How the Leica M EV1 Strikes the Perfect Balance of Old and New

Leica is in a tricky position when it comes to creating a new M camera. The fanbase welcomes new models, but Leica knows that if they stray too far from the essence of the M, users may reject the new model. The M5, introduced in 1972, made dramatic changes from the design of the previous M4 model and met relatively weak demand. Leica later returned to the more traditional, minimalist M approach, culminating in cameras such as the M6.

The latest Leica offering omits the well-loved rangefinder focusing mechanism in favor of an EVF. The rangefinder is what makes a traditional Leica M unique, and some shooters worried that this change was an indication that Leica was moving past this ancient technology in favor of a more modern viewfinder. Leica’s decision to name this camera the M EV1, rather than the M12, however, suggests that this is a separate design direction and not a replacement for the current rangefinder mechanism.

I borrowed the M EV1 and the new 35mm Noctilux lens from Leica to see if the camera sacrifices the essence of an M camera to gain the benefits of an EVF. Truth be told, I was most interested in testing the 35mm Noctilux to see if Leica had created a lens capable of replacing my beloved 35mm Summilux. I was only mildly curious about the M EV1. After spending two weeks with both items, however, it was the M EV1 that I may end up purchasing.

The M EV1 looks like a standard M body, and that is of major importance to M shooters. At a casual glance, it is very similar to an M11, which itself clearly carries the visual heritage of earlier M cameras. Unlike most modern cameras, the M EV1 has only a few buttons and dials.

There are Leica shooters like myself who feel an M body is perfection in both look and feel. Others believe the camera is hard to hold and insist on adding additional grips and thumb support. The M EV1 is substantially lighter than my M10, and I don’t see a need for thumb support. The biggest difference between the M EV1 and a Leica M10 or M11 is that the camera cannot be operated as intuitively for me. There are many decisions you must make regarding custom buttons and focus peaking before you can use the camera. Once set up correctly, you can operate it relatively quickly, but the camera’s use of a crosshair to indicate what part of the image the camera is set to zoom into does slow down the shooting process.

It is a remarkable testament to the design of the rangefinder focusing mechanism that, with practice, I can manually focus more quickly with a rangefinder than with an EVF. The rangefinder design incorporates a focus patch in the center of the viewfinder that shows a secondary image to the right or left of whatever is in the center of the viewfinder. With practice, you instinctively know which direction to turn the focus tab of your lens to achieve proper focus. If the secondary image appears to the left, you know which way to turn the lens to bring the images together; if it appears to the right, you turn in the opposite direction. When using the M EV1’s EVF, however, I don’t get that same directional cue, and this slows down the focusing process. A skilled M shooter can line up the double image by turning the focus tab in a single direction without having to turn the ring back and forth. Using the EVF, however, I found it necessary to turn the focus ring back and forth in ever smaller increments until the image appeared sharp. There will be more on this curious design decision later in this article.

With a rangefinder, stopping a lens down from f/1.2 to f/2.8 does not change the rangefinder focusing mechanism itself, but the increased depth of field can make small focusing errors less apparent in the final image. Conversely, with the M EV1, I found it easier to judge critical focus at f/1.2 than at smaller apertures because the shallower depth of field makes the point of sharpest focus more obvious.

When using the EVF, a smaller aperture results in more of the scene appearing acceptably sharp. This can make it difficult to determine which element is sharpest. If you set a 24mm lens to f/5.6 and your subject is about 10 feet away, much of the viewfinder may appear sharp, making it more difficult to nail focus exactly on your subject. Turning on the visual aid that highlights sharp elements in red doesn’t always help, since a large portion of the image can be highlighted as acceptably sharp.

It is worth noting that I can focus an M rangefinder more quickly than the M EV1, but the latter gives me a better way to verify critical focus. If I were shooting a magazine cover with the 35mm Noctilux and wanted to be certain that the image was focused accurately despite the razor-thin plane of focus at f/1.2, my choice would be the M EV1.

I have always considered my 35mm Summilux to be very sharp at f/1.4 despite having such beautiful character in its out-of-focus elements. However, this lens was harder for me to focus on the M EV1 than the 35mm f/1.2 Noctilux because the faster lens appeared sharper at the point of focus. Every eyelash was clear on the f/1.2 lens, and I could instantly determine when proper focus was achieved. By comparison, the 35mm Summilux did not appear quite as tack sharp in my use. This is a testament to just how good the Noctilux is and not a knock on the Summilux. I preferred using my 35mm Summilux over the 35mm Noctilux because I am accustomed to using a focus tab, which the latter lens lacks. If I were to buy the Noctilux, I would add a focus tab to the lens as I did with my 21mm Summilux. I also preferred the slightly smaller diameter of the 35mm Summilux. I realize we are talking about a minute difference, but little things matter when you see the camera as an artistic tool rather than a professional one.

