Fuji Question re X-E1 EVF in bright sunlight.

[bilzmale]

I've read in one or two places that the EVF on the X-E1 is hard to use in very bright sunlight. There were no details of what the exact problem was eg does the bright light 'overpower' the EVF causing it to 'white out' or go blank, or is the problem on the eyepiece side with light leaking around the face/eye and making the EVF image hard to see?

I'm tempted to upgrade my X100 to the more versatile X-E1 but don't want to have this 'problem'. Can anyone comment on their experience and yes it can get pretty sunny in Australia.

Perhaps I should consider the X-Pro1 with OVF + EVF?

 

[pniev]

Bill,

I think the problem is more or less comparable to looking at your phone or ipad in bright sunlight. It's do-able but not pleasant and after a while it becomes annoying. The "Dutch sun" is not as bright as the Australian sun, but I could not get used to the EVF outside. I needed to put my hand over my eyes to see anything and even then I could barely see well. My son, who has good eyes and no glasses, experienced the same thing.

Although I really liked the size of the x-e1 (and was surprised how well-balanced it felt in the hand), the availability of the OVF made me opt for the x-pro1. I admire those who are able to use the EVF in sunlight but I cannot. During evenings or cloudy days it is absolutely stunning though!

I did not regret choosing the x-pro for one second despite the additional investment! I use the OVF outside (occasionally using the EVF outside to check the borders) and EVF inside and when it's dark(er).

But others might have a different opinion.

Do you have a possibility to try both cameras for a few days?

Peter

 

[zapatista]

I've read in one or two places that the EVF on the X-E1 is hard to use in very bright sunlight. There were no details of what the exact problem was eg does the bright light 'overpower' the EVF causing it to 'white out' or go blank, or is the problem on the eyepiece side with light leaking around the face/eye and making the EVF image hard to see?

I'm tempted to upgrade my X100 to the more versatile X-E1 but don't want to have this 'problem'. Can anyone comment on their experience and yes it can get pretty sunny in Australia.

Perhaps I should consider the X-Pro1 with OVF + EVF?

It's definitely a problem with light leakage and it can be quite bad.

 

[bilzmale]

Thanks Mike and Peter - will try to handle them both locally to see for my self.

 

[bilzmale]

Bill,

I think the problem is more or less comparable to looking at your phone or ipad in bright sunlight. It's do-able but not pleasant and after a while it becomes annoying.
Peter

On re-reading your reply am I confusing looking at the screen on the back of the camera with looking through the viewfinder?

 

[pniev]

On re-reading your reply am I confusing looking at the screen on the back of the camera with looking through the viewfinder?

No. you are looking at a separate small LCD (OLED for x-e1?) screen through the viewfinder.

 

[AlbertInFrance]

At the risk of causing more confusion, I'll add my two penn'orth.

I personally prefer to use an eve-level VF (optical or electronic) over an LCD held a distance in front of my face. This applies for about 90% of my shooting.

Using the LCD I, like everybody else, find that it becomes unviewable in bright sunlight. Using an EVF can very occasionally cause problems if the sun is in exactly the wrong place. I get this with less than 1% of my shooting. It can usually be overcome by cupping a hand just above your eyes. A baseball cap (eurkk!!) would probably do the trick too.

Also, sometimes I have problems shooting very high contrast scenes, the sort of thing where HDR starts looking useful. It's pretty rare, and can generally be overcome if you are shooting fairly deliberately. Here's an example.

With the naked eye I could see the sunlit tower quite clearly.
View attachment 2035

Unfortunately the EVF decided to favour the heavily shaded tree trunks. and looked like this.
View attachment 2036

 

[bilzmale]

Thanks Albert.

 

[Brendan]

Quite alarmed at how evf performs in bright light. I'm discussing x100s mainly but recall one occasion where xe2 was troublesome.
All comments welcome.

 

[Joe500]

Hi Bilzmale,

The EVF on the X-E1 can also be a problem for me in bright sunlight. As for the screen display - that's worse in bright light, and good reason for using a camera with an EVF. I reckon it's worse at the VF for glasses wearers like myself and I often have to cup my free(?) hand around the eye area.

The other issue - in-EVF burnt out highlights in the important subject area - could be seen as early warning of mismetering. I usually centre-spot meter, if necessary holding the value with the shutter button. Can be locked temporarily in with other button options too.

 

[LCT]

Average metering reduces blown highlights significanty in the X-E2's EVF. Worth a try IMO.

 

[theoldsmithy]

I have found that in some combinations of ambient and subject lighting, the EVF on my X-E1 looks quite dark, brightens noticeably when I half-press the shutter, but then darkens again after the camera has focussed. This is starting to annoy me. Anyone else seen the same thing?

 

[chipbutty]

This problem is reported with many Fuji X cameras. My X100 EVF is extremely difficult to use well in bright sunlight, boosting the LCD brightness doesn't help. My G3, G6 and OMD all perform fine in bright sunlight. I don't know what Fuji are doing wrong here. At least I have the marvellous OVF to fall back on.

 

[Brendan]

Thank you
Well fuji are going to look at my camera and it won't be the first time they have serviced this problem. What they do remains to be seen but I seem to have the same issue with XE 2 .
I really am disappointed that x100s ever showed up this fault as I plan to do most of my outdoor work with it and quite likely in strong outdoor lighting.

 

[Joe500]

I have found that in some combinations of ambient and subject lighting, the EVF on my X-E1 looks quite dark, brightens noticeably when I half-press the shutter, but then darkens again after the camera has focussed. This is starting to annoy me. Anyone else seen the same thing?

I may have got you wrong on this but it does sound to me like the exposure is outside the ISO / aperture set / minimum shutter setting, especially if the return to a darkened image is also showing as the temporary review of the photo just taken.

I have sometimes fixed a high ISO and wide aperture for specific reasons, e.g. moving subject in poor light, and left those settings on. Next time (brighter conditions) I try to get shots and of course they're burnt out at 1/4000 sec! Doing the opposite would result in forced dark images.