Understanding the Advanced Multi-Hybrid Viewfinder on the X-Pro2

When photographing different events under extreme lighting conditions it is good practice to understand how your camera works before the start date. The Fujifilm X-Pro2 is new on the market and therefore learning the advantages of the Advanced Multi-Hybrid Viewfinder is essential to great imaging success. Many new photographers starting out would bypass the viewfinder altogether and stick with the clear bright LCD, but there are many advantages to the different screen modes the camera offers.

For starters, take this example at Sydney’s light festival – VIVID (below). When trying to photograph bright bursts of flames at 1/8000 second using the XF100-400mm at full extension – handheld, looking on the back of the LCD screen becomes almost impossible. This is because holding the camera away from your face will present some unwanted movement causing blur plus achieving focus in the pitch black becomes almost impossible, as the fireballs only appear for less than a second in different positions.

To overcome this situation the X-Pro2 has a handy trick. Positioning your eye up to the viewfinder presents a welcome opportunity to either select the Optical Viewfinder (OVF) or the Electronic Viewfinder (EVF). Both modes have advantages, but there are a few default settings that are worth changing to obtain the best results.

The image above was captured while looking through the OVF with an electronic overlay over the optical image. What this means is when you look through the viewfinder you can see the focus point, but the rangefinder view (framing) doesn’t change – it stays at the widest point. The advantage of this is you can see what’s happening outside of the frame you will end up recording. The disadvantage is you won’t be able to see all of the frame due to the long XF100-400mm lens protruding into your optical view.

Using the X-Pro2’s amazing single point autofocus in this mode you can easily half-press the shutter button to obtain correct focus, all while seeing the subject in low light conditions. Of course with all things digital there are many ways to operate the camera to obtain the same result. The second way of going about taking the same photo is the far better option, however as mentioned previously, you will have to change a few default settings in the menu.

When you put your eye up to the viewfinder and turn the viewfinder selector clockwise (located on the front of the X-Pro2) you will notice that the screen changes from OVF to EVF. Now you can see what the final image will be. This is a fantastic mode to photograph in if you are in excellent lighting conditions.

The default setting for this mode is to show you exactly what the end result will be. If you are photographing a bright blue sky at 1/250 second then you won’t have any troubles, but if you are photographing at a high shutter speed like 1/8000 of a second the image you will see through the viewfinder will become dark, making it impossible to see anything and obtain focus on whatever you might be looking at.

The camera will still work automatically of course and pick up focus (but the obvious thing is you can’t see anything). To obtain the same image you will need to change the default setting in the ‘SET UP’ menu.

Navigate to the following and turn each setting to ‘OFF’

SET UP > SCREEN SET-UP > PREVIEW PIC. EFFECT
SET UP > SCREEN SET-UP > PREVIEW EXP./WB IN MANUAL MODE

Turning off these settings will now reward you with the ability to see at a high shutter speed while using the EVF.

From what we hear, this seems to be one of the main frustrations many photographers face when trying to photograph using the EVF on the X-Pro2. Now that you know what to do to overcome the frustration, we encourage you to share this with your friends.