- This topic is empty.
Olympus E400
-
Hi, was thinking of buying one of these with the 14-42mm and 40-150mm lens bundle. Does anyone have any good/bad experiences of this system? It’s the compact size I find attractive and I have had many years of trouble free performance from an Olympus 35mm film SLR. Any feedback much appreciated.
Looks good value at under ?600, by Jove. And the “smallest lightest SLR” tag is going to be an attraction for some people.
What type of photography will you be doing? The lens sizes for this camera should be doubled to give you an idea of what they equate to on a film camera e.g. 150mm becomes 300mm.
My biggest question mark would be about fitting 10 million pixels onto a sensor so small. Does this cause noise? Maybe others will be able to elaborate for you.
Horace
Speak to GCP (Gerry) – he is an Olympus fan and I also know someone in the camera club who loves his E400. Supposed to have a great sensor dust electro thinga majingy… :lol:
attica wrote:
Thank you both – how do I speak to GCP?
Find him in Memberslist and send him a “PM”
Hi Attica, and welcome to the site.
Another Olympus user here (E-500). And although I am a big fan of my own camera, the most
sensible advice anyone ever gives here regarding cameras is to go and try them out in the shop
before buying. As Horace mentioned, the “smallest lightest SLR” tag will attract some people, but
it’s worth considering how the thing will feel in your hands. If you have large hands it might be
fiddly to operate, or awkward to get a good grip on. Size isn’t everything, but it can make quite
a difference to your own comfort levels when shooting. Being a musician my fingers are quite
slim, and the E-500 sits well in my hands, but the E-400 is smaller again and I don’t know if it
would be quite as comfortable to hold.The kit lenses that are supplied with the E-models are not the fastest lenses in the world, but the
quality (bang for your buck) is pretty good nonetheless. This is something else to consider when
buying into the Olympus brand; Olympus E-system cameras all take four-thirds mount lenses, and
while the range of available lenses is increasing year to year, your options will be somewhat limited
when compared to the availability of lenses for Canon or Nikon cameras. That said, of the lenses
that are available, there are some absolutely amazing lenses (not cheap though) available,
including an ultra-wide 7-14mm f4 (currently the world’s widest digital zoom).All the current E-system models include SSWF (supersonic wave filter) to eliminate dust on the
sensor. Does it work? Damn right it does. 9000 actuations and several hundred lens changes over
the last year and never a dust bunny in sight, never had to clean the sensor.Regarding the sensor size with it’s 2X crop factor, images can be a little noisy above 800 ISO, though
not overly so. There is an ISO boost to 1600 which I’ve never used, nor do I see myself having to use
it unless I’m trying to shoot in complete darkness from inside the hood of a snorkel jacket… :lol:Overall, I’d rate the Olympus pretty highly, but then again I’m biased because I have one. The menus are
well laid out and simple to understand. The LCD is excellent; bright, clear and very durable – I’ve yet to
get a scratch on mine. While there isn’t a battery grip available, battery life is pretty good; expect 350 to
400 captures on a single charge.That’s my tuppence ha’penny worth. But don’t go spending your money until you’ve actually held the
camera in your hand. It might not be what you’re looking for at all. Check out the Pentax, Canon and Nikon
models too. Hope this has been of some use to you…Rob.
I also love the Olympus. I have 2 E1’s and even though I use the Canon 1Ds MK II I still shoot quiet a bit on the E1’s. I do have the battery pack so I’m not ever worried about battery life …….. at least 2000 shots on a charge of the big battery.
I now see that the E1 is about to be replaced by the P1. No other news on it though.
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
