Olympus E-400

Olympus E-400

Overview
Type	Digital single-lens reflex
Lens
Lens	Interchangeable Four Thirds mount
Sensor/Medium
Sensor	17.3 x 13.0 mm Four Thirds System Kodak KAI-10100 RGB CCD sensor 2x FOV crop
Maximum resolution	3648 x 2736 (10 effective Megapixels)
ASA/ISO range	ISO 100–1600 in 1/3 steps Noise warning for > ISO 800
Storage	Compact Flash (Type I and II), xD Picture card
Focusing
Focus modes	Single AF ( S-AF ) Continuous AF ( C-AF ) Manual Focus ( MF ) S-AF + MF C-AF + MF
Focus areas	3 points TTL Phase Diff
Exposure/Metering
Exposure modes	Auto Program automatic Aperture priority Shutter priority Manual Scene modes
Exposure metering	TTL open-aperture 49-zone multi-pattern Range: 1 to 20 EV (50 mm F2, ISO 100)
Metering modes	Digital ESP Centre weighted Spot Highlight based Spot Shadow based Spot
Flash
Flash	Built in Pop-up, Guide number 10 m at ISO 100, hotshoe
Shutter
Shutter speed range	60–1/4000 s
Continuous shooting	3 frame/s up to 10 frames (approx.) in HQ JPEG mode 3 frame/s up to 5 frames (RAW)
Viewfinder
Viewfinder	Optical 0.92x Pentaprism
Image Processing
Custom WB	7 / +7 steps in each R-B / G-M axis
General
Rear LCD monitor	6.4 cm / 2.5″ TFT LCD, 215,000 pixels
Battery	Lithium-Ion rechargeable
Weight	375 g (body only)

The Olympus E-400 is a digital single-lens reflex camera launched by Olympus on 14 September 2006, using the Four Thirds System lens mount standard.^[1] This 10 megapixel camera could be compared to other DSLRs unveiled during the summer of 2006 with comparable pixel count and price range: the Sony α 100, the Nikon D80, the Canon EOS 400D and the Pentax K10D.

Features

The E-400 is notable for its small size, omitting the hand grip and exploiting the smaller sensor. It weighs only 375g and approaches manual focus film SLRs sizes, reminiscent of the Olympus OM system. It was accompanied by two new small zoom lenses, a 14–42 mm (28–84 mm 135 film format equivalent) f/3.5–5.6 standard zoom weighing 190g and a 40–150 mm (80–300 mm equivalent) f/4.0–5.6 long zoom weighing 220g. The body and single lens kit have a 700GB£ MSRP and 850GB£ for the two lens kit.^[2]

The E-400, like all of the Olympus E-system cameras, uses Olympus' patented Supersonic Wave Filter dust reduction system to shake dust from the sensor during startup and when requested by the user; this largely eliminates the problem of dust accumulation on the surface of the image sensor.

The E-400 was controversial because Olympus only marketed it in Europe. The rest of the world had to wait for the E-410, which did not arrive until the spring of 2007 and did not include the same Kodak sensor as the E-400. The E-410 replaced the Kodak sensor with the Panasonic sensor. Some claim the Kodak sensor produced smoother gradations and a higher quality image at lower ISO numbers.

References

1. "Olympus E-400: The world's smallest and lightest digital SLR" (Press release). Olympus imaging. 2006-09-14.
2. Karen M. Cheung (2006-09-14). "Olympus Announces "World's Smallest DSLR" E-400 for Europe". DigitalCameraInfo.com.