View Full Version : Talk to me about the X100 viewfinder...
So due to my film scanner breaking a while back and a slow feedback loop due to the process of using film (which I also enjoy in moderation), I am having sudden urges to get a digital camera and the X100 looks good to my eyes.
The one thing that has me waiting for the next design to come along is the viewfinder. Can anyone tell me about the viewfinder? I may try to find a shop in the Boston area who carries the X100 so I can look through it in person. Until then, entertain me if you will.
Cheers,
-Sam
It's the best part of the camera IMO ... everything else can be matched by any other manufacturer in terms of IQ etc but the viewfinder is out on it's own.
Like an M2 (50mm frame lines) with data! :D
Vincent.G
09-12-2011, 18:45
The VF is excellent. Like Keith said, it is like a M2 VF. The framelines can be seen comfortably eventhough I wear glasses. I do not have to scan around like I do through an M2 VF. There are free space outside the framelines which can be clearly seen as well. The VF eyepiece is rubberi so it is friendly to my glasses too.
Is there a way to turn off the data so it is clean?
back alley
09-12-2011, 19:49
you can fill the screen or minimize info...i never use the evf only the ovf...set to aperture priority and auto iso, it's a great street shooter.
willie_901
09-12-2011, 20:55
The view finder is a major accomplishment for Fuji. I really like it.
I assume you know the X100 is an autofocus camera and manual focus is actually a different way to use auto focus and confirm or make fine adjustments to focus. MF mode is also useful to zone or set a hyperfocal distance.
Except for focusing, the OVF is very similar to an analog rangefinder. The OVF on my ZI-M body was better, but not by as much as I had anticipated. I doubt you will be disappointed with the OVF. The EVF is also useful. The framing is very accurate. When parallax comes into play the EVF is handy even though the OVF compensates for parallax.
Switching between the EVF and OVF is instantaneous. Auto focus works differently in EVF and OVF. When zooming in manual focus mode the OVF automatically switches to EVF and then back to OVF. This happens very quickly.
The first EVF I used was on a LUMIX G1. The X100 EVF is much better.
Vincent.G
09-12-2011, 21:19
Is there a way to turn off the data so it is clean?
No. The bare minimum you will see includes the frameline, focusing 'patch', exposure compensation bar, shutter speed, aperture and ISO. Nonetheless they well positioned so I never find it cluttered. I also observed that in low light conditions, these information displays are very comfortable to my eyes unlike the LEDs in an MP/M6 VF which I find a little too bright for my liking.
As Joe said, you can make the VF more complicated if you want to - grid display, electronic level etc.
Vincent.G
09-12-2011, 21:22
you can fill the screen or minimize info...i never use the evf only the ovf...set to aperture priority and auto iso, it's a great street shooter.
With regards to auto iso, I don't know why Fuji restricted it to 3200 highest.
I was shooting in extremely dark conditions last night and wished the camera had the ability to ramp up the ISO to 12800 in auto iso. That said, it is not a big deal since I do not need it all the time. I just had to press a few buttons and set it manually.
kermaier
09-12-2011, 21:31
Optical VF is excellent, overall. Very bright, clean with framelines and minimal data. Magnification is 0.5x, though, which a bit squinty for me, coming from the R-D1's 1.0x VF mag. VF exhibits a bit of barrel distortion toward the edges.
Autofocus is good, but not on a par with recent DSLRs. Manual focus is useless IMO, and for my usage of the camera I'd rather they'd left off the MF ring.
I'm really enjoying the camera, and it produces remarkably clean results.
::Ari
tom.w.bn
09-12-2011, 22:11
The EVF sucks like every other EVF on the market. I bought the camera despite the fact it has an EVF. The OVF is great. But the eyesensor that notices when you look through the viewfinder and switches the information from lcd to the finder is a bit problematic. In bright situations my glasses reflect light into the sensor so the camera ignores that my eye is in front of the finder. Then I have to switch manually.
No. The bare minimum you will see includes the frameline, focusing 'patch', exposure compensation bar, shutter speed, aperture and ISO
Actually in the custom OVF/EVF display mode you *can* streamline the OVF (or EVF) much further, although you may not want to fly so blind. You can turn off the exposure compensation bar, shutter, aperture and ISO indicators. The very least cluttered display includes only the outer frame line, focussing patch, and a small "A" or "M" or "P" indicator in the lower left indicating what mode one is in. Inexplicably the exposure compensation bar appears, with no data, when in "M" mode.
The default display including exp. comp, shutter, aperture, ISO - doesn't look cluttered in either the OVF or EVF. Except for close in or macro photography - the EVF really shines there - I use the OVF most of the time.
jsrockit
09-13-2011, 04:22
The one thing that has me waiting for the next design to come along is the viewfinder. Can anyone tell me about the viewfinder?
Why? It is one of the best VFs on the market.... :bang:
jsrockit
09-13-2011, 04:23
In bright situations my glasses reflect light into the sensor so the camera ignores that my eye is in front of the finder. Then I have to switch manually.
Just press your eye harder against the VF... this works for me.
serrada36
09-29-2011, 19:03
The ovf really is nice. Very bright. Nicer than anything else i have used. The evf is...well...an evf. Useful but not amazing.
BTW, I picked up my X100 at newtonville camera. Just outside of Boston. No crazy markup or anything. Paul, the owner seems like a really decent guy. Tell him Brian from oldcamreview (oldcamreview.blogspot.com) sent you.
I handled one and peeked through the viewfinder for the first time at our RFF meetup on Sunday, big mistake. The viewfinder is incredible, something I've been wishing for for many years. Moved me much closer to snagging one. Fantastically done really.
If u find a store in Boston with a display model bring your plastic :)
I initially did not intend to buy, just look to c why everyone was so excited about this camera. After 10 minutes in the store, checking the control layout and using the camera in ovf and evf modes, my fate was sealed...... Left with new x100...
Gary
Ps. I was very lucky, I think I ended up with one of the first 6 that Looking Glass Photo in Berkeley just got in stock that very day.
archeophoto
09-30-2011, 22:43
I just bought a used X100.
The best thing about the X100 is that if you shoot B&W and use the OVF, with a flick of a switch you can pre-view the photo in B&W in the EVF without taking your eye off the viewfinder. No other camera can match this.
The EVF sucks like every other EVF on the market. I bought the camera despite the fact it has an EVF. The OVF is great. But the eyesensor that notices when you look through the viewfinder and switches the information from lcd to the finder is a bit problematic. In bright situations my glasses reflect light into the sensor so the camera ignores that my eye is in front of the finder. Then I have to switch manually.
I have seen rubber eye cups? that fit over the viewfinder that would probably prevent this problem. Don't know if they would fit over this viewfinder or not.
DaveO
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