Leica M EV1 First Review - It's Bad

[plexi]

Panasonic had an ingenious and rangefinder-like solution to EVF magnification in their old DMC-LC1: A magnified, rectangular patch would appear when the focus ring was moved, facilitating exact focus while preserving the overall view. I've often wondered why this hasn't been emulated in other cameras.

The EV1 user manual claims you can do that (via the focus ring) but that might be some spillover from the Q3 manual, or the sensor can detect it.

 

[AusDLK]

My biggest problem with this is that realistically with wide angles you'll need to focus wide open then stop down to take the photo. Way slow compared to a rangefinder that has the same accuracy regardless of focal length or aperture. And I hate Focus peaking.
The funniest review has been Jono Slack's. He tries so hard to find something good about it, but reading between the lines he really didn't like it at all.
Sean Reid made it pretty clear it was a beta version and might be better after a few iterations.

Slack is no "reviewer." if he and his handlers at Leica were honest, his writings would be referred to as "overviews" with an askerisk stating "with the consent and approval of management."

 

[Freakscene]

Luckily you can. 🙂

The instruction manual suggests the magnified patch moves on the screen on the back of the camera but not in the EVF, and several reviewers have commented on this.

 

[Ken Ford]

I would love one and leave my 21mm mounted, but the price makes that impossible. But I think most of the caterwauling is more from people who are offended than for any practical reason. I find my Q2 and Q2M to be very easy to work hard, I leave them in manual focus and rely on aperture priority and exposure compensation.

I still think they would have been smarter to make a body this size in L mount and use the L to M adapter to take M lenses. Give people the option of AF in a streamlined UI like a Q2 or Q3 but also provide robust support for M lenses. Best of both worlds.

 

[Archiver]

oh gawd. suck up much?

Well, it is stunning. You don't appear to agree. That's fine.

 

[plexi]

The instruction manual suggests the magnified patch moves on the screen on the back of the camera but not in the EVF, and several reviewers have commented on this.

The manual doesn't suggest that, it says specifically : "Image sharpness is set up in Live View mode via the image on the LCD panel or in the viewfinder " followed by the page I copied in a few posts above, which says how to move the magnified patch. 🤷‍♀️

 

[trix4ever]

Slack is no "reviewer." if he and his handlers at Leica were honest, his writings would be referred to as "overviews" with an askerisk stating "with the consent and approval of management."

And that's exactly why his 'review' is so funny, he absolutely struggled to say anything nice about the camera despite that being his job.

Over on the leica camera forum they're tearing each other to pieces, it's genuinely funny if predictable to watch, half are saying "well that might be ok" the other half are like a Monty Python sketch where they scream "you bastard!" every few seconds as though something sacred has been slaughtered.

 

[peterm1]

I was hoping for a grown-up version of the X-Pro series...guess that will have to wait. Instead we get a stripped down SL3.

Or a Q3 with an M mount. I think it might have been better received if it had less of an appearance of a Q and more of an appearance of a Fujifilm X-Pro. And possibly a finder that is closer to the functionality of the X-Pro.

One thing I am wondering is - does it have a built-in adjustable diopter at long, long, long last! The lack of this was the bane of my life when shooting Leica M cameras - especially as my eyes grew older.

 

[plexi]

Or a Q3 with an M mount. I think it might have been better received if it had less of an appearance of a Q and more of an appearance of a Fujifilm X-Pro. And possibly a finder that is closer to the functionality of the X-Pro.

One thing I am wondering is - does it have a built-in adjustable diopter at long, long, long last! The lack of this was the bane of my life when shooting Leica M cameras - especially as my eyes grew older.

Yes it has a built in adjustable diopter.

 

[chuckroast]

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.

Which means its real peers are cameras like the Sony A7x and the Nikon Zx cameras.

If I really wanted a red dot and mirrorless with a lot of lens choices (I don't), I'd get an SL.

If I wanted a highly functional red dot mirrorless that is compact and has some zoom (I do) I'd get a D-Lux - and I did, a 10 year old Typ 109 which even at just 12mpx produces stunning results.

 

[Freakscene]

The manual doesn't suggest that, it says specifically : "Image sharpness is set up in Live View mode via the image on the LCD panel or in the viewfinder " followed by the page I copied in a few posts above, which says how to move the magnified patch. 🤷‍♀️

I don’t read the earlier sentence as also relating to the later one. Several reviewers have commented on this too. I’ll have one in my hand tonight; I’ll check.

