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. 

[Irakly Shanidze]

55 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.

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[Irakly Shanidze]

10 minutes ago, FrozenInTime said:

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. 

There is no image scaling; rather, it is pixel binning during the readout. Effectively, combining adjacent pixels results in decreased resolution and, at the same time, increased DR.

Shutter lag is absolutely a function of resolution. The time needed to clean the buffer before the next shot is proportionate to the file size, and the time needed to prep the sensor depends upon the number of effective pixels.

[SrMi]

1 minute ago, Irakly Shanidze said:

There is no image scaling; rather, it is pixel binning during the readout. Effectively, combining adjacent pixels results in decreased resolution and, at the same time, increased DR.

Shutter lag is absolutely a function of resolution. The time needed to clean the buffer before the next shot is proportionate to the file size, and the time needed to prep the sensor depends upon the number of effective pixels.

There is no pixel binning in Leica cameras. That has been confirmed by reviewers and Leica representatives. Also, the resolutions produced and the regular Bayer filter make pixel binning impractical.

There is also no change in DR when compared at the same output size. That has been documented well enough.

Leica's representatives have said that reduced resolutions have similar final result as resizing in Photoshop.

The shutter lag is per se independent of the produced file size, but emptying the buffer can delay the readiness of the camera. That is what you probably observe as "increased shutter lag." That can also be affected by the speed of the SD card, but SD cards have no effect on shutter lag.

[Irakly Shanidze]

10 minutes ago, SrMi said:

There is no pixel binning in Leica cameras. That has been confirmed by reviewers and Leica representatives. Also, the resolutions produced and the regular Bayer filter make pixel binning impractical.

There is also no change in DR when compared at the same output size. That has been documented well enough.

Leica's representatives have said that reduced resolutions have similar final result as resizing in Photoshop.

The shutter lag is per se independent of the produced file size, but emptying the buffer can delay the readiness of the camera. That is what you probably observe as "increased shutter lag." That can also be affected by the speed of the SD card, but SD cards have no effect on shutter lag.

this is according to Leica: "Instead of simple cropping or standard pixel binning, the technology involves a sophisticated "hardware-based pixel binning and smart remapping of the Bayer filter array" 

[LocalHero1953]

I just want to say: gorgeous photos - thank you!

[jaapv]

1 hour ago, Irakly Shanidze said:

this is according to Leica: "Instead of simple cropping or standard pixel binning, the technology involves a sophisticated "hardware-based pixel binning and smart remapping of the Bayer filter array" 

But does a shutter lag not occur in the imaging sequence before the sensor records the image? Thus before the data enter the hard-and software?  Hard and software can delay the processing but not the physical time elapsed between pressing the button and the light hitting the sensor. 

[TheEyesHaveIt]

Great review and images. Glad for a focus (and images) on what EV1 uniquely brings to the table.

[charlesphoto99]

Great pics and the first I've seen that aren't of a still subject easily taken with the rangefinder (even if half blind). 

Some questions: I assume you didn't use magnification for focusing? How was setting the focus point when subject is moving? Or did you even need to? 

Do you think it would been easier to say use an SL and a 50mm 1.4 AF lens (not a Noctilux I know, but 1.4 with the cleanliness of high iso can get one out of most low light situations these days)?

Any shots you think you might have gotten quicker or better in focus with the rangefinder (I'm thinking perhaps the paper fan shot where you missed the eyes)? 

 

[SrMi]

7 hours ago, Irakly Shanidze said:

this is according to Leica: "Instead of simple cropping or standard pixel binning, the technology involves a sophisticated "hardware-based pixel binning and smart remapping of the Bayer filter array" 

That statement was used in the early marketing material for M11. Later Leica clarified that it is not an on-sensor pixel binning but instead they use in-camera downsampling of the full 60MP data.

This has been discussed in this forum previously.

[Irakly Shanidze]

2 hours ago, charlesphoto99 said:

Great pics and the first I've seen that aren't of a still subject easily taken with the rangefinder (even if half blind). 

Some questions: I assume you didn't use magnification for focusing? How was setting the focus point when subject is moving? Or did you even need to? 

Do you think it would been easier to say use an SL and a 50mm 1.4 AF lens (not a Noctilux I know, but 1.4 with the cleanliness of high iso can get one out of most low light situations these days)?

Any shots you think you might have gotten quicker or better in focus with the rangefinder (I'm thinking perhaps the paper fan shot where you missed the eyes)? 

 

The beauty of focus peaking vs focus points is that you don't need to set it. Having the focus point basically results in the same workflow problem that is inherent in the coincidental rangefinder design: focus and reposition. Focus peaking, on the other hand, works across the field of view, and all you have to do is turn the focusing ring until it peaks where you want the maximum sharpness. This is invaluable in dynamic scenarios because repositioning takes additional time, which could lead to missing a shot.

You'll be laughing, but I use SL in the same way: manual focus, sometimes AF button, but relying upon focus peaking. It would be the same in terms of focusing, but much heavier. When you have to shoot something like this for five hours, this additional weight and bulk really take their toll.

Not sure if using an optical rangefinder would make any difference here, as this shot was controlled. If the situation was dynamic, the EVF would have an upper hand (see above).
I did focus on the fan rather than the eye. The reason is that a little front focus doesn't look as bad as a little back focus. Focusing on the eye would render the fan softer, and its brightness would visually increase the softness, making it unpleasant to look at.

[Irakly Shanidze]

2 hours ago, SrMi said:

That statement was used in the early marketing material for M11. Later Leica clarified that it is not an on-sensor pixel binning but instead they use in-camera downsampling of the full 60MP data.

This has been discussed in this forum previously.

I will reach out to the Leica tech department for clarification on this issue. Theoretically, downsampling after capture would actually make processing longer, while in reality, shooting at lower resolution makes the camera markedly more responsive.

[Irakly Shanidze]

8 hours ago, jaapv said:

But does a shutter lag not occur in the imaging sequence before the sensor records the image? Thus before the data enter the hard-and software?  Hard and software can delay the processing but not the physical time elapsed between pressing the button and the light hitting the sensor. 

What I am talking about here is the perceived shutter lag. I press the button, and the resulting image looks like I was late. It took me a few minutes to figure out the lead-out time to be able to shoot ahead. Most likely, the camera needs time to free up the buffer from a previous shot and prep the sensor.

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[SrMi]

24 minutes ago, Irakly Shanidze said:

I will reach out to the Leica tech department for clarification on this issue. Theoretically, downsampling after capture would actually make processing longer, while in reality, shooting at lower resolution makes the camera markedly more responsive.

Leica said that lower resolution is better for buffering (endless in 36MP with an appropriate SD card). A full buffer will cause camera delays.

But enough of that, or we can discuss it in a different thread. What everybody wants to hear is your techniques for shooting efficiently with M-EV1 (focusing, lower-resolution modes). You have obviously mastered using the M-EV1 in a way that some have deemed impossible.

Did you use continuous or single-shot modes?

Edited 3 hours ago by SrMi