Using the M EV1, you can get the full benefit of Leica’s fast 35mm, 50mm, and 75mm Noctilux lenses. If I were shooting the 75mm Noctilux wide open on my M10, my hit rate might be quite low. On the M EV1, I could consistently nail focus on a cooperating portrait subject. During my time with the M EV1 and 35mm Noctilux, I photographed wide open exclusively.

A Leica M also offers a combination that is increasingly unusual among modern cameras: manual focus operation coupled with a simplified camera design. Leica is marketed as a premium brand, so there isn’t much point in questioning why Leicas cost so much more than the average Nikon or Fujifilm. Those brands also offer cameras marketed around traditional controls or stripped-down interfaces. But in practice, cameras like the Nikon Z f or Fujifilm X100 series still offer many of the buttons, dials, and features expected from a modern digital camera. For that reason, I can understand Leica charging a premium for cameras that emphasize a particularly simplified shooting experience.

When we look at the M EV1, however, the camera is less distinctive than a traditional Leica M since it doesn’t offer the rangefinder viewing and focusing experience. The complex design of the rangefinder focusing mechanism requires precision manufacturing and assembly, and the M EV1 replaces that mechanism with an electronic viewfinder. I don’t expect an M body to be priced competitively with mainstream mirrorless cameras, but I do think the M EV1 should have been priced lower than the M11. The M EV1 will appeal mostly to Leica shooters who already have an M rangefinder and want something different to use with their fast lenses. I don’t think very many Leica shooters would choose this camera over a standard M unless there were a noticeable cost benefit in getting the M EV1.

One of my favorite things about using the M EV1 was that the process felt more like using a classic M rangefinder than using a modern mirrorless camera. My Nikon Z9 makes creating images simple. If I were using that camera for casual shooting or family photographs, I could accurately focus and expose a scene without even looking through the EVF or rear LCD screen. Using a 24mm lens, I could set the camera to auto-area AF, point the camera in the general direction of my subject, and be confident that the photographs would be sharp and properly exposed. The photographs would be technically strong, but I would not get much enjoyment from that shooting process. Most current prosumer and professional cameras are well suited to a wide variety of shooting situations. When I am examining a new camera, I am not looking to see if it can make any part of the shooting process easier or better because that process is already easy enough. Instead, I want to know if the new camera will help me capture images differently, even if that means the shooting process becomes more difficult than it would be with my Nikon Z9.

I was pleased that the M EV1 didn’t make the process of taking images easier than it is with a Leica M. I was expecting it to be easy to nail focus using the EVF, and I anticipated that the M EV1 would feel like cheating. However, I found it difficult to nail focus quickly with the EVF. For me, quickly acquiring focus with the M EV1 required at least as much concentration as using a standard Leica rangefinder.

Whenever I choose to capture a shot on an M body rather than a Nikon, I know I am risking not getting the shot. I might miss focus through my own error, or because the rangefinder has fallen out of calibration, and my photos will not be sharp. But I’m OK with having a bit of mystery in my personal work. When I really need the shot, I have the option of shooting on a variety of Nikon cameras, including the D6, Z9, and Z f.

I took the M EV1 to the Broadway production of Every Brilliant Thing, starring Tracee Ellis Ross at the Hudson Theatre. Photography isn’t allowed during the performance, but I knew there might be an opportunity to grab a quick shot when she came out for her final bow. When the play ended and the house lights were turned on, I raised the camera to my eye and quickly set the correct ISO, shutter speed, and aperture. I was not able to focus on Tracee quickly enough, however, and I did not get a usable shot.

The camera uses a crosshair to indicate where the view will be enlarged when you zoom into the scene you are shooting. If you were photographing a person, you would place the crosshair on the person’s eye and then roll a dial to zoom into the eye to adjust focus. In practice, I found that the crosshair served little useful purpose and was, in fact, so detrimental to my shooting process that it could be a deal breaker in purchasing the camera. The crosshair is not centered by default, although you can customize a button to re-center it, and often I found it difficult to locate. If you have your eye to the EVF and use the D-pad to move the crosshair to the desired position, it can take several presses before it reaches the target. You can touch the rear LCD and the crosshair will quickly jump to that point, but if you are using the EVF to compose and shoot, it isn’t practical to switch to the LCD to move the crosshair. And the crosshair isn’t likely to be where you need it to be when you return the camera to your eye.

