Leica M EV1 First Review - It's Bad

[bcostin]

I've used adapted Leica glass on Sony mirrorless bodies since the original A7 (and on digital since the Olympus E-P1). Sony cameras are extremely flexible but they sometimes get in my way. I don't love using them and sometimes they just aren't much fun. The A7C variants are a more compact form-factor but they otherwise share the non-fun aspects of my A7RIV.

The current distinguishing trait of all Leica cameras is a streamlined experience with minimal clutter and a tactile user interface. It's very different from what Sony and Nikon and Fuji have chosen to build for their users. Leica photographers value that difference and pay a premium for it.

But there are photographers who want a full-frame sensor for interchangeable lenses who do not want rangefinder-patch focusing. So they've pretty much been stuck with all the decisions Sony or Nikon have made for them. Now they're not. That's good.

 

[Bill Blackwell]

What wouldn't I just buy an SL3 with the M-L adapter? For less money too!

 

[Ko.Fe.]

Is where analog of Leica sensor to work with rangefinder lenses from 35 and wider ?
No, where are non.
Is where people who can't focus with rangefinder?
I personally could count four.

 

[Ko.Fe.]

What wouldn't I just buy an SL3 with the M-L adapter? For less money too!

It is humongous camera compared to M.

But I was checking SL2-S prices.
This is close to reality for me.

And now they sell MiC batteries for it under its normal prices before it is purchased by Leica for ripoff resell.

I bet SLs are way better weather proofed than any M.

I moved from Canada with wet snow, to Belgium with drizzle.

Got cheap used Pentax for it, but it is showing it's age now.

 

[Archiver]

I see very little purpose to a Leica M with an EVF and no rangefinder.

G

This is going to sound like semantics, but i see this not as a Leica M, but as a mirrorless camera that is fully compatible with Leica M lenses. A full frame Ricoh GXR with current sensor, so to speak.

 

[boojum]

It looks to me like a Q3 with interchangeable lenses. It costs $1,500 more than an X2D II and offers a lot less. Take the saved $1,500 and put it towards a lens and be way ahead in features and image quality.

 

[agentlossing]

Let's all not forget that this is a manual focus only mirrorless camera.

 

[JohnGellings]

What wouldn't I just buy an SL3 with the M-L adapter? For less money too!

Size, body shape, etc.

 

[splitimageview]

An EVF M was inevitable, they will probably sell enough to make it worthwhile to Leica, but IMHO they should have developed and perfected additional focusing aids other than the usual magnification and peaking, which are no different than any of the other mirrorless offerings. Or perhaps gone the other direction: offer the standard optical RF with a bonus EVF for situations where the strengths of an EVF are superior, X100 style. Although that likely would not have been possible given the constraints of M form factor and no AF.

 

[CameraQuest]

The M EV 1 is just the first of entirely an new M family.
If Leica history is an accurate guide,
its going to take 3 to 5 models to get this new M EV family right.

Relax! Eat your popcorn and enjoy the show!

 

[plexi]

Really disappointing with just focus peaking, which is pretty useless anyway and punch-in.
Subjective I know, but it's also rather ugly compared to an M11.

 

[boojum]

The M EV 1 is just the first of entirely new M family.
If Leica history is an accurate guide,
its going to take 3 to 5 models to get this new M EV family right.

Relax! Eat your popcorn and enjoy the show!

If it takes a company dependent upon technology three to five tries to get it right maybe they should try another line of work. This is not breakthrough technology, this tech has been around for a long while. And pity the poor folks who buy the beta versions thinking they have a good final version. Oh, those guys in marketing.

My jaundiced view is that this is just a kludged Q3 at a very high price. The Yiddish word is chutzpah.

To put it politely, I am underwhelmed.

 

[CameraQuest]

It took the M8, M8.2, M9, M240 to finally get a quality digital M10.

 

[ellisson]

I concur with Stephen on this. This is a new line, not an M12: that will follow. The new M-EV line will evolve the same as the Q, SL, and M lines have. And oh, by the way, evolving just as did the Sony, Nikon Z, and Hasselblad camera lines.

They have all evolved from starter entries into the market with new models.

 

[splitimageview]

Correct analysis. This isn’t anything innovative at all.

For $9k they should be a leader.

 

[Archiver]

Size, body shape, etc.

Definitely. I love my SL2-S, but I honestly prefer the lower weight and smaller footprint of a M body. No amount of putting a small lens on a SL body is going to shave off the grip and viewfinder protrusions. Also, a SL body still doesn't permit the full image quality of all M lenses like a M body does. Strangely, there does not seem to be any mention of this lens compatiblity in any of the reviews, everyone has overlooked this vital piece of information.

I 'make do' with the SL2-S in this regard because a. I want video and b. a secondhand SL2-S is less than a third the price of a M11 in Australia. It also has the option of autofocus, albeit with lenses much larger than Ms.

 

[Archiver]

The more I look at this, the more I like this notion. It's significantly less costly than the M11 but has all the M11 innards and functions outside of the rangefinder. It's lighter than a black chrome M11, too. No rangefinder mechanism to go out of alignment. Apart from the rangefinder, it has all the benefits of a M11 with Visoflex in a smaller and less expensive package.

 

[shawn]

Curious how many have used a 5.7m dot EVF? I find focus peaking and magnification unnecessary at that resolution. Even more so with greater VF magnification.

But then I've never really like focus peaking for still images, it is too easily fooled wide open with sharp edges, sharp light transitions or sharp color changes.

Shame they didn't put a higher refresh rate in the EVF. I find the difference between 60hz and 120hz very noticeable.

 

[AveryWagg]

I'm thinking that I'll keep my Kodak X15 Instamatic. However, I do need a more reliable source of 126 film..

..Avery

 

[Archiver]

GxAce does it again with a stunning video