Survey: Leica M EV1 – Future or mistake?

[Edward Schwartzreich]

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I beg pardons for my errors.  My ownership of the first A7R only felt like 20 years ago — is it really only 12?  And about having no way to adjust ISO externally, I couldn’t discover it and had the camera for almost a week (no instruction manual, of course).  And the prototype I had was not fully functional either.

But I wanted to make a response about aging eyes and camera focus mechanisms.  I am 83 years old and had a detached retina in one eye.  Nonetheless, I find focusing with a rangefinder like Leica’s very easy and fast, whereas thru the lens focus, even with focus peaking and the like is slow and entails much more back and forth for me.   Other people seem to have the opposite problem as they age.  Perhaps RF focusing was never as intuitive for them as it was for me.   Perhaps they have some problem with praxis as they have aged.

But no doubt there are many who want to use a Leica body for their M lenses and have difficulty with a rangefinder due to their age.  Others who wanted an M body who always liked their SLR-focusing better functionally.  Even Cartier Bresson used an autofocus Leica Minilux compact camera in his later years, probably because it was easier for him and still gave great results.  I can empathize.

[MindsEye]

Very few companies, if any, get it perfect on the first iteration. In fact, as we all know, deeming a camera as perfect for our every need is rare. The M EV1 offers another choice and is only one Leica model. Even if it doesn't tick any boxes for you, it also won't affect your use of RF M cameras. I don't see this as any threat to M bodies with rangefinders. Just another option.

This is from an interview with Leica's Stefan Daniel on chatsphotog.com about the M EV1, which is well worth reading. Here's a relevant quote from Daniel:

"Let me be clear – if it succeeds in the market and our customers ask for it, we will provide options. However, I reiterate: the Leica M EV1 or any possible successor is NOT a substitute of the rangefinder. Leica is currently working on new evolutions of the opto-mechanical rangefinder. We are merely listening to our valued customers and responding, but we will never give up on seventy years of storied Leica M history."

[IkarusJohn]

21 hours ago, LocalHero1953 said:

10% of responders are buyers, and nearly 50% think this is a good idea.
I would be encouraged if I was Leica.

Interesting that less than 50% is resoundingly negative on each question, and yet the posts suggest a different response.

Leica should definitely be encouraged in it development of the EV2 - just beware of the Homer Simpson effect.

Edited Tuesday at 06:46 PM by IkarusJohn

[adan]

9 hours ago, LocalHero1953 said:

Despite your mischievous comment, I'm sure you know that's how polls work: they're an attempt at statistical sampling (in this case though, more like wetting a finger and holding it in the air). One could equally (and obviously incorrectly) argue from these figures that 800,000,000 people will buy it.

One could safely argue that such polls are meaningless. Nevertheless I think there is evidence here that the strong negative response shown in the initial responses to the EV1 isn't borne out by the results from anonymous poll clicks.

Naturally.

I received my MA (Ohio U. 1990) with a thesis based on a survey/"poll" of 5000 newspaper graphics/photo/managing editors. Preceded by the required courses and practicum in reseach methodology. (Got an 85% response rate, BTW).

You might want to look up the concepts of self-selection bias and confirmation bias.

Leica has already experienced its first "burp" with the EV1 exactly through "not paying attention" to global events and conditions - it cannot currently sell the EV1 in an area that historically amounts to 18-25% of its market. "Unforeseen" = "operator error" = (sometimes) "living in a bubble."

[Markey]

26 minutes ago, IkarusJohn said:

Interesting that less than 50% is resoundingly negative on each question, and yet the posts suggest a different response.

Leica should definitely be encouraged in it development of the EV2 - just beware of the Homer Simpson effect.

After reading the strong feelings expressed in this thread I guess that folk are cautious before they stick their neck out,

Safer just to tick a box.

Sad but ....

