Classic M vs. M EV1 - Focus Accuracy & Speed

[lct]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

22 minutes ago, Mahesh said:

I think the autozoom only works with the manual e mount lenses developed by Voigtlander such as 40/1.2. If you use an M mount lens, then you have to click a button you have added as a shortcut to zoom in - at least that's what I used to do with my A7ii and Zeiss sonnar 50/1.4

OK thanks so no autozoom with M or LTM lenses. Same for me on both Kolari mod Sony a7s and a7r2.

[AdrianL]

On 11/3/2025 at 12:05 PM, BJohn said:

I think they missed an opportunity here. Maybe the crowd was too loud to request an M-EVF (I belong to that crowd as well) and time (design, production, new sensor, fitting, etc.) was against Leica. Looking forward to the next generation but currently happy with my M-EV1.

I read quite a few comments and many miss the actual essence of that camera. I have used but not bought the SLx yet. The Visoflex was suboptimal for me; I mainly use the thumb grip and dislike the esthetics. The puristic and small appearance of the RF and the manual feeling combined with the image quality are the reasons I bought into Leica.

Now I can enjoy that with an EVF and don't have to buy an SLx. The M-EV1 is smaller, same battery as my M11P, same thumb grip, same feeling (if we exclude the RF 😏).

Although they missed an opportunity here, still happy with the new thing and to use Joel Meyerowitz's words: "you belong here".

PS: Looking forward to firmware upgrades  

@BJohn As someone who has both the M11 and M EV1, I hope you will post some longer term updates on which camera is the one you end up using. Since the image sensors are identical, it will really come down to ease or joy of use. 

[AdrianL]

On 11/3/2025 at 5:53 AM, Derbyshire Man said:

Wrong sensor to allow that to happen. The word is it would need a PDAF sensor (and hence redesign), I suspect Leica is always redesigning but it's got to make financial sense. Likely therefore for a combined release of M12 and EV2 if demand for the latter is high enough. At that point of retooling and rewriting firmware it will make more sense.

The other thing worth remembering is that I'd imagine a very large chunk of the expense is down to a camera being designed and produced in Germany rather than the Far East, especially China.

@Derbyshire Man @FlashGordonPhotography The M may not have the right image sensor but the SL3 image sensor has PDAF. In fact, Leica has the Maestro 4 processor, which would have made a big difference in the EV1. Unfortunately that would unravel the M lineup in terms of speed and performance. That is probably why we have the current EV1.

Edited November 4 by AdrianL

[Derbyshire Man]

It's more probably the redevelopment needed. At the moment my guess is it's remove the rangefinder, instead of contacts for the visoflex on the flash shoe a socket inside to connect to the EVF internally. A bit of re-writing for the display end of the firmware (ie different resolution) and other than new top the jobs a good un. A new sensor with cabling for PDAF and all the rest of it would probably need a more serious rethink and re-plan and therefore R&D expenditure on a very unknown and polarising quantity.

[frame-it]

On 11/4/2025 at 5:05 AM, BJohn said:

I think they missed an opportunity here. Maybe the crowd was too loud to request an M-EVF (I belong to that crowd as well) and time (design, production, new sensor, fitting, etc.) was against Leica.

they didn't.

they simply did some patchwork at a very low cost and released it to see how people respond, and get more feedback...and they're making money

 

[SrMi]

5 minutes ago, frame-it said:

they didn't.

they simply did some patchwork at a very low cost and released it to see how people respond, and get more feedback...and they're making money

There was no patchwork; the M11 camera was designed to have an EVF variant from the beginning. The M-EV1 project was revived after the famous LSI meeting. 

In my book, it would have been unwise to stop M12 development so that an M11.5 platform could be launched.

[frame-it]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

5 minutes ago, SrMi said:

There was no patchwork; the M11 camera was designed to have an EVF variant from the beginning. The M-EV1 project was revived after the famous LSI meeting. 

In my book, it would have been unwise to stop M12 development so that an M11.5 platform could be launched.

ok no patchwork, was just a figure of speech, love it when you argue and always wanna have the last word  carry on!

[cnguyen]

Does anyone know if the M EV1 has the viewfinder black out after a shot like my Leica SL?

[SrMi]

2 minutes ago, cnguyen said:

Does anyone know if the M EV1 has the viewfinder black out after a shot like my Leica SL?

Yes, there is a blackout.

[BJohn]

14 hours ago, frame-it said:

they didn't.

they simply did some patchwork at a very low cost and released it to see how people respond, and get more feedback...and they're making money

 

I can follow your hypothesis and you are probably very right 😏

15 hours ago, AdrianL said:

@BJohn As someone who has both the M11 and M EV1, I hope you will post some longer term updates on which camera is the one you end up using. Since the image sensors are identical, it will really come down to ease or joy of use. 

Thought about dual wielding all the time  Honestly, there is a lot of uncertainty. Looking very forward to my vacation end of November and beginning of January and will battle-test that thing - and will report.

And to those delivering justifications in terms of need for redevelopment time - I am well aware of that. The bottom line remains, it is a mediocre device for a lot of money. Even though I bought it doesn't mean I am absolutely d'accord with the result. But I had to buy it to not lose face as I was very insistent that such a device should be developed.

[Derbyshire Man]

Anyone disagree with this? Essentially Leica much better image and build wise but more work needed on software/firmware/focus peaking. My guess is that is the view inside head office too! 30% shots out of focus isn’t really sustainable!
 

