Paul Crespel

Verona Impromptu Performance in Piazza Verona Pianist by Paul Crespel, on Flickr

Verona - Impromtu Piano Concerto in Piazza delle Erbe Verona Pianist by Paul Crespel, on Flickr

Viewfinder only, with everything in the viewfinder, was already available pre X100T, using EVF. If what you state above were true, then why, with the X100T in viewfinder only mode, does playback of the images occur only on the LCD, when everything else is in the viewfinder? That is inconsistent with the above reasoning. There are many users who do not want to use EVF under any circumstances, and who buy these cameras for the excellent OVF. It would have been nice had Fuji simply offered another option, instead of taking one away. In ALL other makes of OVF only camera, the viewfinder is used for taking the photograph, and the LCD is used for the menu. This has been the case for around 15 years since digital SLRs came out. Many offer a menu in viewfinder option, but the default is optical viewfinder for taking the photographs, and LCD for viewing the menu. Fuji's eye sensor does not work well with people who wear glasses. It's not instant even for those who don't. Fuji's EVF is a nightmare for people wearing glasses if you have to view the menu through the viewfinder. It worked before, but now Fuji have changed something that worked well for those migrating from other makes, and for the very large percentage of the population who wear glasses. I can not produce the sort of photos I usually produce with the X100T. It is not workable. I have had to revert to the X100S. Surely Fuji should simply have added another option?

No, the lag starts when you put your eye to the viewfinder, it doesn't wake up instantly, there is a lag, especially if you wear glasses, and sometimes, with glasses, you have to move your face around to get the sensor to notice.... the sensor doesn't work well through glass.

Thanks, it's my third S. I've also been through 3 XP1s and one X100 - average life expectancy is nine months - super cameras but rather "delicate"

Sorry, I wasn't clear on that one.... the D pad is blocked with the keypad lock, which means 4 customisable buttons, which I could have used for critical actions, aren't easily accessible, so I have to use the menu. The reason for using the keypad lock is explained in an earlier post.

Hi darknj, I'm sticking with the X100S. It has no problems. The X100T has been mothballed until such a time as Fuji sees sense and corrects its firmware. The X-Pro1 is also still fantastic, and gets great use. I don't have a personal problem with the XP2, as it hasn't even been released for sale yet. Maybe Fuji will read my comments, and those of many others in the Internet who are complaining about the same, single issue. I have also written to Fuji in Japan asking them to reconsider their "improvements", but have never received a reply. Fuji aren't famous for replying. I bought the X100T on trust gained over five years of fantastic Fuji use. I was disappointed. A lot of people are disappointed about the change in menu viewing. The recent change, for some photographers, is sufficient to render the camera unfit for use for their style of photography. As an analogy, when governments create new laws that clearly go against the will of the people, the people protest and make their feelings known. Often the governments will listen and adjust what they have done in order to be more acceptable to their voters. To just accept changes that are not good is called apathy. This process also applies to the retail sector. We do not work for Fuji. Fuji works for us. If Fuji, like a government, does things that are wrong, people will stop supporting it. I use Fuji cameras. My last major exhibition was clearly publicised as an exhibition of images taken on Fuji cameras, as are all my exhibitions. That exhibition in Milan saw over ONE MILLION visitors, all of whom were informed that the images were all taken on Fuji cameras. I believe in Fuji. I like Fuji, but if Fuji get something wrong I will tell them, so they can reconsider and get back on the right track. Sadly, there are a lot of apathetic people around who just blindly accept changes, whether good or bad, and whose answer is simply if you don't like it, go elsewhere. That is negative, apathetic and not conducive to improvement. I have been a journalist for over 40 years. I expose issues in the public interest. It's what I do. 95% of what Fuji are doing is fantastic. 4% is not so good, and 1% is bad. That's better than most producers On behalf of those who blindly believe that everything Fuji do is perfect, and that to criticise it in any way is nothing short of blasphemy, I will voice my thoughts as widely as possible, hoping that those thoughts will help Fuji to avoid the 1% that some people would rather quietly ignore, and suffer in silence. Fuji is fantastic, but sometimes it needs to be shouted at a bit..... as has been mentioned by others in this thread, if you speak quietly Fuji doesn't always listen

