X100V OVF blurring: is this normal?

I suspect this is kind of a dumb question but you never know… Anyway, I picked up a used X100V, and I’ve adjusted the diopter so that the EVF is in focus. Which means of course that the markings in the OVF are also in focus.

However, the actual scene in the OVF is blurry. I can get it in focus by adjusting the diopter by two or three clicks, but then of course the markings and the EVF are blurred instead. I wear glasses, but if I take them off then the issue seems to be about the same.

My X100T does not have this issue: both EVF and OVF are in focus at the same time.

Camera issue? Or just an artefact of the V’s viewfinder? (It would seem odd if it were the latter, though.)

Gimmorkus wrote:

that’s weird. I’ve never heard of a fuji ovf being out of sync with each other like that. It should definitely be that same amount of diopter effect on the ovf and evf, would return if you can

Yeah, I can return it no problem, and it’s also just locked up while typing in a custom settings name via the touchscreen, needing a battery pull before it would turn off… I guess things are leaning a certain way.

Still curious as to the likely cause, though—presumably some misalignment in the viewfinder assembly, if anything.

Are your spectacles varifocal? Make sure you are looking through the correct part.

Hi,

Do you wear glasses? If you do did you decide to take them off when photographing and adjusted the diopter?

If you have to wear glasses like me you should of course also use them when taking pictures. In that case there is no need to adjust the diopter. And in that case the EVF and the OFV will both work. The OVF is nothing but a piece of glass.

PentaxNick wrote:

Are your spectacles varifocal? Make sure you are looking through the correct part.

Yes, and I’m familiar with how they work 😉 but as I say, the issue is there even with glasses off. (My distance prescription is minimal anyway; it’s just close focus that I struggle with.)

Joachim Gerstl wrote:

Hi,

Do you wear glasses? If you do did you decide to take them off when photographing and adjusted the diopter?

If you have to wear glasses like me you should of course also use them when taking pictures. In that case there is no need to adjust the diopter. And in that case the EVF and the OFV will both work. The OVF is nothing but a piece of glass.

As per the original post, glasses on or glasses off, makes no difference: the OVF scene and the overlaid markings are never in focus at the same time. On all other overlaid OVFs I’ve used (X100S/T, X-Pro2, X20, numerous film cameras) they’ve been in focus together, which says to me that this particular camera has a fault (and I didn’t notice a similar problem on other X100Vs I played with at the Fujifilm store). I think I was largely just curious as to whether anyone else had had a similar issue. I’ll send this one back anyway—I can’t use the OVF without my eyes watering.

Jeff Biscuits wrote:

Joachim Gerstl wrote:

Hi,

Do you wear glasses? If you do did you decide to take them off when photographing and adjusted the diopter?

If you have to wear glasses like me you should of course also use them when taking pictures. In that case there is no need to adjust the diopter. And in that case the EVF and the OFV will both work. The OVF is nothing but a piece of glass.

As per the original post, glasses on or glasses off, makes no difference: the OVF scene and the overlaid markings are never in focus at the same time. On all other overlaid OVFs I’ve used (X100S/T, X-Pro2, X20, numerous film cameras) they’ve been in focus together, which says to me that this particular camera has a fault (and I didn’t notice a similar problem on other X100Vs I played with at the Fujifilm store). I think I was largely just curious as to whether anyone else had had a similar issue. I’ll send this one back anyway—I can’t use the OVF without my eyes watering.

Sorry, seems I miss that. I wear glasses and owned X100, X-Pro1, X-Pro2, X100F and now X-Pro3. Never had an issue with any of those and never had to move the diopter from the neutral position. It seems that your camera has a problem.

Dave_in_SD wrote:

Just to eliminate the eyeglass discussion, when someone else looks through the camera do they notice the same thing?

Dunno, it’s gone back now 🙂 But without glasses the effect was the same. (My infinity vision is ok without glasses.)

Well, this is curious. I’ve hired an X-Pro3 for a few days and when it arrived, I seemed to find the same issue: two clicks between OVF and EVF sharpness. I keep going back to it to figure out whether I’m just going mad. Sometimes it seems I can bring the two together adequately for objects at a distance, sometimes it seems I can’t find that balance. Glasses on or glasses off.

But then I found this:

“when switching from OVF to EVF I had to adjust the diopter two stops to avoid a blurry image in the viewfinder. This is certainly not the case with my X-Pro2. I am not sure if this is a common or a known issue?”—https://www.5050travelog.com/camera-and-lens-reviews/fujifilm-xpro3-camera-review

So at least it seems I may not be going mad… (or if I am then I’m not alone)

I’m going round in circles deciding whether to settle on an X100V, X-Pro3 or X-Pro2, and this really isn’t helping 🙂

Jeff Biscuits wrote:

Well, this is curious. I’ve hired an X-Pro3 for a few days and when it arrived, I seemed to find the same issue: two clicks between OVF and EVF sharpness. I keep going back to it to figure out whether I’m just going mad. Sometimes it seems I can bring the two together adequately for objects at a distance, sometimes it seems I can’t find that balance. Glasses on or glasses off.

But then I found this:

“when switching from OVF to EVF I had to adjust the diopter two stops to avoid a blurry image in the viewfinder. This is certainly not the case with my X-Pro2. I am not sure if this is a common or a known issue?”—https://www.5050travelog.com/camera-and-lens-reviews/fujifilm-xpro3-camera-review

So at least it seems I may not be going mad… (or if I am then I’m not alone)

I’m going round in circles deciding whether to settle on an X100V, X-Pro3 or X-Pro2, and this really isn’t helping 🙂

Not entirely sure if this is helpful or not, but I’ve owned two X-Pro3’s, the first of which had this exact issue (and I noticed it immediately as I was used to the X-Pro2 finder, and before that the X-Pro3).  I’m also a glasses wearer.  Like you I found threads like the above about it and assumed this was just how it was.  A while later, for this and other reasons, I sold the camera on and actually went back to the X-Pro2 briefly.

A couple of months later I decided I’d been rash and picked up another X-Pro3, this time in dura black (and with a slightly later serial number, which may or may not be relevant).  On this camera, which I still have, the viewfinder is perfect, so I can only assume that there’s some sample variation going on and/or some finders are better than others.

The fact that you spotted this first on the X100V makes perfect sense btw, as the two cameras almost certainly use the same viewfinder component.

Threaded wrote:

Not entirely sure if this is helpful or not, but…

Well, it’s reassuring if nothing else 🙂

At least it means that I should be able to find one that I get on with even if I have to send a couple back first.

Mine is a touch off in this exact way. Bought it used so I have to live with it.

I've "solved it" by settling on a click that lies halfway between the optimum settings for each. Not ideal, but two clicks off is hard to notice in the field when you're wearing contacts.