Is Olympus’ E-400 the ultimate (and last) effort by this brand to promote its 4/3 format? At any rate, the E-400 has without doubt pushed this concept dating from June 2003 (with the presentation of E-1) the furthest. You may remember that Olympus decided to start over from scratch in order to come up with a new more open foundation (sensor/mounting) for reflexes that was optimized for numeric photography. The miniaturization of components were to allow them to produce smaller cameras as well as brighter lenses, however, we have to admit that with the E-300, E-330 and E-500 these ideas weren’t fully developed. With the E-400, things seem to be on the right track. The camera is compact, light and piloting is easy. This is something that will satisfy photographers who want a more portable reflex.

It’s impossible not to be surprised by the size and weight of this new reflex with a 14-42 mm lens. Barely larger than a big compact, and to which it shares a family resemblance (the E-400 doesn’t have a real grip like other reflexes), the E-400 is rather attractive. Finishing touches are nice and handling very comfortable, despite poor placement of the strap ring.  Overall, it appears like a serious camera, and far from the «toy» look which can be associated with miniaturization. We also could have expected the worse in terms of ergonomics, however, here again the E-400 is surprising. Controls are conveniently placed where fingers can easily find them, and there are a number of short cuts to main parameters:  exposure correction, flash, and burst mode. For the other adjustments, Olympus uses its smart and efficient menus, which permanently display settings (sensitivity, color and autofocus mode, light measurements). A simple press of a button allows navigation and modification.

In this area, previous reflexes were a bit disappointing with rather mediocre noise control. This new generation is much more satisfactory. Despite a sensor size that is much smaller than the competition in APS-C format, noise is well controlled up to 800 ISO.  Without equaling the performances of the Canon EOS 400D or Nikon D80, here the E-400 has nothing to be ashamed of.  The 49 segment digital ESP and spot metering is quite good (a small tendency towards underexposure) and white balance is efficient. By default, colors are flattering to the eye, which tells us that this manufacturer was more aiming for the general public instead of professionals.