Need explanation of OVF on mirrorless

[Karlov]

I'm a DSLR user, but plan on buying a mirrorless camera soon, possibly a Fuji. While reading about their cameras, I noticed that some of them, along with an EVF, also have an OVF.  My first thought was, WHAT??!!! I really have little knowledge of mirrorless cameras, but I always thought OVF was a view looking through the lens, like the DSLRs. How is this possible with a mirrorless camera?  It's possible the answer to my question is right under my nose and I'm missing the obvious, but I'm just not understanding this. Any explanation would be appreciated.

[eurotrash]

The things missing from mirrorless cameras are the pentaprism and mirror box. These are the main reasons mirrorless camera bodies are able to have a smaller footprint. What you're seeing in the OVF of say, the X-Pro 2, is still 'through the lens', albeit light entering the lens doesn't need to pass through the pentaprism and bounce up through an array of mirrors multiple times and direct itself towards the OVF.
It's literally the same thing, just made smaller due to not needing all the components that make up a traditional DSLR, thus saving space.

[plaidshirts]

I have to respectfully disagree with the previous commenter. The OVF does not show anything through the lens. It functions as one on a rangefinder like Leica and is simply an optical window with frame lines and much better parallax correction. EVFs have gotten so good these days that I don’t use it much anymore.