General Electric X400

The GE X400 ($129.99 direct) is a somewhat chunky camera that isn't going to win any design awards, but it delivers solid performance, especially when you consider the low sticker price. The 14-megapixel camera boasts a sharp, 15x zoom lens, but struggles a bit with image quality at high ISOs and is less responsive than its higher-priced competition. It can't compare to our Editors' Choice superzoom, the Nikon Coolpix P510 ($429.95, 4 stars) in features or performance, but is an attractive option if you're on a tight budget and understand the camera's limitations.

Design and Features
The camera, which is available in a black or white finish, has a rather big lens and a deep handgrip. It measures 2.9 by 4 by 2.6 inches (HWD) and weighs about 12 ounces. It takes its design cues from other superzoom cameras, including the Canon PowerShot SX40 HS ($429.99, 4 stars), but isn't as big. The Canon is 3.6 by 4.8 by 4.2 inches and 1.3 pounds?a very long 35x zoom range accounts for its size. The X400 wouldn't be quite as deep if it wasn't for its handgrip?it extends out past the lens. The grip houses the memory card slot, as well as the four AA batteries that power the camera.

The larger body allows the GE engineers to squeeze quite a few controls onto the body. In addition to the standard zoom rocker, shutter release, and On/Off switch, the top of the camera houses the Mode dial, a button to activate Shake Reduction, and a button that toggles between Face Detection and Smile Detection focus modes. Rear controls include buttons for movie recording, flash control, Macro shooting, EV Compensation, and the Self Timer. I did have one quibble about the X400's menu system?when deleting a photo in playback mode, it's unclear if you are selecting the "Back" or "Delete" option. The only indication that you have is the change in text color, and there's not a Yes/No confirmation step. You'll have to remember that the yellow text is the one that's selected, but that won't do much good for shooters with certain types of color blindness. Thankfully, the Delete option is the only camera function that suffers from this design gaffe.

The 2.7-inch LCD is one of the camera's weaker points. It's not the sharpest or brightest that you'll find, and the 230k-dot resolution makes it look quite grainy. The Olympus SZ-12 ($199.99, 3.5 stars) has a much nicer 3-inch display with a 460k-dot resolution. The Olympus, which is small enough to slide into your pocket, also delivers a more robust 24x (25-600mm equivalent) zoom lens. The 15x lens on the X400 covers a 27-405mm equivalent field of view and has a variable aperture range of f/3-5.2. Coupled with optical stabilization, you should be able to get sharp telephoto shots in decent to bright light?without having to push the ISO up too far.

Performance and Conclusions
The X400 isn't fast?it's not excruciatingly slow, but requires 3.4 seconds to start and shoot, records a lengthy 0.9-second shutter lag, and makes you wait about a half second between photos. It isn't atypical for a camera in this price range to lag a bit in speed?if you want a really fast superzoom you'll have to pay for it. The Canon PowerShot SX260 HS ($349.99, 4 stars) starts in 1.8 seconds, fires a photo every half second, and manages a short 0.2-second shutter lag.

In terms of image sharpness, which is measured using a program called Imatest, the X400 does a nice job. It is able to record 1,848 lines per picture height, which exceeds the 1,800 lines required for a sharp image. Its performance is comparable to the Samsung WB150F ($229.99, 3.5 stars), a slim 18x shooter that notches 1,880 lines and also integrates Wi-Fi.

Imatest also measures noise, which can hurt image detail and make photos look grainy. The camera's maximum ISO setting is 3200, although it can only shoot 4-megapixel photos at that setting and at ISO 1600. If you want to snap full resolution shots you'll need to keep the X400 at ISO 800 or below. At that setting it does keep noise below 1.5 percent, but image detail is fairly poor. Image detail is acceptable at ISO 400, although as with almost every point-and-shoot available today, you'll want to keep the ISO set as low as possible for the best image quality. Even more expensive cameras can struggle with image noise?the Canon PowerShot Elph 520 HS ($299.99, 2.5 stars) only keeps noise under control through ISO 200.

The camera's video mode is standard definition only. It records 640 by 480 video at 30 frames per second in QuickTime format. The camera can zoom and focus while shooting, but the overall video quality is not that great. It looks grainy, even under studio lighting, and the camera is a bit slow to focus when recording. The only port to speak of on the X400 is a proprietary USB connector. The memory card slot, which supports SD, SDHC, and SDXC cards, is located in the handgrip, in the same compartment that houses the AA batteries.

If you're on a tight budget, and are willing to work within the camera's limitations, the GE X400 becomes an attractive option. Its lens is sharp and there's the 15x zoom ratio. The long shutter lag is frustrating, and image quality suffers at higher ISO settings. There are a wealth of physical controls, and the camera even supports full manual shooting, but advanced photographers will be disappointed with overall performance. You can get a slimmer camera that delivers better performance, does well at high ISOs, and has a higher-quality display, like the Canon PowerShot SX260 HS, but the cost is nearly triple. The Olympus SZ-12, which is priced at just under $200, is a good choice if you are willing to spend a bit more money?it's slimmer and offers 24x zoom, but its image quality also suffers at higher ISO settings.

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