Handled a G9 yesterday - strage observation

[wonderschlang]

I always shot in 3:2 and the blurry corners are still there...

 

[Ranlee]

Since it is a very high definition VF it would seem possible to me that what you are seeing could simply be the corner softness of the lens in use. I'm not sure if anyone has broached this possibility.

 

[paul cool]

I always shot in 3:2 and the blurry corners are still there...

Well it can not be the corners on the evf that are blurry then if you changed the aspect ratio from 4;3 to 3;2 it would in effect cut the corners off ,then perhaps it is showing lens softness in corners but then a 3;2 aspect would not show the corners of lens either most odd

 

[wonderschlang]

As I already mentioned: I guess it is not the EVF itself nor the lenses. If you remove the eyecup, the effect is almost gone. I guess the problem is the rubber of the eyecup. On my G9 it is very close to the upper corners of the ocular/glass of the viewfinder. Closer than on the lower corners. So maybe its just a wrong or lousy assembled piece.

 

[paul cool]

As I already mentioned: I guess it is not the EVF itself nor the lenses. If you remove the eyecup, the effect is almost gone. I guess the problem is the rubber of the eyecup. On my G9 it is very close to the upper corners of the ocular/glass of the viewfinder. Closer than on the lower corners. So maybe its just a wrong or lousy assembled piece.

Good job they make a accessory for a larger eye cup could try one of these,sort of cleared the issue it’s us early adopters who pay for poor QA happens to most though same with Olympus.

 

[jeffharris]

My findings are: If you put down the eye-cup the "blurryness" is much weaker, but still present. Maybe the hole in the rubber of the eye-cup is too small for the big EVF? Or the eye-cup doesn't fit exactly. For example: I think the upper two corners of the ocular are more covered by the rubber, than the lower corners.

I wonder if the optional larger eye-cup would make any difference?

It certainly does with the GX7 and GX8!

 

[brentbrent]

My findings are: If you put down the eye-cup the "blurryness" is much weaker, but still present. Maybe the hole in the rubber of the eye-cup is too small for the big EVF? Or the eye-cup doesn't fit exactly. For example: I think the upper two corners of the ocular are more covered by the rubber, than the lower corners.

I wonder if the optional larger eye-cup would make any difference?

It certainly does with the GX7 and GX8!

Jeff, makes a difference in what way? I know that the larger eyecups for the GX7 and GX8 are better at blocking ambient light and perhaps more comfortable, but that's not the problem being discussed here.

The OP has observed that the G9's EVF is blurry in the corners and has pin-cushion distortion. Wonderschlang agreed with OP on those problems, but now he is reporting that if you remove the eye-cup, those problems go away, at least in large part. So, Jeff, are you saying that the larger eyecups reduce EVF blurriness and pincushion? I somewhat doubt that is what you meant.

As I already mentioned: I guess it is not the EVF itself nor the lenses. If you remove the eyecup, the effect is almost gone. I guess the problem is the rubber of the eyecup. On my G9 it is very close to the upper corners of the ocular/glass of the viewfinder. Closer than on the lower corners. So maybe its just a wrong or lousy assembled piece.

It might also be helpful for people who observe problems with the EVF to indicate whether they are wearing glasses and, if so, whether they have tried the reduced magnification levels.

 

[jeffharris]

My findings are: If you put down the eye-cup the "blurryness" is much weaker, but still present. Maybe the hole in the rubber of the eye-cup is too small for the big EVF? Or the eye-cup doesn't fit exactly. For example: I think the upper two corners of the ocular are more covered by the rubber, than the lower corners.

I wonder if the optional larger eye-cup would make any difference?

It certainly does with the GX7 and GX8!

Jeff, makes a difference in what way? I know that the larger eyecups for the GX7 and GX8 are better at blocking ambient light and perhaps more comfortable, but that's not the problem being discussed here.

