Fuji vs Canon Rear LCD Quality

[chadandreo]

I have been a Canon shooter for over 10 years and now I shoot with Canon and Fuji.

After testing out the X-T20, I decided to pre-order a couple of XT3's.

Although I love my XT3's, the two things about the camera that leaves something to be desired when compared to my Canon 1DxII and 5D4, is the lack of object tracking and the quality of the rear LCD. When I zoom-in/punch-in to check focus for video or to review a photo, the image quality on the Fuji LCD is significantly lower than my Canon's and has a more digital/pixelated look.

My question is, is the quality of the rear LCD a Fuji issue or is it a mirrorless limitation? Ive noticed the same thing with other mirrorless cameras that I have owned or used in the past.

Has anyone else noticed this?

 

Edit: 

I have experimented with different settings such as the sharpness, saturation, picture profile, etc. and it didnt make much of a difference. 

[Mako Sports]

That's a clear example of how every system has its pros and cons.

I'm a total Sony fanboy but I know for a fact our cameras have the worst built in LCD screens. 

[thebrothersthre3]

I haven't really noticed coming from the GH5. Never used a DSLR though. 

[androidlad]

Fuji rear LCD has higher contrast than Canon, but lower resolution.

If you punch in to check focus, does a slight resolution difference matter?

[chadandreo]

1 minute ago, androidlad said:

Fuji rear LCD has higher contrast than Canon, but lower resolution.

If you punch in to check focus, does a slight resolution difference matter?

For me, it definitely does. When I'm doing run-and-gun work, while shooting shallow with cinema or manual focus lenses, I am rarely confident that my focus will be tack sharp. The resolution is significantly lower to the point in which everything seems to blend together.

The funny thing is I have the same issue even when I am using my Ninja V. When the framing is normal, the image looks gorgeous, but once I punch-in, I get that same low-res look. I had any easier time focusing using the Focus Assist or Focus Sharpness(whatever its called) feature on the SmallHD Focus.  

[thebrothersthre3]

Hopefully the XH2 will have what you are looking for. XT3 is great and incredibly cheap for what you get but its not perfect.

[Lars Steenhoff]

The size and the resolution are both better on canon and Nikon ( 3.2 inch vs 3 inch ) double the resolution.

When I spoke to a fuji rep at IBC it was the first feedback I gave, make the lcd bigger and with higher resolution.

Zeiss really gets this right with the ZX1.

 

[aldolega]

"My $1500 camera's screen isn't as good as my $6,000 camera's, or even my $3,400 camera's! What gives?"

[chadandreo]

5 hours ago, aldolega said:

"My $1500 camera's screen isn't as good as my $6,000 camera's, or even my $3,400 camera's! What gives?"

Or even my old 5D3 and 6D from 2012 thats worth $600. 

On 1/10/2019 at 1:58 PM, thebrothersthre3 said:

Hopefully the XH2 will have what you are looking for. XT3 is great and incredibly cheap for what you get but its not perfect.

Hopefully!

its a steal at that price. I am more surprised at the fact that the image doesnt look that great on my Atomos Ninja V. I am assuming there is some kind of an output limitation. 

9 hours ago, Lars Steenhoff said:

The size and the resolution are both better on canon and Nikon ( 3.2 inch vs 3 inch ) double the resolution.

When I spoke to a fuji rep at IBC it was the first feedback I gave, make the lcd bigger and with higher resolution.

Zeiss really gets this right with the ZX1.

 

Hopefully they listen. 

I have to check out the ZX1. 

[DBounce]

Really never found the quality of the rear display to be a problem on the X-T3. Compared to the 1DXMk2 the biggest usability difference I noticed was that the Fuji articulated when in portrait mode... something that is pretty handy if you ever shoot stills in this orientation. 

[jpleong]

On 1/10/2019 at 12:02 AM, chadandreo said:

I have been a Canon shooter for over 10 years and now I shoot with Canon and Fuji.

After testing out the X-T20, I decided to pre-order a couple of XT3's.

