I Have This Problem:

T

tedwhite

Guest
Frequently, when I go outside the OVF darkens to the point where I can barely see through it. I went through menus until I found "eye-fi" and turned it off.

Sometimes it doesn't do this (the OVF darkening), but when it does it essentially renders the camera useless, which is why I carry a Canon S95 in a trouser pocket. I shouldn't have to do this. I know that the two tiny glass squares to the right of the viewfinder are sensors that alert the camera to the fact that an eye is darkening their little horizons. Is this causing the problem? I thought turning "eye-fi" off had disabled it.

Oh, and when I press the "view/mode" button "eye sensor" appears briefly on the LED screen. If "eye sensor" is still functioning is that the problem?

Very frustrating, as I had an assignment to shoot a custom motorcycle outside and thought I would only need the X100s. Because the OVF went dark I kept people waiting while I rushed home and got my DSLR. Fortunately I only lived a few blocks away.

Can anyone help me fix this?
 
Hi Ted. I think I've had this. Maybe the battery is low....? Every now and then with my X100 it's like someone else has been using it. I went through a maddening interlude where the only way to review an image was in the viewfinder! Certainly the brief message on the LCD 'Eye Sensor' means that it is now active. I get the impression that just scrolling through the VF options might fix things up. Maybe toggling the lever on the front between OVF and EVF might fix it. I hesitate to suggest that there is anything actually wrong with the camera, which I suspect is unlikely. I am speaking as only the humble owner of the X100, not the S. I have had more problems since I use the camera less, but you must be very regularly engaged with yours at the moment.
 
Yes, quite actively engaged. I tried going through VF options once. I'll try again. I think you're right about eye sensor being active. I'm not sure what it does when active? Turn off the LED? Darken the OVF? Who knows?

Also, for some reason the switch on the front of the camera for toggling between OVF and EVF does precisely nothing.

Kshapero: Can't put the lens cap on as I've fitted the lens hood, and the squeeze 49mm lens cap has yet to arrive from Hong Kong. But it's a good question to ask. Once I saw a newbie to Leicas shooting away with the cap on. I felt obliged to mention this to him.
 
Now that I think about it.. I have had this problem before myself... It only happens when I turn on the camera and bring the viewfinder to my eye tooo quickly... Once I figured this out, I learned to wait a bit before using the ovf.

I have a suspicion..that since I have only had this happen when I first turn it on, that the camera initialization routine gets into a bug in the program. It will correct itself if I turn off the camera and wait for a count of around 5-10 seconds before turning it back on.

I not sure if this is your exact problem. It does not always happen which is why it took me a while to try waiting a bit before using the viewfinder. I do suspect it has something to do w/ the eye sensor as well. So far I have not had this happen to me for a very long time since I now wait about 3-5 seconds after I c the LCD screen active before I start to use the viewfinder.

Good luck
Gary
 
I'll try your scheme tomorrow as there's no more daylight. I really want to like this camera. When I began reading about it I felt that it might be close to a poor man's digital Leica, only with a fixed lens (somewhat like the Yashica GSN but without being big, clunky, and heavy, though it did have a gorgeous lens). And with auto-focus (which in my later years has become a must-have).

What I like about it are the old familiar f-stop and shutter speed dials. And the fact that you can go aperture or shutter preferred.

There's a whole bunch to like about this camera. I hope that it won't completely frustrate me and piss me off to the extent that I sell it to somebody with an advanced degree in computer science.
 
tedwhite said:
Frequently, when I go outside the OVF darkens to the point where I can barely see through it. I went through menus until I found "eye-fi" and turned it off.

Sometimes it doesn't do this (the OVF darkening), but when it does it essentially renders the camera useless, which is why I carry a Canon S95 in a trouser pocket. I shouldn't have to do this. I know that the two tiny glass squares to the right of the viewfinder are sensors that alert the camera to the fact that an eye is darkening their little horizons. Is this causing the problem? I thought turning "eye-fi" off had disabled it.

Oh, and when I press the "view/mode" button "eye sensor" appears briefly on the LED screen. If "eye sensor" is still functioning is that the problem?

Very frustrating, as I had an assignment to shoot a custom motorcycle outside and thought I would only need the X100s. Because the OVF went dark I kept people waiting while I rushed home and got my DSLR. Fortunately I only lived a few blocks away.

Can anyone help me fix this?
Click to expand...

Ted, the Eye-Fi setting is for the wireless memory cards of the same name, not a VF parameter.

