Shooting experience of the M EV1 vs SL3 with M Lenses

[LanceR]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

For those of you who already have the M EV1, how do you compare the shooting experience to the SL3 with M lenses?

I would think they are quite similar, with the exception that you can enable the auto-magnification.

Unless I am zone focusing, I have never been able to focus on the SL3 using M lenses as fast as I could with the RF.  Focusing with the SL3 is definitely better than focusing with the M11 and VisioFlex2 because of the lag.

While I appreciate the versatility of the SL3, I miss the compact size and unassuming nature of the M cameras.

[CptSlevin]

SL2S/SL2 will be better than M1EV as it has one of the best EVF's in terms of refresh rate and little to no lag.

SL3S/SL3 a lot of people complain that EVF got worse due to processor issues and it's not that crisp and laggy

[Erwin74]

Will M EV-1 perform better with M-mount wide-angle lenses (less than 28mm) than the same lenses mounted on SL3?

I am thinking in particular ==> 24mm f3.4 / 21mm f3.4 / WATE.

I have heard that SL Cameras performs not so well with M wide-angle lenses.

[SrMi]

1 hour ago, Erwin74 said:

Will M EV-1 perform better with M-mount wide-angle lenses (less than 28mm) than the same lenses mounted on SL3?

I am thinking in particular ==> 24mm f3.4 / 21mm f3.4 / WATE.

I have heard that SL Cameras performs not so well with M wide-angle lenses.

Sean Reid will perform tests between M-EV1 and SL3 on some problematic wide-angle lenses. I am not sure whether the mentioned lenses fall into the category of problematic lenses.

[HighlandLeica]

I find using M lenses on my SL2s really enjoyable and intuitive - with the focus peaking on. For me, fast, more consistent. 

[gbealnz]

1 minute ago, HighlandLeica said:

I find using M lenses on my SL2s really enjoyable and intuitive - with the focus peaking on. For me, fast, more consistent. 

I do too. This effectively saves me buying into the new version. I use the M11-P or SL2, love them both.

[SrMi]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

3 hours ago, LanceR said:

For those of you who already have the M EV1, how do you compare the shooting experience to the SL3 with M lenses?

The M-EV1 is lighter, smaller, and simpler (no video, no AF).

3 hours ago, LanceR said:

While I appreciate the versatility of the SL3, I miss the compact size and unassuming nature of the M cameras.

Yes.

[newtoleica]

I played with a EV1 with my 24 lux and a WATE yesterday. 
live not used an SL, but the response was good, no obvious lag and it was quite quick.

Not as fast as a RF if used properly, but likely faster for a novice… which is the point I think. 

[kiwidad]

4 hours ago, newtoleica said:

I played with a EV1 with my 24 lux and a WATE yesterday. 
live not used an SL, but the response was good, no obvious lag and it was quite quick.

Not as fast as a RF if used properly, but likely faster for a novice… which is the point I think. 

What I want to know is if you preform and the when a subject walk through the frame, if you shoot say when subject enters right of frame where are they in the resultant picture. With the viso on the m11 there is a lot of travel thru the frame on the picture compred to using the optical viewfinder. 

[jakontil]

39 minutes ago, kiwidad said:

What I want to know is if you preform and the when a subject walk through the frame, if you shoot say when subject enters right of frame where are they in the resultant picture. With the viso on the m11 there is a lot of travel thru the frame on the picture compred to using the optical viewfinder. 

I think you cant defy the law of depth of field, whilst the evf gives more accurate focus reading, it would come up slower than an instinctively RF

[MRJohn]

I think this is a very relevant question you are asking and an important comparison. With the SL3(s) you had a form follows function approach, that is why it is so versatile, with the M you have more of a form dictates function approach, and with it the compromises to be made. I could test the M EVF 1 in Wetzlar for a bit and have an SL3. Ignoring the advantages and disadvantages of the M EVF1 vs rangefinder comparison.

M EVF pros vs SL3(s) for shooting M lenses:

less weight, smaller package

SL3(s) pros vs M EVF for shooting M lenses:

proper joystick for selection of magnification point, nice tilt screen for when that is helpful or required to take certain shots

What did I miss?

[algrove]

1 hour ago, MRJohn said:

I think this is a very relevant question you are asking and an important comparison. With the SL3(s) you had a form follows function approach, that is why it is so versatile, with the M you have more of a form dictates function approach, and with it the compromises to be made. I could test the M EVF 1 in Wetzlar for a bit and have an SL3. Ignoring the advantages and disadvantages of the M EVF1 vs rangefinder comparison.

M EVF pros vs SL3(s) for shooting M lenses:

less weight, smaller package

SL3(s) pros vs M EVF for shooting M lenses:

proper joystick for selection of magnification point, nice tilt screen for when that is helpful or required to take certain shots

What did I miss?