Although I love my XT3's, the two things about the camera that leaves something to be desired when compared to my Canon 1DxII and 5D4, is the lack of object tracking and the quality of the rear LCD. When I zoom-in/punch-in to check focus for video or to review a photo, the image quality on the Fuji LCD is significantly lower than my Canon's and has a more digital/pixelated look.

My question is, is the quality of the rear LCD a Fuji issue or is it a mirrorless limitation? Ive noticed the same thing with other mirrorless cameras that I have owned or used in the past.

Has anyone else noticed this?

 

Edit: 

I have experimented with different settings such as the sharpness, saturation, picture profile, etc. and it didnt make much of a difference. 

For clarity, are you experiencing degraded quality ONLY while zooming in for focus or overall?

[mkabi]

You using Focus Peaking????

I don't know.... from what I hear... the focus peaking coming from the Fuji is pretty high up there...

And, if I were you.... I would do a few tests... and if focus peaking is nailing it every time... just trust and not punch in.

[webrunner5]

4 minutes ago, mkabi said:

You using Focus Peaking????

I don't know.... from what I hear... the focus peaking coming from the Fuji is pretty high up there...

And, if I were you.... I would do a few tests... and if focus peaking is nailing it every time... just trust and not punch in.

Yeah if you can't trust the camera why even have it.

[chadandreo]

On 1/15/2019 at 8:55 AM, jpleong said:

For clarity, are you experiencing degraded quality ONLY while zooming in for focus or overall?

Both. Overall the lcd is decent and usable, but when I zoom in to focus the quality is lower than I would like. 

On 1/15/2019 at 11:46 AM, mkabi said:

You using Focus Peaking????

I don't know.... from what I hear... the focus peaking coming from the Fuji is pretty high up there...

And, if I were you.... I would do a few tests... and if focus peaking is nailing it every time... just trust and not punch in.

The focus peaking is actually great.

I still prefer to zoom in and focus when shooting at f1.8 or wider on a prime longer than 50mm(FF equivalent) or a telephoto wide open. There are many instances where I like to use the 56mm 1.2 wide open for creative/beauty shots. 

On 1/15/2019 at 11:51 AM, webrunner5 said:

Yeah if you can't trust the camera why even have it.

As I have mentioned, overall the camera is amazing. There are a couple of things that can be improved such as the LCD and object tracking, but they are not dealbreakers. 

I was actually hoping to hear that there was a setting or something along those lines that could've improved the LCD display quality, especially for the output over HDMI. 

[chadandreo]

I tell people the XT3 is baby 1DXII for a quarter of the price. 

90% of the specs are similar, but the 1DXII has the edge in usability and the XT3 has the edge when it comes to specs and options.  

[jpleong]

This topic is of GREAT interest to me as I'm also both a Canon and Fuji shooter. I'm not really trying to argue one way or the other but here are a couple thoughts for science's sake:

1) I never have really felt that the rear display on the X-T3 was lacking. In fact, it's only because of this thread that I've learned that the panel is lower res than my 5D4 (1.04 vs 1.6m dots).

2) The 5D4's rear LCD seems to have slightly more contrast.

3) On the Fuji X-T3, have you adjusted the level of zoom when you punch in for manual focus? When I zoom focus on both the X-T3 and the 5D4, neither seems overly pixelated. Unfortunately, their zoom levels are not comparable so it's hard for me to say that one is worse than the other.

4) I completely dialed back Sharpness on the X-T3. I wonder if what you're seeing is the result of Fuji's default sharpening?

5) Here's a very unscientific look at the back LCDs from both the X-T3 (top) and 5D4 (bottom). This was shot in RAW on an iPhone (6S+, ISO23, WB auto, 1/8 sec & 1/14sec correspondingly, autofocus tapped on model's face) with both LCD screens approximately the same distance from the iPhone (locked down on a tripod). The photo is from the same SD card (shot last night on the X-T3). The 5D4 rear panel is clearly showing a resolution advantage and punchier reds but the difference, to me, was insignificant enough that I had to look in the top-left corner (you can see the corner of the X-T3 flip screen) to confirm my opinion.

