What is the crop factor of the Olympus E-400?

The Olympus E-400 is equipped with a Four Thirds sensor, whose diagonal measures 21.6mm. The sensor has a crop factor (or format factor, or focal length multiplier) of 2.0.

The crop factor is defined as the ratio of the 35mm full-frame film diagonal to the diagonal of a digital sensor. This number indicates how a lens behaves in relation to the size of the image sensor.

Sensor size comparison with a film slide

With a crop factor of 2.0, the sensor in the Olympus E-400 is smaller than the receptor area of a 35mm film slide or negative. As a result, a lens that is attached to the Olympus E-400 will offer a narrower angle of view and provide deeper depth of field than a lens of similar focal length and aperture on a film camera. The equivalent focal length is obtained by multiplying the actual focal length of the lens with the crop factor. For example, a 25mm lens on the Olympus E-400 will provide the same angle of view and depth of field as a 50mm normal lens on a film camera (25mm * 2.0 = 50mm).

Sensor specs and performance

The table below compares the sensor specs of the Olympus E-400 to those of several similar cameras. The reported DXO values are indicators of the sensor's imaging quality (higher is better), covering color depth (DXO Portrait), dynamic range (DXO Landscape), and high-ISO noise (DXO Sports). Larger sensor cameras tend to outperform cameras of the same generation that are equipped with a smaller imager. On the other hand, larger sensors are more expensive and require bigger and heavier lenses than smaller light receptors.

Sensor Characteristics

		Camera Model	Sensor Class	Resolution (MP)	Horiz. Pixels	Vert. Pixels	Video Format	DXO Portrait	DXO Landscape	DXO Sports	DXO Overall
1.		Olympus E-400	Four Thirds	10.0	3648	2736	none	21.0	10.6	127	53
2.		Nikon D40X	APS-C	10.0	3872	2592	none	22.4	11.4	516	63
3.		Olympus E-410	Four Thirds	10.0	3648	2736	none	21.1	10.0	494	51
4.		Olympus E-420	Four Thirds	10.0	3648	2736	none	21.5	10.4	527	56
5.		Olympus E-450	Four Thirds	10.0	3648	2736	none	21.5	10.5	512	56
6.		Olympus E-500	Four Thirds	8.0	3264	2448	none	20.7	10.3	45	51
7.		Olympus E-510	Four Thirds	10.0	3648	2736	none	21.2	10.0	442	52
8.		Olympus E-620	Four Thirds	12.2	4032	3024	none	21.3	10.3	536	55
9.		Olympus E-P3	Four Thirds	12.2	4032	3024	1080/60i	20.8	10.1	536	51
10.		Olympus E-PL2	Four Thirds	12.2	4032	3024	720/30p	21.4	10.2	573	55
11.		Panasonic L10	Four Thirds	10.0	3648	2736	none	21.3	10.8	429	55
Note: DXO values in italics represent estimates based on sensor size and age.

In the United States, the E-400 was initially launched in September 2006 at a price of $699.

Check E-400 offers at
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Camera to camera comparisons

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