I personally run my new X100s in VF only mode with the back LCD turned off, and I haven't had any issues with the OVF darkening. The View/Mode button cycles through three settings - VF, back LCD and eye sensor. I don't care for the eye sensor delay, so I just use VF.
 
Thank you, Ken.

Clears up one mystery for sure. And, like you, I only use the OVF with the back turned off.

The other mystery is the darkened OVF. I'll try Gary's routine tomorrow and see if it works. But I'm a bit skeptical because I had the camera turned on for about 5 minutes in my house before I went outside. The moment I opened the front door, stepping out into late afternoon Arizona sunlight, the OVF darkened.

On another note I've sort of tricked out my X100s with a red soft release, a screen protector, a thumb lever, and a lens hood. But probably the most important farkle is a Gordy's leather wrist strap (Gordy calls it a "camera strap" but that's too ambiguous a term; "wrist strap" means what it says). It allows me to walk around without using the Fuji neck strap.
 
The only thing I can think of would be power save mode.. Five minutes is long enough for auto power to kick in.. The default setting I think was either 3 or 5 minutes. If the camera auto powered down, it may take a bit to come back on..does not happen immediately like other cameras when u half press the shutter release. If this is source of your problem, there is a menu option for disabling this along w/ ovf power save option which I always have disabled.

I think it maybe closer to Konica Hexar af. Or a fixed lens version of a contax g.. :)

Good luck
Gary
 
tedwhite said:
Frequently, when I go outside the OVF darkens to the point where I can barely see through it[...]
Click to expand...
I don't get the whole problem: The OVF cannot darken. It is just a hole with lenses!
Maybe I'm just slow on the uptake, but does the TO speak of the EVF? Or the head up information in the OVF which can attenuate and intensify?
I also use 99 % the OVF and use:
Auto Power Off = 2 MIN
OVF Power Save Mode = ON
Quick Start Mode = OFF
Never saw a problem in the OVF
 
dct said:
I don't get the whole problem: The OVF cannot darken. .........
Click to expand...

I believe this is correct, and that the OP (please don't take this badly) is saying "OVF" when it's the EVF that is darkening (probably due polarized sunglasses ? ).
 
That is quite correct that the optical can never darken.. But when the camera was in this weird startup state for me...even though it was in ovf mode, the ovf was not active and it was as if the startup code left it in evf mode but thinking that the LCD was the active display.. As I said above once I figured out I was trying to use the viewfinder too soon after power up and just waited a bit longer, never had this problem again.

Gary
 
Thanks to all of you for your suggestions and comments.

I do not have any sunglasses. My prescription glasses darken when I go outside. I don't know if that means they're polarized. However, when the VF darkened I pulled off my glasses in case that was the problem and hadn't noticed it earlier. Without glasses the VF was still dark.

dct: I followed your settings but one. Couldn't find the Quick Start Mode.

tom.w.bn: Of course I could use the back monitor, but why should I have to do that? One of the reasons I bought the Fuji was because it had a VF. In bright desert light back monitors are a bit iffy. And YES, macro mode is on and I just now tried to switch it off but can't.

The camera manual says "to exit macro mode press the command dial left and select off."

No "OFF" appears when I press the command dial left. Only an image of a padlock, the word ON, and a small image of a camera. The macro mode symbol of a tulip in the upper left corner remains. Alonside it is the flash symbol.

Frustrating.
 
The four way controller maybe locked. If u hold down the ok button for longer then I think 5 seconds it locks the things like macro mode to whatever it was set to. To unlock simply hold it down for 5 seconds again.

The macro mode should cycle with each press.

Gary
 
dct said:
[...]I also use 99 % the OVF and use:
Auto Power Off = 2 MIN
OVF Power Save Mode = ON
Quick Start Mode = OFF
Never saw a problem in the OVF
Click to expand...
tedwhite said:
Thanks to all of you for your suggestions and comments.[...]dct: I followed your settings but one. Couldn't find the Quick Start Mode.[...]
Click to expand...
I should have added I'm using a X100 with SW version 2.01. Maybe you have an older SW version or the X100s: Menu items may have shifted position or may depend from other settings if they become configurable? I'm not sure.
 
Ted,
There's also the polarized glasses issue. If you're using polarized sunglasses, these modern viewfinders will be dark to black. I had to change my prescription sunglasses to non-polarized.
 
tedwhite said:
when I go outside the OVF darkens
Click to expand...
I've tried to replicate it on my X100s but the best I can do is turn the EVF on and point the camera at the sun/bright sky; then it does darken, as expected.
I hope you will find the patience to work with this camera, because once tamed, it has the potential to reward you beyond your wildest expectations.
 
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