[jonoslack]

4 minutes ago, adan said:

Leica has already experienced its first "burp" with the EV1 exactly through "not paying attention" to global events and conditions - it cannot currently sell the EV1 in an area that historically amounts to 18-25% of its market. "Unforeseen" = "operator error" = (sometimes) "living in a bubble."

Hi There Andy

As far as I know the lack of FCC certification is as a result of the government shut down, not anything Leica has done. I guess they might not want to say that though so as not to antagonise anyone

[JNK100]

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19 minutes ago, jonoslack said:

Hi There Andy

As far as I know the lack of FCC certification is as a result of the government shut down, not anything Leica has done. I guess they might not want to say that though so as not to antagonise anyone

Well said Jono.

[adan]

5 minutes ago, jonoslack said:

As far as I know the lack of FCC certification is as a result of the government shut down, not anything Leica has done. I guess they might not want to say that though so as not to antagonise anyone

A shutdown possibility was well-publicized 7-8 months ago (March, at least).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_United_States_federal_government_shutdown

What Leica "did" was an act of omission - they failed to plan ahead, in case of such an eventuality, and beginning then.

Not sure why - Leica is 45% owned by the US investment firm Blackstone - which has a Senior Managing Director of Government Relations (exactly the person to keep close tabs on what government(s) might be doing, to avoid being blindsided.)  https://www.blackstone.com/people/alex-katz/

Maybe he missed the clues - or maybe Leica failed to consult him.

[SrMi]

14 minutes ago, adan said:

A shutdown possibility was well-publicized 7-8 months ago (March, at least).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_United_States_federal_government_shutdown

What Leica "did" was an act of omission - they failed to plan ahead, in case of such an eventuality, and beginning then.

Not sure why - Leica is 45% owned by the US investment firm Blackstone - which has a Senior Managing Director of Government Relations (exactly the person to keep close tabs on what government(s) might be doing, to avoid being blindsided.)  https://www.blackstone.com/people/alex-katz/

Maybe he missed the clues - or maybe Leica failed to consult him.

An FCC certification that occurs way before a launch is called a leak.

The only thing that is certain in current US politics is uncertainty and the lack of ability to predict future government actions.

[lct]

•

Edited Tuesday at 08:38 PM by lct

[jonoslack]

46 minutes ago, adan said:

A shutdown possibility was well-publicized 7-8 months ago (March, at least).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_United_States_federal_government_shutdown

What Leica "did" was an act of omission - they failed to plan ahead, in case of such an eventuality, and beginning then.

Not sure why - Leica is 45% owned by the US investment firm Blackstone - which has a Senior Managing Director of Government Relations (exactly the person to keep close tabs on what government(s) might be doing, to avoid being blindsided.)  https://www.blackstone.com/people/alex-katz/

Maybe he missed the clues - or maybe Leica failed to consult him.

As @SrMisays. Registering in advance is a leak - and what’s the problem, the camera will get approval- It might even spice up anticipation. 

[UliWer]

2 hours ago, adan said:

Leica has already experienced its first "burp" with the EV1 exactly through "not paying attention" to global events and conditions - it cannot currently sell the EV1 in an area that historically amounts to 18-25% of its market. "Unforeseen" = "operator error" = (sometimes) "living in a bubble."

Oh, come on.

Just wait two weeks or months until a political system which has gone totally nuts since November 2024 chooses to get working again in a very limited branch won‘t make any difference. You‘ll see the camera early enough to make up your minds about it.  

[Robert Ardinger]

1 hour ago, adan said:

What Leica "did" was an act of omission - they failed to plan ahead, in case of such an eventuality, and beginning then.

This is very likely not true and seems unnecessarily negative.  I would be interested in where you obtained your facts.