Eye sensor mode is not immediate enough, there's a lag while one shuts down and the other opens..... even half a second is too much lag for me, I lose shots. Eye sensor mode means the LCD is permanently lit up while I don't have my eye at the viewfinder, which means that in low light I am a walking lighthouse, and there's no possibility of discretion. I go out for a long day with 8 spare batteries, I would need to double that if my camera were permanently on with the LCD awake. Also, people never had to use eye sensor mode on any camera before, including Fuji.... so why do they have to start now, when, as you said, it worked great on the XP1 (and also the X100 and the X100S). I have never taken a shot using the LCD as a viewfinder. I have spent 40 years using a viewfinder, and like others of my age, I just don't want to change.... and why should I, when it all worked great until recently I did try eye sensor mode, about 5 years or so ago with the original X100, and I really didn't like it, which was fine, because for 5 years of Fujis I've never needed to use it, as all options were catered for..... but now they are not.

darknj, just a thought.... do you wear glasses? If you don't, then try navigating a menu in a viewfinder with glasses on, it's really not much fun. If I remove my glasses and use the diopter adjustment, I can't see what I want to photograph. If I leave my glasses on I have problems navigating the menu in the viewfinder. I guess I'm not the only photographer who wears glasses. I cannot use contact lenses. It used to work well for everybody, there was an option that worked well for everybody.... now that option has gone

Hi Clinton, Most Canon, Nikon and other makes of cameras don't have EVF. They are mostly SLRs. You use the viewfinder to take the photos, and you use the LCD to view them, and to view the menu. You can't see the menu in the viewfinder of the majority of cameras on sale today. Fuji followed this convention. OVF mode behaved like all other cameras. You used OVF to take the photo, and the LCD to view the photo or to navigate the menu. It's really not easy navigating a big menu through a little eye hole. Fuji also gave the option to have everything in the viewfinder, if you chose EVF mode. Now, on the X100T and the XP2, Fuji have removed the OVF/LCD option. The OVF option now forces you to view the menu in the viewfinder, but strangely the photos on the LCD... there is no logic in that, if their arguments about intrusiveness and light pollution are to be believed. So now, somebody taking photos in a theatre can navigate the menu in the viewfinder, but as soon as they press the arrow button to view a photo they've just taken, the whole theatre lights up. I think Fuji have listened to too many complaints from vociferous people who really don't have a clue about real-world photography, and have created a monumental failure. Fuji could have simply provided them with an option, without breaking something that has worked for all camera manufacturers and photographers for the past 15 years. This problem is so bad that for the type of street photography that I do the X100T cannot be successfully used, and I have reverted to the X100S.

Flysurfer, they fixed it for you, even though you had the option to make it how you wanted, using the menu in EVF view. However, by fixing it for you, they have not balanced the "fix" with the equivalent option for those who don't want it. You had an option to view menus in the VF or on the LCD. We no longer have that option in a way that's usable under pressure. Out of interest, how do you cope with Canon, Nikon, Sony etc.? They all have the menus on the LCD.

fordfanjpn, thanks for the compliments ok, things I would change: TCL-X100 I need to access the menu if I attach or detach. Flash Macro Focus point setting just to name a few. Nearly everything is blocked when the keypad is locked. On my X100 and my first X-Pro1 I super glued many of the back buttons to avoid pressing them accidentally. Blocking them helps, but it means you have to access nearly everything through the menu or Q menu.

addzman808, ok I didn't understand, and in that case I don't know the answer.

fordfanjpn, I have to use the keypad lock permanently, as my camera is permanently in my hand and switched on.... fingers touch buttons, and when you suddenly bring the camera to your eye you find it doesn't work, because you pressed a button and something changed... so I block the keypad. Blocked keypad means that nearly all changes have to be done in the main menu or the Q menu. However, that's not really the point..... the point is that until 2 cameras ago, Fuji adhered to universal convention on menus appearing on the LCD, a convention adopted by all camera users. Fuji have just broken with convention, and it's not good. Before, the user could see the menu or Q menu on the LCD, as with all cameras, but the user HAD A CHOICE to view the menus in the viewfinder if he or she wanted. Now, Fuji have taken away the choice. Now Fuji say their cameras will be different to all other cameras, whether we like it or not. It worked, the user had the option to change. Now it doesn't work, and the user doesn't have any option, except for eye sensor mode, which is total crap.