I think they help with eye positioning a bit. Cutting down on ambient light and reflections of the EVF front glass helps with the EVF image.

wonderschlang, post: 60562207, member: 773900"]
As I already mentioned: I guess it is not the EVF itself nor the lenses. If you remove the eyecup, the effect is almost gone. I guess the problem is the rubber of the eyecup. On my G9 it is very close to the upper corners of the ocular/glass of the viewfinder. Closer than on the lower corners. So maybe its just a wrong or lousy assembled piece.

It might also be helpful for people who observe problems with the EVF to indicate whether they are wearing glasses and, if so, whether they have tried the reduced magnification levels.

I always take off my glasses when using the EVF.
[/QUOTE]

 

[left eye]

Still find it hard to think they have compromised the optics on a flagship after there lessons learned with gh4,gh3 ,time will tell though and as I have not handled the camera I will not lay claims of soft blurry pin cushion etc .

All depends how one perceives the evf for some it will be good others maybe not ,those who wishing to upgrade there gh5 it may not be good enough.

--
https://www.flickr.com/photos/58365044@N05/

Paul

I don't know why you are referring to the GH4. That camera has a perfect EVF. Served me well for three years.

By the way, have a look here: https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/60560693

Horst

My GH4 EVF has a donut shaped blur.

Reflecting light off the back of the EVF, and looking at it from a distance, I can even see the rear lens's uneven curvature, a ring of wobble.

https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/60553133

Some people take 75% as good enough, not me, not others. Plainly these EVF optics are made of plastic (they also scratch easily), and are not made to optical standard of the main Lumix/Leica lenses.

Olympus and Fuji never have these EVF issues for me.

IMO plastic should have nothing to do with optical qualities of the lens

yes plastic is optically more transparent than glass, but when cast is more prone to optical distortions when cooling.

- when done properly. I am not talking about easy scratching.

I think the LUMIX EVF plastic lenses are not made to the same quality standards as the main LUMIX/Leica glass, and we notice it.

Another fact is that with big EVF you cannot see sharply edges when you are looking at the center. You have to move your eye to the corner - and then it should be OK.

But it isn't, look to the corner, or in the case of my GH4 a donut circle, i.e. not the centre or the edges and it remains blurred

When I am viewing my 42.5" UHD monitor from distance of 80-90 cm I can see the corners but for obvious eye sharpness reasons I cannot see sharply the corners or edges for that matter until I turn my head (or eyes) to that direction.

what if the corners or edges remained blurred?

--
Vlad

 

[yanisha]

I had a chance to hold and play with the G9 + Panasonic Leica 12-60mm f2.8-4 today. I was wearing eyeglasses and the EVF seemed fine for me. I didn't see any problems.

I am not saying you are wrong. Maybe there is some QC issue and you had a bad one and I had a good one. Or maybe our eyes are different.

 

[klythawk]

Retuning my G9 to Amazon today because of the EVF smearing. I could put up with the pin cushion effect and blackouts at 10fps but i'll never be able to get used to the very blurry corners. The joystick and small focus are point are great features but regrettably the poor EVF is the deal breaker.

--
Got a lot to learn, but it's fun trying.

John "flick" Purchase

Explore John "flick" Purchase’s 985 photos on Flickr!

www.flickr.com

 

[Jorginho]

My GH4 (and other people noted this as well) got scratched with no abuse at all. it was just in my bag and got scratched very badly. I looked and looked what could have caused this, but found out the EVF on the 1500 euro GH4 is simply plastic! And if they dare to do that on a Gh4 I fear what the G9 might have in store for us. And it is not very hard plastic which is why it scratches so easily.

 

[Birdingbilly]

The evf on my G9 is tack sharp corner to corner - iPhone pick of evf




Looks sharp into the corners to me



--
Ian @ http://www.agoodplacetostand.wordpress.com

 

[klythawk]

The evf on my G9 is tack sharp corner to corner.

