Distance scale on XE2 disappears with with 14mm/f2.8

I apologise for the dumb question but I have a strange situation here. On an XE2 I have adjusted the screen settings to always show the distance scale whilst in manual focus mode. It works with all my lenses (35mm/f1.4, 90mm/f2 etc), but not with the 14mm/f2.8. The moment I switch either the camera or the lens to manual focus, the distance scale disappears from the screen, which is bad as I usually zone focus especially at night. What am I doing wrong?

14mm has a clutch ... once you pull it, you will see the distance scale on the lens body, exposed.

vagabondino wrote:

I apologise for the dumb question but I have a strange situation here. On an XE2 I have adjusted the screen settings to always show the distance scale whilst in manual focus mode. It works with all my lenses (35mm/f1.4, 90mm/f2 etc), but not with the 14mm/f2.8. The moment I switch either the camera or the lens to manual focus, the distance scale disappears from the screen, which is bad as I usually zone focus especially at night. What am I doing wrong?

You are not doing anything wrong and that is correct; the MF distance scale is not turned on in the X-E2's EVF or LCD with the 14mm f/2.8, 16mm f1.4, or 23mm f1.4. All three lenses have the AF/MF clutch and the minute you pull it back to go into MF, you have both distance and DOF scales on the lens.

I took my X-E2 with the 14mm for some landscape work using my tripod as well. When I do landscape, I set film simulation to B&W, and peaking to red. The red peaking shows up very well on the B&W image. It only took a moment to focus the lens using the DOF/distance scale and the peaking verified it was spot on.

That is eaxctly what's NOT happening. If the clutch is forwards, the distance scale is on. If I pull it backwards (into manual focus), the distance scale disappears. If the clutch is forwards, but the camera is set to MF, the distance scale is gone.

If the camera is in AF and the clutch on the lens is back, the distance scale shows, but it does not register any manual focus turns on the lens.

bs1946 wrote:

You are not doing anything wrong and that is correct; the MF distance scale is not turned on in the X-E2's EVF or LCD with the 14mm f/2.8, 16mm f1.4, or 23mm f1.4. All three lenses have the AF/MF clutch and the minute you pull it back to go into MF, you have both distance and DOF scales on the lens.

I took my X-E2 with the 14mm for some landscape work using my tripod as well. When I do landscape, I set film simulation to B&W, and peaking to red. The red peaking shows up very well on the B&W image. It only took a moment to focus the lens using the DOF/distance scale and the peaking verified it was spot on.

vagabondino wrote:

That is eaxctly what's NOT happening. If the clutch is forwards, the distance scale is on. If I pull it backwards (into manual focus), the distance scale disappears. If the clutch is forwards, but the camera is set to MF, the distance scale is gone.

If the camera is in AF and the clutch on the lens is back, the distance scale shows, but it does not register any manual focus turns on the lens.

When you have the clutch forward, you have the lens and the X-E2 in AF, not MF. You can verify that because the focus ring on the lens will be locked. The distance scale you are seeing then is the AF distance scale. The X-E2, like the other X-series cameras has both an AF and a MF distance scale.

Go into SETUP MENU 1 -> SCREEN SET-UP -> DISP CUSTOM SETTING (bottom of second screen) and verify that both AF DISTANCE INDICATOR and MF DISTANCE INDICATOR are checked. Uncheck AF DISTANCE INDICATOR and the only time you will see an electronic distance scale in the EVF or LCD is when you use an AF lens without the AF/MF clutch and set the X-E2 into MF with the front switch.

bs1946 wrote:

You are not doing anything wrong and that is correct; the MF distance scale is not turned on in the X-E2's EVF or LCD with the 14mm f/2.8, 16mm f1.4, or 23mm f1.4. All three lenses have the AF/MF clutch and the minute you pull it back to go into MF, you have both distance and DOF scales on the lens.

I took my X-E2 with the 14mm for some landscape work using my tripod as well. When I do landscape, I set film simulation to B&W, and peaking to red. The red peaking shows up very well on the B&W image. It only took a moment to focus the lens using the DOF/distance scale and the peaking verified it was spot on.

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Bill S.
“Sharpness is a bourgeois concept” - Henri Cartier-Bresson

It doesn't seem to work. When I uncheck the AF Distance Indicato the AF Distance Indicator disappears regardless of where the lens's clutch is. When I uncheck the MF Distance Indicator, it disappears accordingly.

What I want to do is to get the MF distance indicator on the LCD screen when the 14mm/f2.8 is in manual focus mode and/or the XE2 is in either AF or MF mode.

bs1946 wrote:

When you have the clutch forward, you have the lens and the X-E2 in AF, not MF. You can verify that because the focus ring on the lens will be locked. The distance scale you are seeing then is the AF distance scale. The X-E2, like the other X-series cameras has both an AF and a MF distance scale.