adzman808, the XP2 does have eye sensor setting. It's what Fuji Italia says we must all now use, but eye sensor is slow, and it drains the battery because the LCD remains permanently on while your eye is not at the viewfinder. There's also a pause when changing from one to the other, which is enough to lose shots, and if you use it, you create the light pollution that Fuji Italia were so anxious to avoid

darknj, the problem is our workflow has increased by several seconds, and that's more than enough to miss several good shots. What possessed Fuji to go against universally accepted convention? The email I have from Massimo of Fuji Italia says that Fuji changed it as a result of numerous requests. I think if that were true we'd have seen a lot of complaints in forums that the old system didn't work - there have never been any such comments or complaints, so I think Massimo must have done a course in creative writing Here is Massimo's email, an a translation below: Anche la Pro2 ha la nuova modalità, come tutte le nuova macchine col minino ibrido che usciranno in futuro Abbiamo fatto la modifica a seguito delle numerose richieste pervenutoci. In sostanza chi forza l’utilizzo del mirino nella maggior parte dei casi vuole evitare inquinamento luminoso, per restare invisibili o non disturbare (tipo teatro) Il sensore occhio invece permette di vedere il menu anche sull’ LCD TRANSLATION The Pro2 also has the new modality, as will have all new cameras with hybrid viewfinders. We have made the change as a result of numerous requests. Substantially, most viewfinder users want to avoid light pollution, to remain invisible or to avoid causing a disturbance (e.g. theatre). The eye sensor allows you to also see the menu on the LCD There is one simple word to sum-up Massimo's observations - Bullshit! All Fuji cameras with hybrid viewfinders, or any type of viewfinder, prior to the X100T and the X-Pro2, showed the main menu on the LCD by default, but all offered the OPTION to display the menu in the viewfinder instead of the LCD. So, Massimo's argument about light pollution was already catered for on the earlier models. Fuji took away an option, and just made two, what could have been fantastic cameras, unfit for purpose. Well done Massimo! :D

Thanks typeronin, that's what Fuji said. Thank you for confirming it. Sadly, it's a huge step backwards for Fuji cameras, where the Fuji main menu, by default, used to go to the LCD, like all other makes of cameras.

FUJI ITALY have just confirmed to me, by email, that the X-Pro2 has the same problem as the X100T. When using the optical viewfinder, if you press the menu button the menu appears IN THE VIEWFINDER. Nobody navigates the full menu in the viewfinder. On previous Fuji cameras when using the viewfinder the menu always appeared on the LCD display, as it does with Canon, Nikon and most other major manufacturers. There was the option to see the menu in the viewfinder, but by default it was on the LCD. This option has been removed on the new X-Pro2 and the Fuji X100T, and the camera menus are now extremely slow and cumbersome to use in fast moving situations. This important change has not been noticed by any of the professional reviewers, even though it's very obvious after just 30 seconds playing with the cameras. Fuji's reply (available for anybody who wants it) is that everybody must use the eye sensor mode. Canon, Nikon, Leica, Panasonic, Sony, and even Fuji always adhered to the convention that the main menu appears on the LCD by default. There is a good reason for this.... it's what works best, and it's what people want. Fuji have moved the goalposts, and now the main menu can only be seen on the LCD if you use eye sensor mode, or you change your view mode to view the menu, then press the view mode button another 3 times when you want to go back to using the viewfinder to take a photo. This is going to cause people to miss photographs. Please be aware that if you buy an X-Pro2 or an X100T the menu will no longer work like menus have always worked on all cameras.

Fuji Italy have just sent me the following text in an email: "The X-Pro2 also has the new modality, as will all future cameras with the hybrid viewfinder. We have made the change following numerous requests. Substantially, whoever uses mostly the viewfinder wants to avoid light pollution, to stay invisible or not cause a disturbance (e.g. theatre). The eye sensor, on the other hand, allows you to also see the menu on the LCD." None of that makes any sense at all. On the X-Pro1, X100 and X100S, for those not wishing to cause light pollution had the CHOICE of seeing the menu on the LCD or in the viewfinder. Fuji's reasoning above is groundless, because the option already existed. Instead, they have taken away one of the options. They now say they have done the same for the X-Pro2. An excellent reason for not buying it. Eye sensor is great for those who want to use it. For those who don't, everything worked tickety-boo up until the X100S, then Fuji decided to take away an option, using unbelievable reasons. I think they simply screwed-up... got it wrong... hopefully they will fix it soon, because it is a big problem. It's quite amazing that all the professional reviewers never even noticed such a big and important change

When using OVF, if you press the menu button on the back of the camera, does the menu appear on the LCD like it did on the X-Pro1, the X100, the X100S, and also like it does on Canon, Nikon, Leica and all reputable cameras? Or have Fuji made the same unbelievable error that they made on the X100T, where the main menu ONLY appears inside the viewfinder? Thanks.

Vladimir, Fuji doesn't normally give RAW capability or allow its sharing on pre-production models.

GAME OVER Game Over by Paul Crespel, on Flickr

Jersey Channel Islands, or New Jersey USA ? Hi