EVF M rumoured

[pgk]

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7 hours ago, jaapv said:

Focus peaking can occasionally work fine once understood. I will “walk” it upand own an put the doc if a ( for the middle distance) in the middle of the peaking zone. OTOH a herd (*) of Zebra will produce a complete red-out in the viewfinder. 

(*) There is a reason that it is called a Dazzle of Zebra 

At very best focus peaking is still somewhat imprecise, rather unlike rangefinder focusing which, whilst it has its probelms (such assubject failure) is by far the most precise way of focusing wide-angle lenses. This is the strength of the rfM, anything else will not bear comparison although focus magnification will work it will usually be far slower. You pays your money, you takes your choice.

[algrove]

Even though we only have some rumor specs, this new M surely seems to have less interest than other M's I remember projected to come out in (perhaps) 4 weeks.

[FrozenInTime]

3 minutes ago, algrove said:

Even though we only have some rumor specs, this new M surely seems to have less interest than other M's I remember projected to come out in (perhaps) 4 weeks.

The true measure of interest on the launch day will be indicated by whether or not the forum servers crash 😉 

[BernardC]

On 9/13/2025 at 4:41 PM, pgk said:

At very best focus peaking is still somewhat imprecise, rather unlike rangefinder focusing which, whilst it has its probelms (such assubject failure) is by far the most precise way of focusing wide-angle lenses. This is the strength of the rfM, anything else will not bear comparison although focus magnification will work it will usually be far slower. You pays your money, you takes your choice.

I agree, especially in low light with a wide angle. Peaking and magnification are very approximate, and they mask a large part of your frame. Things are better in bright light, especially with slow-moving subjects, but I doubt that the EVF-M will get a higher hit ratio for anyone who can use a rangefinder (many people can't because of eyesight issues).

[jaapv]

On 9/13/2025 at 9:17 PM, IkarusJohn said:

reasonable focus is with about 1/3 of the depth of field in front of the subject and 2/3 behind.  It’s a workable rule of thumb …

Quite correct for closer distances, the more you move toward longer distances, the more it approaches 1:1. 

[lct]

20 minutes ago, jaapv said:

Quite correct for closer distances, the more you move toward longer distances, the more it approaches 1:1. 

Are you sure it is not the opposite? See below:

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[jaapv]

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3 minutes ago, lct said:

Are you sure it is not the opposite? See below:

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You're right.

[SrMi]

19 minutes ago, lct said:

Are you sure it is not the opposite? See below:

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The front/behind DOF ratio varies with aperture and distance and is rarely 1/3 vs 2/3 (aka "common" knowledge).

[jrichie]

I had been a big M EVF supporter early in this thread, but now have swung away from this POV.  I don't need it and tend to agree with a lot of the comments on here about looking at the world as it is rather than through a screen.  The honesty of the M is what makes it a special experience.  I can just deal with my inability to see what I am actually framing [below 35mm], as focus is no problem at all.

I will continue to treat my cameras with the same perspective I have with cars.  Either all manual or all electric, and nothing in the middle.

However, I reserve my right to change my mind when I see it in person  

[yeeper]

I've had nothing but luck with focusing by peaking.  It's the best scenario of zone focus.  You see where your subject starts to enter the acceptable depth of field and you see where it leaves.  You choose where in that rolling of focus you put your subject and you make the exposure.  I've done it with no issue on my M240 and even more successfully on my Panasonic S1 (which seems to share the same EVF as the upcoming M11-V.)

Also, perfectly accurate framing will be nice.  I frequently have to slide the camera the 1-2" diagonally to get the lens where my viewfinder is for the correct representation of the sun peaking out from behind something or lining up a foreground or reflection.  The offset optical viewfinder was a means to an end for film cameras.  Unless you accepted the compromise of a massive prism SLR system, it was the only way to frame a shot.  With digital sensor live view, there are significantly less arguments for the offset optical viewfinder.  WYSIWYG is a hell of a strong argument for EVFs in our current digital world.

[hexx]

I’ve just returned from a long weekend in Napoli (or Naples as English speaking world calls it) and had a great fun using my Q3 there with AF and MF with focusing aids provided by Q just to see how good it could be with EVF based M and it was just fine. M cameras were never action cameras and if action capture is needed, then zone focusing is your friend. 
 

