Olympus unveils E400 DSLR and two new lenses

Smallest and lightest DSLR on the market

14 September 2006 6:00 GMT / By Amber Maitland

Nine months after announcing the E330, and a full year after launching the E-500 Olympus has launched a new camera in its E-system of entry-level DSLR.

The E-400 (not to be confused with the recently announced 400D from canon) is the smallest and lightest DSLR yet – it’s actually smaller than many prosumer models on the market. Having seen it first-first hand at the launch in Hamburg, we can tell you that it’s unbelievably tiny and lightweight.

Boasting 10Mp of resolution, the CCD incorporates Olympus’ highly-touted Supersonic Wave Filter to remove dust from the sensor and trap it on a special sticky membrane.

The buffer achieves a burst of five RAW images at 3fps, which is quite impressive for an entry-level model. The camera also features 32 scene modes that cover every possible shooting situations, even Underwater when the camera is used in its underwater housing that will protect it up to 40m below.

Other features include an extra-long battery, ability to shoot to both CompactFlash and xD cards, compatibility with nearly all the E-System accessories, and JPEG and RAW shooting.

In conjunction with the camera, Olympus has brought out two new Four Thirds lenses: the EZ-1442 ED 14-42mm 1:3.5-5.6, and the EZ-4015-2 ED 40-150mm 1:4.0-5.6. These equate to a 28-84mm and an 80-300mm on a 35mm camera.

Both lenses, in keeping with the camera’s tiny frame, are exceptionally compact and will be available with the E-400 from November.