 

Anywho, food for thought...

JP

[chadandreo]

7 hours ago, jpleong said:

This topic is of GREAT interest to me as I'm also both a Canon and Fuji shooter. I'm not really trying to argue one way or the other but here are a couple thoughts for science's sake:

1) I never have really felt that the rear display on the X-T3 was lacking. In fact, it's only because of this thread that I've learned that the panel is lower res than my 5D4 (1.04 vs 1.6m dots).

2) The 5D4's rear LCD seems to have slightly more contrast.

3) On the Fuji X-T3, have you adjusted the level of zoom when you punch in for manual focus? When I zoom focus on both the X-T3 and the 5D4, neither seems overly pixelated. Unfortunately, their zoom levels are not comparable so it's hard for me to say that one is worse than the other.

4) I completely dialed back Sharpness on the X-T3. I wonder if what you're seeing is the result of Fuji's default sharpening?

5) Here's a very unscientific look at the back LCDs from both the X-T3 (top) and 5D4 (bottom). This was shot in RAW on an iPhone (6S+, ISO23, WB auto, 1/8 sec & 1/14sec correspondingly, autofocus tapped on model's face) with both LCD screens approximately the same distance from the iPhone (locked down on a tripod). The photo is from the same SD card (shot last night on the X-T3). The 5D4 rear panel is clearly showing a resolution advantage and punchier reds but the difference, to me, was insignificant enough that I had to look in the top-left corner (you can see the corner of the X-T3 flip screen) to confirm my opinion.

 

Anywho, food for thought...

JP

Thank you for your post. I think the combination of the lower res lcd, slightly lower contrast and sharpness is what I am seeing. At the end of the day, I fully understand I can only expect so much from a $1500 camera. 

I normally shoot flat, but I ended up bumping up the brightness, saturation and sharpness in screen settings. 

By any chance, have you tried using your XT3 with an external monitor?

[jpleong]

1 hour ago, chadandreo said:

I normally shoot flat, but I ended up bumping up the brightness, saturation and sharpness in screen settings. 

By any chance, have you tried using your XT3 with an external monitor?

I have not used it with an external monitor or recorder...

I'm curious as to where you're bumping up the saturation and sharpness. Is that in the external monitor?

[frontfocus]

Interestingly the lcd has a pixel density of 290ppi. So it falls in line with what apple claimed to be the resolution you needed for small devices you hold close to your face. Personally I don't hold my lcd that close to my face, if I do, I use the evf instead. It has a higher pixel density than most notebooks that you use at arm length. 

 

So, while more is always better, I think part of it is a psychological problem. Small numbers just can't be good can they? 
Personally I think screens like the one from the D500 or the new Z series are great, but I see very little difference. I feel like brightness and contrast are more important since the camera is often used under bright sun. 

[jpleong]

5 hours ago, frontfocus said:

Interestingly the lcd has a pixel density of 290ppi. So it falls in line with what apple claimed to be the resolution you needed for small devices you hold close to your face. Personally I don't hold my lcd that close to my face, if I do, I use the evf instead. It has a higher pixel density than most notebooks that you use at arm length. 

 

So, while more is always better, I think part of it is a psychological problem. Small numbers just can't be good can they? 
Personally I think screens like the one from the D500 or the new Z series are great, but I see very little difference. I feel like brightness and contrast are more important since the camera is often used under bright sun. 

That's where I kind-of land on this whole conversation. Even though my 5D4's rear LCD is demonstrably better it's only when I literally set it up next to an X-T3 that I actually notice.

My bigger issue is that the LCD of my X-T3 doesn't match my X-T2. All my Canons (80D, 7D2, and 5D4) look pretty much the same in terms of brightness, color, and contrast which, I guess, is something I took for granted. At least every camera I own now is far superior to all the TN panels I used to use on ENG cameras -talk about awful screens...