Much lower cost for SL3.

[pgh]

I initially bought an SL2 to use m lenses with. Still do. In a bag it’s not a discernible weight difference from an M and in use I get IBIS which every high res M cam should have imo. 
 

Not interested in the new release, for a slightly smaller form factor I lose the ability to have AF and lose Ibis on a sensor that should really have it, to say nothing of the rest of it. This is why it all looks like a marketing ploy to me. Of course for those who really just could not fathom something that isn’t m shaped, even to the tune of paying thousands extra for it,  but just insist on a screen, I’m happy they’re happy. 

Edited 20 hours ago by pgh

[elmars]

Am 24.10.2025 um 19:31 schrieb LanceR:

For those of you who already have the M EV1, how do you compare the shooting experience to the SL3 with M lenses?

I would think they are quite similar, with the exception that you can enable the auto-magnification.

You are right. Of course the handling of an SL3 is different to an M but in regard of using M lenses and focussing they are the same. On the SL3 You activate magnification via joystick; on the M EV1 via a function button or - as You said - via auto magnification.

[LanceR]

@HighlandLeica and @gbealnz I am a bit jealous of your hit rate with the SL3 and M lenses.  I just do not find that I achieve critical focus as much as I would like to with the SL3 and M lenses.

Even yesterday, I took out my SL3 with my favorite 35mm lens, the Voigtlander APO Lanther, and I would say that a quarter of my shots I did not hit critical focus.  They are usable, but the focus is off.

When you magnify, do you tend to punch in all the way or one of the intermediate steps?  I typically punch in using the joystick since my thumb is already on it for moving the focus box, although I also have setup the thumb wheel to select the various magnification levels.

Punching all the way with the joystick button, yields a fairly fuzzy image, even when it is in focus.

Is there something different in your technique that yields the better hit rate?

[Photoworks]

27 minutes ago, LanceR said:

@HighlandLeica and @gbealnz I am a bit jealous of your hit rate with the SL3 and M lenses.  I just do not find that I achieve critical focus as much as I would like to with the SL3 and M lenses.

Even yesterday, I took out my SL3 with my favorite 35mm lens, the Voigtlander APO Lanther, and I would say that a quarter of my shots I did not hit critical focus.  They are usable, but the focus is off.

When you magnify, do you tend to punch in all the way or one of the intermediate steps?  I typically punch in using the joystick since my thumb is already on it for moving the focus box, although I also have setup the thumb wheel to select the various magnification levels.

Punching all the way with the joystick button, yields a fairly fuzzy image, even when it is in focus.

Is there something different in your technique that yields the better hit rate?

is the EVF set to 60 or 120?

[MRJohn]

12 hours ago, algrove said:

Much lower cost for SL3.

That sadly is true, but it is not a technical pro or con when shooting M lenses. The SL line clearly offers the better feature-associated value-based pricing compared to the M line. Or if you think of the Qs, you get a superb "free" lens on top at a still lower overall price tag, if you compare with that line, a lens-less (they could co-package one) M EVF body should only cost about 4000 EUR max. 

[Photoworks]

reid's

Quote

“It’s important to remember that rangefinder lenses have no auto aperture stop down (ASSD) system because they don’t need one to work with a mechanical rangefinder. So to focus precisely, by eye, with the M EV1 it is important to open the lens to maximum aperture before setting focus using the EVF’s magnified view (with or without help from focus peaking). Then stop the lens down to the desired taking aperture (unless that aperture is wide open) before releasing the shutter. This process takes a bit of time but it allows one to focus at the shallowest depth of field the lens can offer. The same advice applies to focusing rangefinder lenses using an SL series camera or a Visoflex on an M rangefinder digital. It also, of course, applies to using R lenses on any of these cameras.

Or, of course, if you want to stop down to F/8 or so and pre-focus/zone focus the lens using its marked distance scale — as many of us old rangefinder photographers often do for fast work — you can do that directly and not worry about “riding the aperture ring”. That’s how the M EV1 picture above was focused.”

to me this is the same on the SL3

[SrMi]

31 minutes ago, LanceR said:

I am a bit jealous of your hit rate with the SL3 and M lenses.  I just do not find that I achieve critical focus as much as I would like to with the SL3 and M lenses.

The key to achieving critical focus with M lenses on EVF cameras is to "ride the aperture": open wide to focus, then close it to shoot.

Edited 7 hours ago by SrMi

[Advertisement]

Hallo,

Look here: Interesting Leica gear

[algrove]

1 hour ago, SrMi said:

The key to achieving critical focus with M lenses on EVF cameras is to "ride the aperture": open wide to focus, then close it to shoot.

You sound like Sean R.