FIRST IMPRESSIONS — LEICA EV-1 M

[Irakly Shanidze]

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(Real-world test: 500 frames, Noctilux 50/1.0 wide open)

 

I spent the weekend shooting with a production Leica EV-1 M (FW 1.0) before its U.S. release. To make the test meaningful, I deliberately limited myself to one lens only: the Noctilux 50/1.0, wide open, shooting fast tango dancers in mixed tungsten/LED stage light — about the hardest scenario an EVF-only manual-focus M body can face.

 

Bottom line: It handled it.

 

1. Manual focus & EVF:

Focus peaking (LOW sensitivity) is clean and dependable. The HIGH setting is too “hot” with false positives, but LOW works extremely well. EVF blackout and refresh feel similar to the SL/SL2-S, far better than M10 + Visoflex. I had zero trouble tracking dancers at f/1 once I got into the rhythm.

 

2. Tri-resolution sensor (60/30/18 MP):

This is a real workflow tool, not a gimmick.

– 60 MP: noticeable but predictable lag (SL3-like), maximum detail.

– 30 MP: minimal lag, great balance.

– 18 MP: zero perceptible lag, perfect for reportage/social dancing.

I shot the performance at 60 MP and the social event at 18 MP. Switching modes changes how the camera behaves — in a good way.

 

3. Lag at 60 MP:

Yes, it’s there. But it’s consistent. Within 10 minutes I adapted and started shooting with a tiny lead-in. After that, catching dips, turns, and fast transitions wasn’t a problem.

 

4. Image quality:

Modern Leica color through and through — clean skin tones in awful mixed light, smooth highlight rolloff, great microcontrast. No chroma noise issues, no rolling shutter in the dance shots, and the Noctilux character is beautifully preserved without losing detail.

 

5. Cropping performance:

Only one of my posted images is heavily cropped — around 30% of the 60 MP frame (≈40+ MP equivalent). Even at that crop, the Noctilux rendering holds up: eyelashes, sequins, and hair texture stay crisp, with no smear or aliasing. Focus is exactly where intended despite motion and f/1 depth of field. This level of cropping flexibility wasn’t reliably possible on my M10/M240 in similar conditions. Attached is this cropped file for your reference.

 

6. Ergonomics:

One real flaw: the diopter adjustment is badly located for left-eye shooters (like me). To adjust it while looking through the EVF, I literally had to rotate the camera upside down. Right-eye shooters won’t notice; left-eye shooters definitely will. Everything else feels excellent.

 

7. Battery life:

Around 350 shots per battery. Not M11 territory, but totally fine for an evening with one spare.

 

8. About the “M magic” discussion:

If you want a mechanical rangefinder, the M11 and M11-P are still the flagships. The EV-1 M isn’t here to replace them. It’s here for the situations where the RF struggles: Noctilux at f/1 on movement, close focus, R lenses (the new 6-bit adapter is excellent), non-coupled wides, telephoto, macro, low-light precision, and for shooters whose eyes simply benefit from an EVF. My favorite analogy: A man tries to catch a taxi. Several pass him by. A plain car finally stops. The man says, “I don’t know… you don’t have checkers on the door.” The driver replies: “Do you want checkers — or do you want a ride?”

 

Conclusion:

After 500 frames with a Noctilux wide open in real motion, here’s my honest take: The EV-1 M is the Precision M — the M for the situations where the classic RF hits its limits. It absolutely deserves to stand next to the traditional M cameras, not instead of them.

 

Happy to answer questions or share more examples.

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[SrMi]

Can you elaborate on which lag varies with the selected resolution? Shutter lag, EVF lag, lag between shots, blackout?

[FrozenInTime]

@Irakly Shanidze very interesting that shooting at 36 Mpixels speeds up the whole experience.

 

[Irakly Shanidze]

18 minutes ago, SrMi said:

Can you elaborate on which lag varies with the selected resolution? Shutter lag, EVF lag, lag between shots, blackout?

I was referring to the shutter lag, of course. The blackout may be shorter with smaller resolutions, but it is so small to begin with that it's hard to assess in real-world situations. The shutter lag, on the other hand, is noticeable at 60 mpix, but that's exactly what other resolutions are for. Besides, the lower the resolution, the higher the dynamic range. So,  60 mpix is great for a controlled environment, while 18 is invaluable for run-and-gun scenarios not only because of better responsiveness but also because it is much more resilient to high-contrast light.

[Irakly Shanidze]

14 minutes ago, FrozenInTime said:

@Irakly Shanidze very interesting that shooting at 36 Mpixels speeds up the whole experience.

 

It's quite logical indeed: the smaller the file size, the less work for the processor, the less load on the buffer.

[SrMi]

15 minutes ago, Irakly Shanidze said:

I was referring to the shutter lag, of course. The blackout may be shorter with smaller resolutions, but it is so small to begin with that it's hard to assess in real-world situations. The shutter lag, on the other hand, is noticeable at 60 mpix, but that's exactly what other resolutions are for. Besides, the lower the resolution, the higher the dynamic range. So,  60 mpix is great for a controlled environment, while 18 is invaluable for run-and-gun scenarios not only because of better responsiveness but also because it is much more resilient to high-contrast light.

The shutter lag should not vary with the selected resolution. The shutter lag is the time from pressing the shutter to the moment that the sensor starts recording. Resolution does not come to play. I also do not understand how it should be more resilient to high contrast light. The lower resolutions use full sensor data which get resized in the camera.

The only difference is that it takes less time to write the data to the cars/disk and camera may be ready sooner.

[FrozenInTime]

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28 minutes ago, Irakly Shanidze said:

It's quite logical indeed: the smaller the file size, the less work for the processor, the less load on the buffer.

I guess my assumption was that the image scaling was only applied when saving the file, rather than at the beginning of the process pipeline.