 

[lct]

2 hours ago, Derbyshire Man said:

Anyone disagree with this? [...]

My English is not Good enough to understand what focus method has been used in this video. Any better understanding about that?

[Smudgerer]

2 hours ago, Derbyshire Man said:

Anyone disagree with this? Essentially Leica much better image and build wise but more work needed on software/firmware/focus peaking. My guess is that is the view inside head office too! 30% shots out of focus isn’t really sustainable!
 

 

God..what a prancer.....another vacuous video from someone with a high opinion of themselves and in my view more money, (...."! bought all these cameras with my own money to make this video for you.....blah blah blah"...oh thanks a lot! ), than any real photography sense at all. We all know by now the limits of the M-EV1, "it's the focusing, stupid" so why pound that dog to death? Leica will either improve the deficiencies on this camera if it can, if enough people buy it to show Leica that it's worth doing so on a subsequent version, or not and the idea will die a quiet death or drop into a coma until better solutions become feasible............I find these spoiled kids "influencers" to be quite annoying bar maybe one or two, ( no names no pack drill ), and why anyone would base their photographic buying choices on what they say is quite beyond me, I sure as hell wouldn't but that's what it is these days for this lonely analogue sometimes digital curmudgeon.

Edited November 7 by Smudgerer
grammar

[250swb]

I'm baffled that anybody expected something different from what it is, you could mount an M lens on almost any other mirrorless camera and have had essentially the same user experience and predicted the deficiencies of the EV-1 a long time before it was released. I use my M lenses on my Nikon Z, would I use it in situations where fast focusing was necessary, absolutely not. Is focus peaking frustrating in normal use, absolutely. The advantage of the Nikon is that to nail some sort of sharp focus in a speedy situation you can use a smaller aperture for increased DOF at the same ISO and the longer exposure times are covered by IBIS. How do I use my M lens and Z combo, the answer is easy, on a tripod where speed isn't an issue and the whole experience is already relaxed. 

[mboerma]

I have an M11-D because I like to photograph using the rangefinder without the distraction of a screen including the temptation to use it when ‘needed’ (long or wide lenses, difficult compositions, etc). 
 

I bought the M EV1 because I like to use the SL’s with my manual M lenses in certain situations. The small form factor, the weight and similar feel to the M11 is what I enjoy in combination with the EVF. 
 

None of them are perfect. Nothing is. And certainly not the person handling them (and camera bags 😉 ). I just enjoy all of these options. And learn from them because they aren’t perfect. 
 

[AdrianL]

On 11/2/2025 at 9:14 AM, Wipeout said:

Leica M EV1 – my impressions

After spending some time with the new Leica M EV1, I’ve come across a few issues that make it difficult to use in practice.

 

There is a noticeable amount of lag and image noise when using the focus zoom, especially in low light, even with the lens wide open at f/1.4. It makes focusing slow and unpredictable. My hunch is that because the M EV1 processor is not designed for video, the EVF slows down as light levels drop. In contrast, the SL2 viewfinder runs smoothly at 60 or 120 Hz and feels much more responsive.

 

The camera has also frozen once, needing a battery pull to restart, and the EVF sometimes blinks or pulses every half second or so making exposure difficult to judge. These blinks are not highlight clipping as that setting is disabled and appear to be some kind of display instability. I first noticed it under artificial light, but it happens in daylight too.

 

It is a brilliant concept in theory, and when it behaves, the results are beautiful. But right now the lag, noise and flicker make focusing harder than it should be. I will be waiting for a M EV2 before giving it another go. Maybe others will be more forgiving, but compared with the SL2 and an M mount adaptor, I am disappointed. I really wanted to love this camera, but it feels like a first date that has ended with one of us calling a divorce solicitor before dessert.

Appreciate your honest evaluation. Strange that your impression is so isolated. 

[SrMi]

34 minutes ago, AdrianL said:

Appreciate your honest evaluation. Strange that your impression is so isolated. 

I do not have the SL2 anymore, but the M-EV1's viewfinder handles similarly to the SL3 in very low light (just tested both with 50mm lenses). I believe that people report that SL2's EVF works better in very low light than SL3's. Both M-EV1 and SL3's EVF are very usable in very low light.

[lct]

 

The "noise when using the focus zoom" comes probably from the fact that magnification was too strong. Suffice it to reduce magnification for the noise to decrease or disappear normally.

[BJohn]

10 hours ago, lct said:

 

The "noise when using the focus zoom" comes probably from the fact that magnification was too strong. Suffice it to reduce magnification for the noise to decrease or disappear normally.

Yup, max zoom in creates a noticeable lag. You can easy reduce that. But it actually annoys me slightly  

[Advertisement]

Hallo,

Look here: Interesting Leica gear

[lct]

8 minutes ago, BJohn said:

Yup, max zoom in creates a noticeable lag. You can easy reduce that. But it actually annoys me slightly  

I was not referring to lag since, the practical way i consider it, i believe there is none annoying enough to mention it. I was just referring to digital noise actually. When reducing magnification, the noise decreases or disappear instantly. The only issue, in practice (mine at least), is that the magnified area is larger when reducing magnification, so that you cannot see details as small as you expected. I would check my LEDs too if you have any. A good colleague here, i don't recall his/her name sorry, suggested to change the display settings to avoid or reduce flickering IIRC but i did not try yet.