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Announced in September 2006, the Olympus E-400 is one of the smallest and lightest DSLRs yet produced — its more recent twin, the E-410, supercedes this model but retains the same body size and weight. As part of the Four-Thirds system the E-400 can take all Four-Thirds lenses and accessories.

The E-400 was only released in Europe. The reasons for this decision remain unclear however the announcement of the successor to this model shortly after its release suggest that Olympus may have been 'testing the waters' in Europe beore the final feature set had been resolved for a worldwide release. It also appears the E-400 may be the last Four-Thirds camera to use a Kodak CCD sensor, as all models announced since the E-400s release feature a Panasonic Live MOS sensor, allowing full-time live view on the camera's rear LCD (a feature previously found on the Olympus E-330 and Panasonic DMC L1).

The E-400 has often been referred to as a 'digital OM' due to its diminutive size and high feature set — in fact, in all dimensions, the E-400 is smaller than the OM series of camera bodies. It features nearly identical functionality to the E-500 including the highlight/shadow-based spot metering first exhibited on the OM-4. The 10 megapixel Four-Thirds sensor has a small pixel pitch compared to almost all other previously released DSLRs, but improved sensor technology seems to have countered the fears of high ISO noise that were suggested would plague high pixel count Four-Thirds cameras due the small sensor size the format demands.


Some brief specifications:

  • 10 Megapixel CCD sensor — image dimensions up to 3648 x 2736 pixels (9.9mp effective)
  • 2.5” rear LCD panel (215,000 pixels; 100% frame coverage)
  • Olympus' patented 'Supersonic Wave Filter' anti-dust system
  • Metering: 49 area ESP, Centre-weighted average, Spot, Highlight and Shadow-based Spot
  • Single AF, continuous AF and manual focusing with all Four-Thirds lenses
  • Sequential shooting at 3fps up to 20 frames in JPEG (high quality) or 4 frames in RAW mode.
  • ISO range 100–1600.
  • Program, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, Manual and 25 'scene' modes
  • Dual memory card slots for CompactFlash (Type I/II or MD) or XD type memory cards
  • Inbuilt TTL-auto flash with a guide number of 10
  • Weight: 380g (body only)
  • Size: 130 x 91 x 53mm


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