Go into SETUP MENU 1 -> SCREEN SET-UP -> DISP CUSTOM SETTING (bottom of second screen) and verify that both AF DISTANCE INDICATOR and MF DISTANCE INDICATOR are checked. Uncheck AF DISTANCE INDICATOR and the only time you will see an electronic distance scale in the EVF or LCD is when you use an AF lens without the AF/MF clutch and set the X-E2 into MF with the front switch.

vagabondino wrote:

It doesn't seem to work. When I uncheck the AF Distance Indicato the AF Distance Indicator disappears regardless of where the lens's clutch is. When I uncheck the MF Distance Indicator, it disappears accordingly.

That's correct, any of the features in DISP CUSTOM SETTING that are not checked will not be active and you will not see them in the EVF or LCD.

What I want to do is to get the MF distance indicator on the LCD screen when the 14mm/f2.8 is in manual focus mode and/or the XE2 is in either AF or MF mode.

Like I said in my first post, once you mount one of the three lenses with AF/MF clutch on your X-E2, the electronic MF Distance Indicator is no longer available; no matter how you put the X-E2 into MF. It is also not available when the X-E2 is in AF; that's what the AF Distance Indicator is for.  There is also no need to move the front switch from S or C because you still have to pull the clutch back to unlock the focus ring.

bs1946 wrote:

When you have the clutch forward, you have the lens and the X-E2 in AF, not MF. You can verify that because the focus ring on the lens will be locked. The distance scale you are seeing then is the AF distance scale. The X-E2, like the other X-series cameras has both an AF and a MF distance scale.

Go into SETUP MENU 1 -> SCREEN SET-UP -> DISP CUSTOM SETTING (bottom of second screen) and verify that both AF DISTANCE INDICATOR and MF DISTANCE INDICATOR are checked. Uncheck AF DISTANCE INDICATOR and the only time you will see an electronic distance scale in the EVF or LCD is when you use an AF lens without the AF/MF clutch and set the X-E2 into MF with the front switch.

So, how can I make the MF Distance Indicator  available and functional on the LCD screen when the XE2 is set to MF and the 14mm lens is in manual mode?

bs1946 wrote:

vagabondino wrote:

It doesn't seem to work. When I uncheck the AF Distance Indicato the AF Distance Indicator disappears regardless of where the lens's clutch is. When I uncheck the MF Distance Indicator, it disappears accordingly.

That's correct, any of the features in DISP CUSTOM SETTING that are not checked will not be active and you will not see them in the EVF or LCD.

What I want to do is to get the MF distance indicator on the LCD screen when the 14mm/f2.8 is in manual focus mode and/or the XE2 is in either AF or MF mode.

Like I said in my first post, once you mount one of the three lenses with AF/MF clutch on your X-E2, the electronic MF Distance Indicator is no longer available; no matter how you put the X-E2 into MF. It is also not available when the X-E2 is in AF; that's what the AF Distance Indicator is for. There is also no need to move the front switch from S or C because you still have to pull the clutch back to unlock the focus ring.

bs1946 wrote:

When you have the clutch forward, you have the lens and the X-E2 in AF, not MF. You can verify that because the focus ring on the lens will be locked. The distance scale you are seeing then is the AF distance scale. The X-E2, like the other X-series cameras has both an AF and a MF distance scale.

Go into SETUP MENU 1 -> SCREEN SET-UP -> DISP CUSTOM SETTING (bottom of second screen) and verify that both AF DISTANCE INDICATOR and MF DISTANCE INDICATOR are checked. Uncheck AF DISTANCE INDICATOR and the only time you will see an electronic distance scale in the EVF or LCD is when you use an AF lens without the AF/MF clutch and set the X-E2 into MF with the front switch.

Cheezr wrote:

What Bill is trying to tell you is that there is no way to accomplish what you want. If you want a MF distance scale on the rear LCD then put camera in MF, Lens in AF. The instant you put a "clutch" lens into MF the LCD focusing scale disappears and you have to use the one engraved into the lens barrel. This has been p*ssed and moaned about in every Fuji forum I have ever visited btw.

It doesn't matter if he leaves the clutch forward so the lens is set to AF. The moment he sets the front switch to M, there is no electronic distance indicator anywhere.

Why because Fuji has their quirks..this is one of them (and I agree that it is very annoying).

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With the "focus clutch" lenses (14/2.8, 16/1.4, 23/1.4), you can still visualize the electronic DOF scale in the EVF if you:

- enable the AF+MF function (i.e., AF with manual override),

- set the camera to AF-S

- pull back the focus ring to the "manual focus" position

- AF normally using the shutter button half-press and THEN tweak focus by turning the focus ring.

Hope this helps!

Marco

marco1974 wrote:

With the "focus clutch" lenses (14/2.8, 16/1.4, 23/1.4), you can still visualize the electronic DOF scale in the EVF if you:

- enable the AF+MF function (i.e., AF with manual override),

- set the camera to AF-S

- pull back the focus ring to the "manual focus" position

- AF normally using the shutter button half-press and THEN tweak focus by turning the focus ring.

Hope this helps!