 

[Freakscene]

Which means its real peers are cameras like the Sony A7x and the Nikon Zx cameras.

If I really wanted a red dot and mirrorless with a lot of lens choices (I don't), I'd get an SL.

If I wanted a highly functional red dot mirrorless that is compact and has some zoom (I do) I'd get a D-Lux - and I did, a 10 year old Typ 109 which even at just 12mpx produces stunning results.

It’s manual focus and has an M mount. Its only ‘peers’ are the M11 series cameras.

 

[plexi]

I don’t read the earlier sentence as also relating to the later one. Several reviewers have commented on this too. I’ll have one in my hand tonight; I’ll check.

Yeah please do! Usually the EVF would mirror what's happening on the screen so it would be a bummer if it doesn't work that way in the EVF.

 

[Godfrey]

To me, a Leica with an M-mount and EVF represents a meaningful evolution—not a betrayal—of the Leica M system.
The EVF eliminates parallax errors in framing and focus shift with wide-aperture lenses, while enabling true close-focus capability beyond the rangefinder’s 0.7 m limit.
For purists who resist change, the film M bodies remain untouched—timeless, mechanical, and perfect. But for those who want precision without compromise, the EVF is simply progress, not sacrilege.

What about those of us who used EVF cameras for a decade or so, and then moved back to the M because we found that the rangefinder is much easier to use in bright sun outdoors? My eye don't accommodate radical brightness changes very quickly nowadays, and when I put an EVF camera to my eye when I've been out walking in the sun, it takes three to five seconds for it to adjust to the, relatively, dim viewfinder. This became so annoying that I went back to the optical rangefinder as I can use that in any light without any difficulties, and if I want/need an EVF for whatever reason, I just clip it onto the accessory shoe and use it with the M10-M/-R. Why make a camera that eliminates the primary design center that the M in Leica M stands for, when the alternatives are already there in place??

It's not sacrilege, it's simply a reduction of features for no reason whatever.

G

 

[agentlossing]

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

For $9k they should be a leader.

Not innovative - in fact solving a problem that doesn't exist. M cameras have live view and a Visoflex option.

If they were trying to innovate the world's most hamstrung mirrorless camera (no autofocus and poor manual focus aids? C'mon...), maybe they succeeded.

 

[ellisson]

For those that prefer the optical viewfinder, no one is taking M cameras away! Kodak may have taken our Kodachrome away, but the M line stays, complete with the optional external EV, visoflex. The M-EV is a new line,
and keeping manual focus for everything from wide angle to telephoto with a better EVF in a smaller, lighter package is a nice option for many. But not all. So what else is new - like can you make everybody happy all of the time??

 

[Ko.Fe.]

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

For $9k they should be a leader.

For this price they are greedy $%#@!

EVF is dirt cheap compared RF.

 

[sojournerphoto]

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.

I still use my S1r with the 5.76m dot evf. I’m inclined to agree that non zoomed focus peaking is not that reliable. It’s currently got. Nikon mount Zeiss Milvus 1.4/50 attached and is enormous!

 

[Ko.Fe.]

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!

It just most profitable strategy.

Sell first version as junk. They will take anything with Leica in it.

Sell second version for two thousands more with some insignificant improvements.

Sell third version with IBIS on top of previous price for three thousands more.

Sell fourth version with another thousands on top of previous one for added video.

 

[cboy]

"After a few minutes of shooting with an M9, I understood why someone might buy a rangefinder. After a few days with the M-EV1, I'm at a loss to why anyone would buy this instead."

Essentially they ripped out the 'M' and what it stood for and hark praises about (rangefinder experience bs )and made it a regular mirrorless camera with only manual focus...And the only focusing aids is via punching focus and focus peaking. No innovation via new digital rangefinder focus patch similar to Fujifilm with their digital split prism. No beuno..And it's priced higher than a standard M11...

Disappointment is a gross understatement for this cash grab of a camera.

Well actually they technically still have the rangefinder window there but it's useless. The rangefinder cam on your lens becomes useless. And the absurd thing it's they still call it a M. 😳 You'd still have a 'M' camera in name only; with a M lens but you can't rangefinder focus out of the box you payed thousands for. Do you see the irony there people