GX7 viewfinder query

I have recently started taking out my old GX7 again with a small lens for when I want to travel very light.

However I am REALLY struggling to see through the viewfinder!

I have to get my eye dead center and the. However I adjust the adjustment slider, the best I can get is an extremely small clear sharp bit in the middle. The whole periphery of the viewfinder looks like zoom burst blur. I can't actually use it at all.

My eyes: I have one normal focusing eye (cataract done) , and one that needs glasses. Neither eye, with or without glasses can use the viewfinder.

I just don't recall it being that bad. Is it possible I have knocked something out of line?

How is everyone else's GX7 viewfinder?

PS. The rear LCD screen is great. But not what I want to use.

jalywol wrote:

Adrian Harris wrote:

I have recently started taking out my old GX7 again with a small lens for when I want to travel very light.

However I am REALLY struggling to see through the viewfinder!

I have to get my eye dead center and the. However I adjust the adjustment slider, the best I can get is an extremely small clear sharp bit in the middle. The whole periphery of the viewfinder looks like zoom burst blur. I can't actually use it at all.

My eyes: I have one normal focusing eye (cataract done) , and one that needs glasses. Neither eye, with or without glasses can use the viewfinder.

I just don't recall it being that bad. Is it possible I have knocked something out of line?

How is everyone else's GX7 viewfinder?

PS. The rear LCD screen is great. But not what I want to use.

It was bad, but not that bad. It sounds like the lens in front of the EVF got displaced a bit. Maybe get a hold of a service manual and see if you can take the viewfinder assembly apart to see if there's anything you can do?

(Or, if nothing else works, give it a smack and see if you can knock it back into place.....)

-J

LOL my first car came with a rubber mallet, which got used, but never been able to make myself smack a camera :D)

jalywol wrote:

Adrian Harris wrote:

I have recently started taking out my old GX7 again with a small lens for when I want to travel very light.

However I am REALLY struggling to see through the viewfinder!

I have to get my eye dead center and the. However I adjust the adjustment slider, the best I can get is an extremely small clear sharp bit in the middle. The whole periphery of the viewfinder looks like zoom burst blur. I can't actually use it at all.

My eyes: I have one normal focusing eye (cataract done) , and one that needs glasses. Neither eye, with or without glasses can use the viewfinder.

I just don't recall it being that bad. Is it possible I have knocked something out of line?

How is everyone else's GX7 viewfinder?

PS. The rear LCD screen is great. But not what I want to use.

It was bad, but not that bad. It sounds like the lens in front of the EVF got displaced a bit. Maybe get a hold of a service manual and see if you can take the viewfinder assembly apart to see if there's anything you can do?

(Or, if nothing else works, give it a smack and see if you can knock it back into place.....)

That's a great tip. I forgot to mention that the last time I used it was for pole photography where I was using my phone screen to see where it was pointing.

... And that was just after I tripped over bringing the camera crashing down from 20 feet up onto a nice hard granite rock (which broke the lens in half).

So that must have been when it dislodged. So that's what I need to do then. I'll get the pole out and drop it in the opposite direction

Adrian Harris wrote:

I have recently started taking out my old GX7 again with a small lens for when I want to travel very light.

However I am REALLY struggling to see through the viewfinder!

If you don't already have one, look for the extended eyecup. It really makes a difference in terms of blocking out a lot of ambient light/glare and getting your eye in the correct position.

I have to get my eye dead center and the. However I adjust the adjustment slider, the best I can get is an extremely small clear sharp bit in the middle. The whole periphery of the viewfinder looks like zoom burst blur. I can't actually use it at all.

Sounds like the EVF isn't in good shape.

Did you clean it? My GX8's EVF was looking funky, so I cleaned it. What a difference!

My eyes: I have one normal focusing eye (cataract done) , and one that needs glasses. Neither eye, with or without glasses can use the viewfinder.

What about adjusting the EVF focus (diopter)?

I just don't recall it being that bad. Is it possible I have knocked something out of line?

How is everyone else's GX7 viewfinder?

Finally sold mine a few months ago. It basically sat in a drawer for 5+ years and never used.

PS. The rear LCD screen is great. But not what I want to use.

jalywol wrote:

Adrian Harris wrote:

I have recently started taking out my old GX7 again with a small lens for when I want to travel very light.

However I am REALLY struggling to see through the viewfinder!