Since the camera is basically an M11, which in all of its varients have FCC approval there should be no reason why this camera would not be approved. (FCC approval needed mainly because of potential interference by a products electronics with broadcast signals - see amped up CB radios)

My speculation (and it is speculation and not stated as fact) is that Leica likely followed the same time line for approval as they have for their many other products that need it but the final "paperwork"  did not get distributed prior to the shutdown (per the FCC site there seems to be a need for the approval to be entered in a searchable database before an item can be sold to the public). 

There may be many reasons to take issue with or praise Leica for their products and their marketing but being caught by the events of our current government is really not their fault. (Shutdowns seem to be essentially an ongoing threat as the government of late is funded for only months at a time (via continuing resolutions) and typically (but certainly not always) they get "resolved" at the last minute).

[adan]

To avoid headaches for Andreas, I'll just stand by my previous posts.

Edited Tuesday at 10:20 PM by adan

[sebben]

This generations Leica M5

[jaapv]

1 hour ago, UliWer said:

Oh, come on.

Just wait two weeks or months until a political system which has gone totally nuts since November 2024 chooses to get working again in a very limited branch won‘t make any difference. You‘ll see the camera early enough to make up your minds about it.  

Indeed why should the rest of the world wait until a max 20% of the market (I think it is about 17% of worldwide M sales) decides to come to its senses.? In the moment the general feeling is: ignore as much as possible and move on 

[jonoslack]

27 minutes ago, sebben said:

This generations Leica M5

Not at all, because it doesn’t matter. The problem with the M5 was that Leica had invested everything in it - it was to be the future of the M camera

the M EV1 is just a sideline, a toe in the water. If it sells badly then Leica can say. “We did it because our customers asked us”. There isn’t any serious consequences if it’s a failure

[Tailwagger]

1 hour ago, jonoslack said:

...the M EV1 is just a sideline, a toe in the water...

What I find interesting is that the powers that be here at LUF have already divorced discussions about the EV from the M itself.  That suggests to me that while Leica views the EV as yet another M variant, the user base, rightly or wrongly, sees it as a different beast entirely.  One wonders how the forum will handle things if an M-EV-M shows up at some point. 😉

I sympathize with Leica's reluctance to invest heavily in an entirely new and undoubtedly novel concept, but I feel obliged to point out that as it stands what's on offer is not really a fair test of how viable a fully modernized M-mount EVF only camera might be.  But presumably they realize that.  Personally, I continue to believe that the dual finder system is, and will always be, the way to go in this space. Especially so, if Leica adheres to the notion that a fully armed M-EV risks cannibalizing M sales.  Given the current set of 'rules' seems to dictate that the form factor and underlying hardware are identical across anything termed an M, I have to assume that any innovation applied in service of improving the EVF's usefulness will (or at least could) be applied equally to the M-EV and M/Viso. So bring on the M12 for as I suggested elsewhere, my current expectation for this or any other M-EV is that it represents the inverse of the M-D, where the former removes the OVF and the latter removes the display.  Perhaps this latest offering should have been named the M-OVF instead.

 

[kiwidad]

8 hours ago, jonoslack said:

Hi There Andy

As far as I know the lack of FCC certification is as a result of the government shut down, not anything Leica has done. I guess they might not want to say that though so as not to antagonise anyone

I seriously doubt this. Govt shutdown about a month ago. How far in advance of mass manufacturing do you think a company submits a product for FCC certification? I find it hard to believe this only happens when boxed retail units are awaiting the release. What if it failed and issues had to be resolved? Frankly I can’tt make sense of this but the excuse of the shutdown is bogus I think.

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Hallo,

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[kiwidad]

18 hours ago, SrMi said:

Yes, but M-EV1 is better than M11 with Visoflex (and lighter, and less expensive).

How? It has a feature removed and there are times when the EVF just doesn’t work! 
I do see having it built in to be a positive but toting an m11 with a 35 Summilux doesn’t typically demand the viso.. 

PLUS exactly how do you look down into the m ev1 EVF to focus when low to the ground? I am too old to lay on my belly in the wet for those pictures so in that regard the viso is far superior.