X-E1 EVF stutter and single shot delay

Melte · Mar 4, 2013

Today I had the chance to try the Fuji X-E1 at the local retailer shop. After a lot of Reading in this forum and on test sites I have been quite tempted for this camera. My shooting is landscape and people as well as running Children and dogs.

I know that this camera is not so suitable for fast moving subjects and optimized for its Picture quality rather then speed. I will use it mainly for stationary subjects.

BUT....I found the EVF behaviour quite strange. To my disapointement there is very much stuttering of the EVF display when doing som slight panning (and also while panning more) in order to frame the subject. Half pressing the shutter also introduces a delay when the EVF freezes for a split second delay (probaly when the camera is focusing).

Another disturbing fact is the delay between shots in single focus mode. If you try to take consecutive Pictures quickly, the delay between shots is quite significant for me.

The shop person was unable to increase the brightness of the EVF display, it seemed unusually dark (but very Sharp) to me.

For me, these caracteristics turned out to make med very hesitant to jump the ship....

I would be very intersted in knowledgable comments from owners of this camera about my observations.

baobob · Mar 4, 2013

i have an XP1 and a X100

The EVF is very convenient but sometimes it is far from perfect

I would suggest you also try a XP1 body with EVF and OVF

Melte · Mar 4, 2013

Thanks for your quick comment.

I should have mentioned that I also tested the XPro1 at the same occasion just to see how the OVF/EVF functioned. The OVF is better and solves some of the EVF problems.
Due to camera size and cost it is not of interest know.

I hope that my EVF observations can be reduced or even eliminated with some settings in the camera.
--
Cheers, Erik

PeterPrism · Mar 4, 2013

baobob said:
baobob wrote:

i have an XP1 and a X100

The EVF is very convenient but sometimes it is far from perfect

I would suggest you also try a XP1 body with EVF and OVF

nixda · Mar 4, 2013

Melte said:
Melte wrote:

BUT....I found the EVF behaviour quite strange. To my disapointement there is very much stuttering of the EVF display when doing som slight panning (and also while panning more) in order to frame the subject. Half pressing the shutter also introduces a delay when the EVF freezes for a split second delay (probaly when the camera is focusing).

The EVF is what it is. It might be disconcerting for a moment, but most people report that they don't even notice the stuttering after a short while. It isn't detrimental for most shooting situations. If you need to pan quickly to follow the action, then it might not be for you, or you could pan with your left eye while keeping the right on on the EVF. Otherwise, it is just fine.

Regarding reducing the delay between shots, there are some tricks, but I always forget them as I am quite happy with how things are. As far as I remember, one needs to turn image review off and use continuous focus. Perhaps there is something else.

Melte said:
The shop person was unable to increase the brightness of the EVF display, it seemed unusually dark (but very Sharp) to me.

Adjusting brightness is in the menus and can be accessed quickly from the Q-menu. Indoors, and under most shooting situations, the EVF brightness is great. Outdoors at very bright light, one needs to shield the EVF to prevent direct light falling on it from the back, which can wash out the EVF. It's only really a problem for eyeglass wearers.

Melte said:
For me, these caracteristics turned out to make med very hesitant to jump the ship....

I would be very intersted in knowledgable comments from owners of this camera about my observations.

In the end, you need to decide what you can live with and what not. Just make sure you know how to operate the camera before removing it from consideration.

Logidelic · Mar 4, 2013

I love my X-E1, but I had the same impressions as you when I first got it.

Turn off image preview. This will help (pretty much fix actually) the issue with the delay between single shots. (This is a stupid firmware bug as far as I'm concerned. There's no reason why there should be more of a delay when last-shot preview is enabled, but there it is.)

Your other points are 100% valid. I have to admit that I've got used to it, and it doesn't generally bother me, but the EVF delay is definitely a small handicap.

Allen Chernack · Mar 4, 2013

This site is the greatest. I was out at the beach photographing surfers and sea birds. I used single shot and boy was I upset at the slowness between shots. I reset it as you stated and now it is very acceptable.

To the original poster, yes the evf jitters a little. It is a characteristic I can live with and you will adjust to it. It is different from ovf so there is a period of adaptation. I was also shooting continuous and could track bike riders and the surfers without a problem.

