Multiple Users Reporting Major EVF Issue with the Brand New Fuji X-Pro3

enero 17, 2020

Multiple Users Reporting Major EVF Issue with the Brand New Fuji X-Pro3

Users of Fujifilm’s brand new and much-anticipated X-Pro3 rangefinder have started reporting a troubling issue with their viewfinders. A number of users have taken to both DPReview and the FujiX Forum to report that their cameras’ EVFs have “all of a sudden” started showing a wildly overexposed image and preview, making it impossible to use.

The issue was first reported two weeks ago on the DPReview forums by photographer Etienne Waldron, who thought the issue was due to the fact that he had been shooting in a light rain when it first occurred.

“I just went out shooting with the X-Pro3 under light rain and suddenly noticed that my EVF was misbehaving, showing me a (way) overexposed view when shooting, and brightness issues in both the menus and the ‘Play’ mode as well,” explained Waldron. “Things look normal through the LCD, but everything looks (very) overexposed through the viewfinder, almost plain white. Have any of you experienced this?”

Waldron eventually managed to capture two images of the phenomenon, which he kindly shared with PetaPixel below:

And this is what it looks like through the OVF:

The LCD, meanwhile, shows the image as it should:

Almost as soon as his report went up, other users joined the conversation to report that they, too, had been having the same issue. But while users on both forums were relieved that this wasn’t a problem with just their camera (i.e. thank god I didn’t break it), taking the battery out and resetting the camera does not help, leading some to wonder if this is a widespread hardware issue.

One user on the FujiX Forum posted that their dealer “confirmed it is a faulty camera and has given me a full refund.”

Another users said that, including the original poster, they had heard from “at least 4 Pro3 users with the same issue. Two of them getting direct replacement.” They speculated that, “there seems to be a QC issue here on the OLED and its connection.”

While this would be a major issue on any camera, it’s particularly problematic on the new X-Pro3 because of its ‘hidden LCD’ design. It seems like the only workaround is to avoid the EVF entirely by shooting form waist-level, or eye level with the LCD flipped all the way down.

We reached out to Fujifilm for comment yesterday, but have not heard back, so we can’t say how widespread this issue is. Maybe it’s just a handful of cameras, but given the number of confirmed cases already posted on the forums, Fuji might have a bigger problem, and possibly a recall, on its hands.

We will update this post if and when we have official confirmation or a statement from Fuji.

Image credits: Photos by Etienne Waldron and used with permission.