I will admit to being very surprised and pleased with the E-400. The
extended testing and use of the Kodak sensor will, of course, be of
major interest to me, but the camera itself is actually pretty
remarkable in its own way. Honestly, I didn't hold it in very high
regard, but the camera is exceeding every expectation. My time is very
limited, though, as I don't have a battery charger yet, so I'm being
quick and deliberate with it.
Several things have come to my attention rather immediately, though:
1. The viewfinder, while tiny, is massively better than the EVF of the
GX85. No comparison. Not even close. Bright sunlight scene? The
horrible OVF of the E-400 completely embarrasses the GX85 EVF.
2. Kodak CCD sensor. My sunset mountain picture shows that the sensor
is better than the CMOS cameras I've used here (L1, 6D and GX85), but
not quite as good as the E-1. I think the E-300 just might be a little
better than the E-1 at keeping the mountain peaks from turning into
pumpkins at sunset. Shadows are staying more neutral and not turning
as blue.
3. Single dial. Ugh. Painful for manual exposure where I need to
adjust both the aperture and shutter speed. Usually not an issue as I
shoot Aperture Priority almost exclusively.
4. Size/weight. Combined with the 14-42, this kit feels right and will
likely be my go-to camera for hiking as an alternative to the GX85.
5. The mode dial is disastrously easy to turn. It changes position
just by looking at it. Same issue with other cameras, but this seems
even more so.
6. Stable to hold. I was quite surprised at how easy the camera is to
hold steady. Much better than expected.
7. Better with the 14-42 than the 14-54. I suspect that the
sensor-stack is a different thickness than the other 4/3 cameras I
have and the 14-54 doesn't appear to be as good on this camera (while
being better on others) as the 14-42. Strange, but there is something
going on there that has me puzzled. Not that the 14-54 is bad on the
E-400, but it's definitely better on the other cameras. This could
explain why the 14-42 never quite gave me the right look on the E-1,
E-3 and L1.
8. Shutter Sound. While not "quiet", it's got a snappy sound to it
that gets the job done and feels like it isn't holding up the show.
Apparent lag, which plagues so many Olympus/Panasonic cameras seems
minimal with the E-400.
Overall, I'm really liking this camera and suspect that it very well
may become a favorite.
AG Schnozz
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