Marco

Except the OP wants to be in MF and have the electronic MF Distance Indicator displayed when he is using his 14mm, so he can zone focus using the electronic scale instead of the scales on the lens and that's something he cannot do.

Turning on the AF+MF function prevents the X-E2 to be put in MF mode. I found that out when I got my 14mm. I thought my new 14mm was broken because the clutch would not put my X-E2 into MF and even using the S-C-M switch didn't work until I figured out that I had to set AF+MF to OFF. Fuji also forgot to mention that in the little instruction manual that comes with the lens. --
Bill S.
“Sharpness is a bourgeois concept” - Henri Cartier-Bresson

bs1946 wrote:

marco1974 wrote:

With the "focus clutch" lenses (14/2.8, 16/1.4, 23/1.4), you can still visualize the electronic DOF scale in the EVF if you:

- enable the AF+MF function (i.e., AF with manual override),

- set the camera to AF-S

- pull back the focus ring to the "manual focus" position

- AF normally using the shutter button half-press and THEN tweak focus by turning the focus ring.

Hope this helps!

Marco

Turning on the AF+MF function prevents the X-E2 to be put in MF mode. I found that out when I got my 14mm. I thought my new 14mm was broken because the clutch would not put my X-E2 into MF and even using the S-C-M switch didn't work until I figured out that I had to set AF+MF to OFF.

Weird. Are you 100% sure?

I have an X-E2s, and I can definitely get the XF 14mm lens into MF mode while still having the AF+MF function ON, just by setting both the lens (clutch) and the body to "MF".

marco1974 wrote:

bs1946 wrote:

marco1974 wrote:

With the "focus clutch" lenses (14/2.8, 16/1.4, 23/1.4), you can still visualize the electronic DOF scale in the EVF if you:

- enable the AF+MF function (i.e., AF with manual override),

- set the camera to AF-S

- pull back the focus ring to the "manual focus" position

- AF normally using the shutter button half-press and THEN tweak focus by turning the focus ring.

Hope this helps!

Marco

Turning on the AF+MF function prevents the X-E2 to be put in MF mode. I found that out when I got my 14mm. I thought my new 14mm was broken because the clutch would not put my X-E2 into MF and even using the S-C-M switch didn't work until I figured out that I had to set AF+MF to OFF.

Weird. Are you 100% sure?

I have an X-E2s, and I can definitely get the XF 14mm lens into MF mode while still having the AF+MF function ON, just by setting both the lens (clutch) and the body to "MF".

I retested with my 23mm on my X-E2 and verified that you are correct. Then I mounted my 14mm and got the same results. Not sure how I missed this the first time around. But the key is the front switch. I verified with both lenses that the clutch can be pushed forward in the AF and the X-E2 will be in MF mode if the switch is set to M. Set the switch to S and pulling the clutch back has no effect on the X-E2 while AF+MF is set to yes. I sent Fuji USA an email outlining this issue and saying that with AF+MF activated the focus ring clutch is broken. I will let everyone know their response.

But it still doesn't solves the OPs desire, because the moment the 14mm or 23mm is on the camera, the electronic MF Distance Indicator ceases to exist.

bs1946 wrote:

marco1974 wrote:

bs1946 wrote:

marco1974 wrote:

With the "focus clutch" lenses (14/2.8, 16/1.4, 23/1.4), you can still visualize the electronic DOF scale in the EVF if you:

- enable the AF+MF function (i.e., AF with manual override),

- set the camera to AF-S

- pull back the focus ring to the "manual focus" position

- AF normally using the shutter button half-press and THEN tweak focus by turning the focus ring.

Hope this helps!

Marco

Turning on the AF+MF function prevents the X-E2 to be put in MF mode. I found that out when I got my 14mm. I thought my new 14mm was broken because the clutch would not put my X-E2 into MF and even using the S-C-M switch didn't work until I figured out that I had to set AF+MF to OFF.

Weird. Are you 100% sure?

I have an X-E2s, and I can definitely get the XF 14mm lens into MF mode while still having the AF+MF function ON, just by setting both the lens (clutch) and the body to "MF".

I retested with my 23mm on my X-E2 and verified that you are correct. Then I mounted my 14mm and got the same results. Not sure how I missed this the first time around. But the key is the front switch. I verified with both lenses that the clutch can be pushed forward in the AF and the X-E2 will be in MF mode if the switch is set to M. Set the switch to S and pulling the clutch back has no effect on the X-E2 while AF+MF is set to yes. I sent Fuji USA an email outlining this issue and saying that with AF+MF activated the focus ring clutch is broken. I will let everyone know their response.

But it still doesn't solves the OPs desire, because the moment the 14mm or 23mm is on the camera, the electronic MF Distance Indicator ceases to exist.

I spoke with FujiUSA Technical Support today regarding the AF+MF feature preventing the AF/MF clutch from operating properly. They tested it on an X-E2 with the 16mm and verified that I was correct. They will forward this information up the line to have the documentation corrected to advise people.