Screen brightness was an issue in the bright sun. I had it set at +3 and raised it to +5 and it's fine.

This wasn't asked about but the battery is very good. I must have easily gotten 300 shots. I did 167 today and have been playing with all the settings for days.

Today was all about jpeg and the results was very good. The 18-55 zoom is not enough so I will have to crop in on the birds to improve some of the photos. I'll be first in line for the 55-200.

This camera is awesome.

skyfotos · Mar 4, 2013

Melte said:
Melte wrote:

Today I had the chance to try the Fuji X-E1 at the local retailer shop. After a lot of Reading in this forum and on test sites I have been quite tempted for this camera. My shooting is landscape and people as well as running Children and dogs.

I know that this camera is not so suitable for fast moving subjects and optimized for its Picture quality rather then speed. I will use it mainly for stationary subjects.

BUT....I found the EVF behaviour quite strange. To my disapointement there is very much stuttering of the EVF display when doing som slight panning (and also while panning more) in order to frame the subject. Half pressing the shutter also introduces a delay when the EVF freezes for a split second delay (probaly when the camera is focusing).

Another disturbing fact is the delay between shots in single focus mode. If you try to take consecutive Pictures quickly, the delay between shots is quite significant for me.

The shop person was unable to increase the brightness of the EVF display, it seemed unusually dark (but very Sharp) to me.

For me, these caracteristics turned out to make med very hesitant to jump the ship....

I would be very intersted in knowledgable comments from owners of this camera about my observations.

belcanto · Mar 4, 2013

skyfotos said:
skyfotos wrote:

This is exactly my experience. I was hoping that this would be my perfect camera but the EVF is its' downfall. I have an elderly Lumix G1 and apart from the increased sensor size I see no operational reason to switch. I do, however, like the easily controlled 'program shift' visible in the the EVF when on the settings are on Auto. I do like the lenses though!

Here's one more to the choir. For normal use AF-mode the evf works ok. I'm also comming from G1 and don't see a real benefit from x-E1 viewfinder. Just stay away from magnified view where the stuttering gets almost unbearable. And dont use continous preview. Even after firmware update the viewfinder blacks out after each shot.

Kjell

Andrei Nicoara · Mar 5, 2013

You can reduce the lag between the shots by disabling the functionality of showing the last image taken. Which incidentally also helps with the battery usage.

Regarding the panning lag, it's less pronounced in good light. In lower light it does become annoying - but at the same time it ramps up the luminosity so I suppose it's "win some, lose some".

But if you take into account that having "just" the EVF gets rid of pentaprism/pentamirror (coming from a DSLR perspective) OR you get a secondary LCD that is always shaded (coming from a digicam perspective) I feel it's a decent trade-off.

The EVF in the Fuji X-E1 (which I have and love) is better than others I tested, but it does have it's drawbacks...

Melte · Mar 5, 2013

A BIG thank´s to all with your realistic comments, I will return to the shop today and have a second look on (or in) the camera, especially to find out if the EVF stutter is bearable. The tip to disable the on-screen review after the shot is very good!
I have a long period with film camera and DSLR with OVF and since abt 2 years sold everything and jumped to the m43 system, currently I have the E-M5 which I will keep mainly for wildlife, long tele shooting and wet weather. The Olympus EVF feels just fine.
However the Olympus camera feels generally to small in my hands and I love the rangfinder design of the X-E1 so the Panasonic GH3 does not fit my taste, it is to much DSLR like. I am also following the NEX-7n rumors but understand that the Fuji lenses beats it easily.
By the way, I must have a viewfinder for my way of shooting, hate to use the screen for framing.
As you see I have already made up my mind of what camera I wish to have, but the X-E1 EVF makes me really hesitant.
Your comments have been very helpful but I must say that they have not made it easier to jump ship....

Maybe my E-M5 with a grip.....
--
Cheers, Erik

david6785 · Mar 5, 2013

I would try the 35mm 1.4 on the xe1 because its much more responsive evf with this lense attached in lower light compared to the more slower aperture zoom. Play around with the aperture setting and you can see how better the evf is when you shoot wider apertures

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X-E1 EVF stutter and single shot delay

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