EVF (VF-2) on the 240 ... more than adequate and extremely useful.

[Johann Espiritu]

I used the EVF for a few months, and my thoughts on it are mixed. It's great when using ultrawides or longer lenses, but the blackout limits it's use. In the end, I "donated" it to my X-Vario, where it actually seems to work better.

I wonder if a firmware upgrade can fix the blackout?

 

[Keith]

The only times I've found this to be very useful have been when shooting with a tripod mounted camera, but I don't tend to do that with a Leica very much. I find my other cameras more suitable for that kind of work most of the time.

G

I don't have much issue with that either ... even on a tripod it's no problem to zoom and focus on a particular point then recompose. It only takes an extra few seconds.

 

[Keith]

I used the EVF for a few months, and my thoughts on it are mixed. It's great when using ultrawides or longer lenses, but the blackout limits it's use. In the end, I "donated" it to my X-Vario, where it actually seems to work better.

I wonder if a firmware upgrade can fix the blackout?

I just see it as the world's slowest reflex mirror.

 

[Photon42]

I can appreciate that some of the purists aren't too thrilled about a lot of the technollogy present in the 240 ... but not being too much of a purist I'm finding it to be brilliant!

Not sure I do qualify for a purist, but it looks like I find the rangefinder experience just that bid better and a camera without a detachable finder so much cleaner, that I volunteer to learn to compensate for optical oddities. Challenges are there for a reason

If I'd have had decided for the new M, I probably would have also opted for the additional EVF, just to see, if I'd like it and "just in case". I bet however, after initial validation of its functionality, it would probably land quite down in the bag, if in the bag at all.

All that leads me thinking that Leica should adopt the Fuji X-Pro1 approach.

Cheers
Ivo

 

[Godfrey]

...
All that leads me thinking that Leica should adopt the Fuji X-Pro1 approach.

To me, the EVF with the M (type 240) is a "special circumstances" kind of thing. Useful occasionally for use with longer or wider lenses than the RF viewfinder is terribly useful for, useful occasionally for using lenses that do not have rangefinder coupling, or are tricky to use because of focus shift errors. I wouldn't buy one of these cameras to use the EVF as my standard finder.

I'd hate to see the Leica viewfinder, with its thoughtfully laid out viewfinder frames, clear optical rangefinder, parallax correction, and unparalleled clarity, compromised by the mediocre Fuji X-Pro1 approach to a finder.

G

 

[Keith]

To me, the EVF with the M (type 240) is a "special circumstances" kind of thing. Useful occasionally for use with longer or wider lenses than the RF viewfinder is terribly useful for, useful occasionally for using lenses that do not have rangefinder coupling, or are tricky to use because of focus shift errors. I wouldn't buy one of these cameras to use as my standard finder.

I'd hate to see the Leica viewfinder, with its thoughtfully laid out viewfinder frames, clear optical rangefinder, parallax correction, and unparalleled clarity, compromised by the mediocre Fuji X-Pro1 approach to a finder.

G

+1 ...........

 

[Photon42]

To me, the EVF with the M (type 240) is a "special circumstances" kind of thing. Useful occasionally for use with longer or wider lenses than the RF viewfinder is terribly useful for, useful occasionally for using lenses that do not have rangefinder coupling, or are tricky to use because of focus shift errors. I wouldn't buy one of these cameras to use the EVF as my standard finder.

I'd hate to see the Leica viewfinder, with its thoughtfully laid out viewfinder frames, clear optical rangefinder, parallax correction, and unparalleled clarity, compromised by the mediocre Fuji X-Pro1 approach to a finder.

G

Well - think of your Leica optical rangefinder with the option to switch to EVF in an instant. Just like the "mediocre" Fuji finder (which btw does have parallax correction, if I'm not mistaken). Can't see anything wrong with that.

Cheers
Ivo

 

[Ben Z]

I have the Oly version (in fact, 2 of them, they were so cheap I decided to get a backup). I don't find it that bad for focusing, in fact I don't magnify the image, it takes time and increases the jitters. I've only used it with lenses that don't have finder frames. I bought this camera because it's a Leica rangefinder. And with EVF the time between taking a shot and being able to compose the next one is a deal breaker for me except with stationary subjects.

 

[Godfrey]

Well - think of your Leica optical rangefinder with the option to switch to EVF in an instant. Just like the "mediocre" Fuji finder (which btw does have parallax correction, if I'm not mistaken). Can't see anything wrong with that.

The X-Pro1 optical viewfinder has no parallax correction that I can discern, and the EVF is mediocre at best. The Olympus VF-2 and its Leica sibling are better EVFs. The convenience of the Fuji is nice, I was totally disappointed by the quality when I tried it. It's one of the reasons I never bought the Fuji.

G

 

[jaapv]

My personal assesment of the EVF on the M240 is that is barely adequate and of limited usefulness. The black out being the worst as it makes it such a slow solution. Another problem is being limited to zoom in only in the center.
I find it only usefull for 90mm (and longer) and only on stationary objects. For anything else I find the ovf the much superior solution.
I have used an evf on the sony nex 5n which was superior.

I cannot say I find the NEX one that much better, it still is not even close to a real viewfinder and on the Sony it is the main one... And the focus peaking with Sony is next to useless. Far too inaccurate, and it focus peaks the noise at high ISO.

As for the blackout it can be mitigated by setting the image review to "hold shutter button". If you press and hold it will not black out, just freeze the image and it will revert to the actual view automatically as soon as the camera is ready.

 

[Keith]

I certainly wasn't expecting the EVF to be cutting edge ... but it's definitely better than I expected and sure adds another string to the 240's bow.

 

[mcfingon]

The next step if the Leica firmware allows it is the Oly VF-4. I have used the 2 and 4 on my Olympus Pen Mini 2 and found the 4 is a huge jump in image size and quality and still only cost $300 Aus.

 

[hugivza]

I can appreciate that some of the purists aren't too thrilled about a lot of the technollogy present in the 240 ... but not being too much of a purist I'm finding it to be brilliant!

Getting to an age when my natural systems are of decreasing functionality, I find that I need all of the help I can get.

 

[jaapv]

The next step if the Leica firmware allows it is the Oly VF-4. I have used the 2 and 4 on my Olympus Pen Mini 2 and found the 4 is a huge jump in image size and quality and still only cost $300 Aus.

Won't happen on the 240. The hardware cannot support it.