What I noticed though is that I’ve seen few people with Ms there and majority of them had visoflex on them. So I guess, in real world and outside of these forum boards, there’s an appetite for EVF based M. 

[costa43]

The two main benefits of focus peaking for me on the SL2-S are, being able to visually see when I have the maximum depth if field. A bit like a visual hyperfocal scale and also being able to frame without having to focus and recompose. The main negative is obtaining critical focus, especially when stopped down. 

[JNK100]

1 hour ago, hexx said:

I’ve just returned from a long weekend in Napoli (or Naples as English speaking world calls it) and had a great fun using my Q3 there with AF and MF with focusing aids provided by Q just to see how good it could be with EVF based M and it was just fine. M cameras were never action cameras and if action capture is needed, then zone focusing is your friend. 
 

What I noticed though is that I’ve seen few people with Ms there and majority of them had visoflex on them. So I guess, in real world and outside of these forum boards, there’s an appetite for EVF based M. 

It's interesting that you saw M cameras with mostly Visoflexs.Here in the UK, I have never seen anyone use an M with one but this does not mean they don't of course.

 

[hexx]

8 minutes ago, JNK100 said:

It's interesting that you saw M cameras with mostly Visoflexs.Here in the UK, I have never seen anyone use an M with one but this does not mean they don't of course.

 

Yep, never seen one here either (also UK based). To be fair, people I’ve seen with Visoflex were mostly older and probably needed it. 

[FrozenInTime]

1 hour ago, JNK100 said:

It's interesting that you saw M cameras with mostly Visoflexs.Here in the UK, I have never seen anyone use an M with one but this does not mean they don't of course.

I fit the Visolflex only when absolutely necessary as it changes the way the camera fits in a bag, and also as it catches on clothing when shoulder carried.

However, and I hate to say this, but it is really useful for low level shots, the tilt functionality will be lost with a EVF-M ( unless the new body looks like a Lumix  GX9 ).

Edited September 17 by FrozenInTime

[lct]

Many people complaining about EVFs do not use or don't like focus magnification, i suspect. As far as the Visoflex 2 is concerned, at least, focus magnification together with focus peaking works well at all focal lenghts and almost all apertures in my experience. The real difference between RF and EVF is psychological IMHO. Do photogs prefer seeing the reality as it is or the way the camera sees it when they use a viewfinder?

[jdlaing]

You can use whatever crutch makes you feel better. 😃

[jaapv]

31 minutes ago, lct said:

Many people complaining about EVFs do not use or don't like focus magnification, i suspect. As far as the Visoflex 2 is concerned, at least, focus magnification together with focus peaking works well at all focal lenghts and almost all apertures in my experience. The real difference between RF and EVF is psychological IMHO. Do photogs prefer seeing the reality as it is or the way the camera sees it when they use a viewfinder?

Yep - and watching television is the same as looking out of the window...

[Kiwimac]

With 28-35-50 lenses I rarely miss focus nowadays. 
 

Sometimes I have to stack the odds a bit if I’m trying to photograph something like my dog running towards me. Go to f8, focus on the ground where he’ll be when I want the image then wait for him to get there and click. 
 

It usually works. Although he is very fast!

I think that, rather than an EVF version of the M, I would probably go with the SL2 or 3 and an adapter. This has the added advantages of letting me use AF lenses if I want to and being a whole lot less expensive than another M. 
 

Although without concrete details of the as yet fictitious EVF M it’s hard to say. It might be so good that I can’t resist. Or not.

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[jaapv]

29 minutes ago, Kiwimac said:

With 28-35-50 lenses I rarely miss focus nowadays. 
 

Sometimes I have to stack the odds a bit if I’m trying to photograph something like my dog running towards me. Go to f8, focus on the ground where he’ll be when I want the image then wait for him to get there and click. 
 

It usually works. Although he is very fast!

I think that, rather than an EVF version of the M, I would probably go with the SL2 or 3 and an adapter. This has the added advantages of letting me use AF lenses if I want to and being a whole lot less expensive than another M. 
 

Although without concrete details of the as yet fictitious EVF M it’s hard to say. It might be so good that I can’t resist. Or not.

Something like this? M9M, Voigtlander 50/1.5 ii.

 

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