shooting mode, a large set of parameters appear on the LCD, and can be adjusted directly. The include exposure, exposure mode, ISO, white balance, which balance fine-tune, color mode, exposure compensation, flash exposure compensation, autofocus mode and pattern, color space, filename, memory type, file format and quality, and the number of frames left.
Review By Letsgodigital
The new Olympus E-400 is equipped with a newly designed CCD with 10.0 million effective pixels. This instantly puts Olympus in the same group of digital SLR cameras as the Nikon D80 and the Canon EOS 400, which each have the same amount of Megapixels. It is the FourThirds system in particular that enables Olympus to keep the Olympus E400 this compact. Several years ago, Olympus already predicted that this size would indeed be realistic, but to actually see and experience the compact and light-weight end result remains remarkable. At this time, Olympus have several digital SLR cameras in their assortment, each recognizable by the E-system indication and starting with a number.
Review By Pixmania
The Olympus E-400 comes to join the manufacturer’s reflex product range and prevents demanding consumers from choosing between visual quality and user-friendliness. Despite the integrated CDD sensor of 10 millions megapixels, high quality optical shooting and a 6.4 LCD screen; this splendid camera has reduced dimensions and a light weight compared to other reflex cameras whilst retaining its intuitive handling, handiness and high performance level.
The E-400 allows all level photographers to take advantage of the SLR photographic and offers manual and automatic options making room for your creativity. It also has 31 scene modes, an AE bolt, depth testing and deals with evolved image for results that will meet your demands.
In the same way, the E-400 has built-in Olympus dust filter, the successful technology that comes to answer all the problems of dust on the sensor that affects image quality.
Review By Dpreview
For better results and improved handling, lenses based on the Four Thirds Standard feature near telecentric construction, which takes into account the specific technical characteristics and requirements of digital cameras. Two new Olympus Four Thirds lenses will be introduced with the E-400 at its launch: the EZ-1442 ED 14-42mm 1:3.5-5.6 (equiv. to 28-84mm on a 35mm camera), which is perfect for standard applications, and, for more magnification power there is the EZ-4015-2 ED 40-150mm 1:4.0-5.6 (equiv. to 80-300mm on a 35mm camera). Both lenses are exceptionally compact, for greater mobility and speedy use. They also offer maximum image quality at an excellent price and feature a stylish design with a blue ring in the middle – the new insignia for the Olympus E-System lens line-up.
Review By Butterflyphoto
Premium picture quality and superb performance come easy with this comfortable to handle digital SLR. At a time when we want complex things to become simple, the EVOLT E-500 succeeds in doing so with a sleek, lightweight design for impressive portability and advanced controls and options that can be accessed with minimal effort. Bursting with speed and producing spotless pictures with exceptional color and detail, the EVOLT E-500 is tailor-made for anyone to use while capturing the imagination in the process.
Review By Trustedreviews
It looks even smaller because it lacks the large handgrip found on most other SLR cameras. Its slim body shape is more reminiscent of an early 1980’s-vintage film SLR such as the Nikon FG or Canon A-1. It does have a handgrip of sorts; the body shape is slightly sculpted on the right hand side both front and back with a textured rubber panel on the front and on the thumbgrip, but anyone who is used to the shape of most modern SLRs will find that the E-400 feels very skinny and possibly a little awkward. Personally I quite liked the feel of it, although I did find that the position of the right-hand strap lug was too low and pressed into the side of my middle finger.
Although the E-400 has a plastic body the build quality is superb, and minor design points show an attention to detail. Things like a focal plane mark on the top panel, and the position of the tripod bush directly under the centre line of the sensor are points that professional photographers will appreciate.
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