 

[eno2]

I received my G9's a few days ago... I looked through the viewfinder and: WOW! This thing is huuuge (a cinema like experience). It's sharp (from center to the corners), very bright, with very accurate colors and great resolution. I also couldn't spot the dots, it's so life like.

Yes there is a small pincushion distortion but it doesn't disturb me at all, it just makes the whole experience more "cinematic" IMO. Both my G9 body's have a perfect sharpness from the center of the screen to the extreme corners, everything is sharp (I absolutely see no smearing or softness at all)!

For me, the EVF is an absolutely wonderful experience when looking through!

 

[horsth]

The evf on my G9 is tack sharp corner to corner.

 

[Robemo]

I have mine for three weeks now. I don't see the issue about smearing. Actually it's one of the sharpest EVF's I have seen so far (I've seen a few and was an EVF hater). Other reviews also mention this sharpness. It's so sharp that you can actually see lens flaws easily.

With the 12-60 you tried you can actually see in the EVF how much less sharp this lens is in the extreme corners at open aperture. So don't blame the EVF too fast.

The slight pincushion distortion is there, but it's personal I guess whether or not it bothers you. I don't mind when I'm looking at the actual image, which looks fantastic.

And finally it is good to realize that all view finders (OVF and EVF) are designed to produce an optimal image only from the ideal viewing position. That's dead center and eye close to the rear lens. When wearing glasses the image already deteriorates and when moving your head/eyes relative to the viewfinder all kinds of aberrations can become visible.

If I look for instance through the OVF of my FF DSLR and move my head I introduce vigneting, darkening and chromatic aberration at the edges of the screen. So I guess viewfinders have their limitations.

I can't pass judgement on what you experienced. But based on my experience and lots of other reviews out there I am inclined to say it's incidental. I haven't seen it mentioned elsewhere ...

 

[KameraKnut]

I have had similar experiences with almost all my Panasonic cameras except the FZ1000 as I recall.

I have purchased and used the following Panasonic cameras with EVF's and in some cases, more than one sample:

G5
G7
GX7
GX8
LX100
GH4
FZ1000

All were outstanding, lovely cameras except for the viewfinders which are terrible (with the exception of the FZ1000). It was frustrating to me to try camera after camera and see the same problem with the viewfinders and then ultimately, getting rid of the camera. I concluded it was due to the cheap, plastic optics they use to magnify the viewfinder screens. Some people do not experience this problem for one reason or another and some people just flat out deny it even exists, even going so far as to blame MY eyes!

By far, the Olympus viewfinders are much better and I have had nothing but joy with every single one, even the low resolution ones. The benchmark for EVF's in my opinion is the Olympus VF4 which is simply amazing to look through. The Canon EVF is also extremely good. My E-M5 has an excellent EVF, no distortion whatsoever.

It is disheartening to read now that others are experiencing this problem with the G9 which I was hoping was the first Panasonic to have addressed this issue but alas, no.

I'm not knocking Panasonic cameras, I really like them, that's why I kept buying them but, this problem should be addressed by Panasonic. Until they do, I will not be buying any more of their cameras with EVF's. I do have the GX850 and I love it.

 

[pdk42]

I'm one of those who has found Panasonic EVF optics somewhat unsatisfactory in many of their cameras. I played with a Sony A7riii at B&H yesterday and that had an absolutely superb EVF. Done right IMHO.

--
Paul
Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/paul_kaye

 

[eno2]

I owned the flowing Panasonic cameras: GH3, G6, GH4 and now the G9. The only EVF with which I had problems was the one found on the GH3 all the rest gave me a good experience. I simply love the EVF on the G9.

I've also tested Olympus EM1, mk2, EM5, Canon M5, Fuji XT2 and XT 20, Sony A99, Sony A7s, A7II and I absolutely don't find them superior to the Panasonic ones. I simply DO NOT SHARE your experience. Maybe we have a different eyesight, who knows...