Photo answers review
Photo answers rating 
Features & handling
The 400D features a 2.5in LCD monitor, which is pretty much the accepted standard on all other D-SLRs on the market. As the larger screen has also replaced the LCD panel from the 350D, the main shooting data (shutter speeds, apertures, shooting modes etc) are now displayed on the main monitor.
While the cross-formation of seven AF-points on the 350D proved successful, two extra points have been added to the 400D to form a diamond shape system. This proves particularly handy when shooting portraits with the camera held vertically as the off-centre points are more useful for focusing on your subject’s eye. The centre-point is also more sensitive to facilitate faster lock-on in lowlight conditions.
The 400D’s sensor has an anti-static coating to prevent dust sticking to it, while the sensor shakes itself on each time you turn the camera on. This might sounds as though it may slow your start-up time, but the cleaning function is cancelled by pressing the shutter button so you can still start shooting instantly.
The grip is still rather small and narrow so users with medium to large-sized hands may struggle to get a really comfortable grip on the camera. You don’t notice it too much with the standard kit lens but once you attach a heavier lens the weight soon builds up on your fingertips rather than being spread across your hand.
Good news for those planning to upgrade from the 350D, the 400D will take the same vertical grip and batteries so there’s no need to invest in a new ones.
Whereas on the 350D you simply had to press the shooting mode button to cycle through the options you now need to navigate through the settings instead, so at least now there’s little chance of accidentally ending up in self-timer mode.
Performance
The 400D has pretty much the same image processing as the EOS 350D but benefits from a new, higher resolution sensor so there’s no surprise that the results are stunning. The new sensor with its 10.1MP of resolution records some truly stunning results. The camera’s metering is capable of retaining plenty of detail but tends to favour the dark side of exposures and the results using the standard settings lack the same levels of punch that the 350D had – this is of course easily rectified by adding some saturation afterwards or using the camera’s vivid colour setting.
The autofocus system is bang-on and is only really let down by using the poor quality kit lens (17-55mm f/3.5-5.6) that comes with the camera. We’d like to be able to find some bad things to highlight regarding image quality but seriously there’s nothing to mention unless we start being unfairly harsh on it.
Verdict
We’re now getting to the stage with D-SLRs where we’ll see less and less totally different products and more and more evolutions of the last models. The 400D is no different. It’s basically an upgraded 350D and has upgrades in most of the important areas. The only area that the 350D scored below perfect on was handling and while this has been improved slightly on the 400D, it’s still not a particularly comfortable camera to use. Canon has once again pulled out a cracking camera and we expect to see this in the hands of many photographers over the next couple of years.
Product Specifications
| Weight/size (WxHxD) |
510g/127x94x65mm |
| Effective resolution |
10.1MP |
| Lens mount |
Canon EF/EF-S |
| Focal length conversion |
1.6x |
| Aspect ratio |
3:2 |
| LCD monitor size |
2.5in |
| File formats |
JPEG, RAW (CRW) |
| Card type |
CF |
| Exposure modes |
Auto, program, shutter/aperture-priority, manual, aperture depth and six subject modes |
| Metering modes |
Evaluative, partial and centre-weighted |
| Autofocus |
Nine-point |
| ISO range |
100-1600 |
| Battery type |
1x NB-2LH |
| Software supplied |
Digital Photo Professional |
| Start-up time |
Less than 1 second |
| Write times |
1.5 seconds JPEG, 3 seconds RAW |
| Shutter speed range |
30 seconds to 1/4000sec + Bulb |
| Flash sync |
1/200sec |
| Continuous shooting speed |
3fps for 27 JPEGs or 10 RAWs |