I have to get my eye dead center and the. However I adjust the adjustment slider, the best I can get is an extremely small clear sharp bit in the middle. The whole periphery of the viewfinder looks like zoom burst blur. I can't actually use it at all.

My eyes: I have one normal focusing eye (cataract done) , and one that needs glasses. Neither eye, with or without glasses can use the viewfinder.

I just don't recall it being that bad. Is it possible I have knocked something out of line?

How is everyone else's GX7 viewfinder?

PS. The rear LCD screen is great. But not what I want to use.

It was bad, but not that bad. It sounds like the lens in front of the EVF got displaced a bit. Maybe get a hold of a service manual and see if you can take the viewfinder assembly apart to see if there's anything you can do?

(Or, if nothing else works, give it a smack and see if you can knock it back into place.....)

The GX7 or his head? 😜

jeffharris wrote:

Adrian Harris wrote:

I have recently started taking out my old GX7 again with a small lens for when I want to travel very light.

However I am REALLY struggling to see through the viewfinder!

If you don't already have one, look for the extended eyecup. It really makes a difference in terms of blocking out a lot of ambient light/glare and getting your eye in the correct position.

I have to get my eye dead center and the. However I adjust the adjustment slider, the best I can get is an extremely small clear sharp bit in the middle. The whole periphery of the viewfinder looks like zoom burst blur. I can't actually use it at all.

Sounds like the EVF isn't in good shape.

Did you clean it? My GX8's EVF was looking funky, so I cleaned it. What a difference!

My eyes: I have one normal focusing eye (cataract done) , and one that needs glasses. Neither eye, with or without glasses can use the viewfinder.

What about adjusting the EVF focus (diopter)?

Yes I've tried the diopter adjustment.

I just don't recall it being that bad. Is it possible I have knocked something out of line?

How is everyone else's GX7 viewfinder?

Finally sold mine a few months ago. It basically sat in a drawer for 5+ years and never used.

Yes mine has sat in drawer for 5 or 6 years. But have just started using it again in non critical photographic situations where reduced weight takes priority.

PS. The rear LCD screen is great. But not what I want to use.

jeffharris wrote:

jalywol wrote:

Adrian Harris wrote:

I have recently started taking out my old GX7 again with a small lens for when I want to travel very light.

However I am REALLY struggling to see through the viewfinder!

I have to get my eye dead center and the. However I adjust the adjustment slider, the best I can get is an extremely small clear sharp bit in the middle. The whole periphery of the viewfinder looks like zoom burst blur. I can't actually use it at all.

My eyes: I have one normal focusing eye (cataract done) , and one that needs glasses. Neither eye, with or without glasses can use the viewfinder.

I just don't recall it being that bad. Is it possible I have knocked something out of line?

How is everyone else's GX7 viewfinder?

PS. The rear LCD screen is great. But not what I want to use.

It was bad, but not that bad. It sounds like the lens in front of the EVF got displaced a bit. Maybe get a hold of a service manual and see if you can take the viewfinder assembly apart to see if there's anything you can do?

(Or, if nothing else works, give it a smack and see if you can knock it back into place.....)

The GX7 or his head? 😜

That comment cracked me up. Nice one

Adrian, should you wish to try a repair route more refined than a rubber mallet, here are dropbox links from which you can download:

GX7 service manual: https://www.dropbox.com/s/fsq0srs48815i84/Panasonic%20DMC%20GX7%20Service%20Manual.pdf?dl=0

GX7 parts list: https://www.dropbox.com/s/zy6sbhf5tn7uy17/Panasonic%20DMC%20GX7%20Parts%20List.pdf?dl=0

SOLVED - Re: GX7 viewfinder query

Whoopee, and thanks everyone for tips and ideas.

And in case anyone else has the same problem here is the solution...

In the end after googling for a while longer I found someone on Flickr who had the same problem nearly 5 years ago and they undid the screw under the rubber eyecup, removed the eyecup and noticed the diopter lens was loose, so clicked it back into position.

So I have just done the same and it was exactly that. Once the rubber eyecup was removed, I could see the diopter lens was floating about.

My fingers were far to large to use, but with a small screwdriver I could move the little plastic lens around until it clicked into place. Now it's perfect

I was very nervous unscrewing a piece of the camera and risk tugging the eyecup off, but thought well the GX7 is unusable as it is, and as it's very old not worth paying to repair. thus nothing to lose. But in the end it was safe and simple.

Best wishes everyone.

Nice one!

Peter