The E-400's optical viewfinder is small, but about par for the course, for an entry-level compact DSLR. It's easy to see both the image and the shooting data display, even for glasses-wearers. The exposure data visible includes f-stop, shutter speed, autofocus confirmation, exposure compensation, exposure mode, metering pattern, and battery status.

 

Olympus's Hypercrystal LCDs have impressed us before, the one on the E-400 is also very good. At 2.5 inches and 215,000 pixels, it is large and detailed. We found it easy to evaluate images on the display for both color and sharpness. Text displays were also clear and pleasing. With the E-400 tethered to the Olympus booth, we couldn't test it in daylight or dim conditions, but it offers 7 brightness levels.

The E-400's flash pops up with spring-loaded alacrity, though the control is an electric switch. The mechanism is thick, heavy plastic, and seems more robust than other pop-ups. The flash itself is small and rectangular. Small light sources produce hard, harsh shadows, which aren't flattering in portraits, so the built-in flash should be regarded as a convenience. We expect many users would be happier with results from an external flash.

 

The E-400 offers several sync modes: auto, on, off, slow sync, second-curtain, red-eye, slow sync red-eye, and manual flash at full, half, and 1/4 power. In auto flash modes, the flash can be compensated up or down 2 EV, in 1/3-EV steps. The shutter syncs flash up to 1/180.

The E-400 is packaged with an Olympus 14-42 mm, f/3.5 – 5.6, which translates to a 28-84 mm lens on a 35mm camera. We're always disappointed to see a maximum aperture of 5.6 on a short telephoto – it's very limiting indoors. We did not have the chance to test color sharpness or correction of the lens at Photokina. The same lens was on the E-330 we tested in a full review, and we noticed color fringing and barrel distortion at the wide angle setting. Olympus may offer packages with upgraded lenses, and users should consider those choices.