Another problem with the crosshair occurs when you are zoomed in. You cannot immediately reposition the magnified area as freely as I would like, so moving from one part of the subject to another can require repeated presses of the D-pad. It may be hard to understand what I am describing here, but the video below should give you a clear understanding of the problem.

This crosshair design is what caused me to miss focus on the Tracee Ellis Ross shot. Had I been using an M body, I would not have had to search for the focus patch since it is always in the center of the frame. I could have found my focus point faster on the M EV1 if the camera treated the live view image the same way it treats the playback view. When reviewing images, the process of enlarging the image to inspect a particular area of the scene is much faster.

If you look at the M EV1 from a purely logical perspective, there isn’t much reason for its existence. You could buy a Nikon Z f for far less money, and you’d gain autofocus, image stabilization, and more conventional control over how you magnify a specific area of the scene. The M EV1, however, actually has the higher-resolution EVF: Leica specifies 5.76 million dots, compared with approximately 3.69 million dots for the Z f. You would also have the option of using a Techart Autofocus Adapter for those times when you want autofocus with compatible Leica M lenses. The M EV1 is a purchase you make because you enjoy using the camera. If you love using a Leica M body, you will appreciate the look, feel, and design of the new camera. The M EV1 is a companion to a rangefinder camera and not a replacement. Putting a 75mm lens on the M EV1 and a 35mm lens on an M10 opens new shooting possibilities in the world of shooting with a Leica.

When you're using a traditional Leica M rangefinder camera, you don't see the scene exactly as it will look in the final photograph. You aren’t looking through the taking lens, as is the case when using an SLR, and you don’t see the effects of aperture or white balance settings as you would with a mirrorless camera. Because you are looking through a separate optical viewfinder placed above and to the side of your lens, the lens itself can intrude into the bottom-right portion of the viewfinder, depending on the lens and hood attached. The optical finder provides frame lines for supported focal lengths, but lenses wider than 28mm extend beyond the widest built-in frame lines on many digital M bodies. The look of the final image and the details you have captured are therefore always a bit of a mystery until you view the final photograph.

In theory, the M EV1 operates like a modern mirrorless camera, showing a live electronic preview before you press the shutter button. In practice, however, I found it necessary to zoom in on one area of the image in order to focus accurately. Often, this was the subject’s eye. At the moment I press the shutter button, I may be looking at only a small portion of the final image. Because of this unique shooting process, the M EV1 retains one of my favorite aspects of shooting with a Leica M—not knowing exactly what the photograph will look like until you review it. This was one of several aspects of using the M EV1 that reminded me of shooting with a Leica rangefinder.

One serious issue I experienced with the M EV1 was inconsistent white balance when set to auto WB. I would be OK with the camera getting the color wrong as long as the white balance were consistent across all frames in that series. It would be simple to color-correct the first image and paste that adjustment to the other shots. This becomes more difficult when the white balance changes from frame to frame. I’ve never noticed this issue to the same extent with my Nikon cameras. Inconsistent white balance is a problem I also experienced when I got the Leica M9 and one I have encountered with the M10. I wrote about a similar issue in my M11-D review. I hope Leica continues improving auto white balance so that future generations of cameras perform more consistently.

When I use a Leica M, I feel that the success or failure of an image depends heavily on my own skill. Nailing photos with the M EV1 gave me a feeling of accomplishment despite my being able to preview white balance, exposure, and focus before taking the photograph.

The look and feel of the camera I use for my personal work are important to me, and I loved how perfectly the M EV1 fit my hands. There is no question that, to me, this feels like part of the Leica M family.

I took the M EV1 and 35mm Noctilux to a Nas performance at Chelsea Piers in NYC. Granted, a Leica M camera is never going to be my first choice for photographing a concert where the artist is pacing across the stage, but the M EV1 performed especially badly for me in this situation. It is difficult to focus the camera accurately without zooming into a specific detail, but the process of zooming into the scene was so slow and awkward that I was seldom able to enlarge Nas’ face before he moved to a different part of the stage. I couldn’t determine whether I was better off having the red focus peaking indication turned on or off, and I switched between modes often. I photographed the show with the M10 Monochrom as well, and my hit rate was dramatically higher. I felt more in control of the focusing process with the M10 Monochrom than I did with the M EV1.

I also found that the M EV1 could feel slower during some high-ISO shooting. Leica rates the camera’s continuous shooting modes at 3 fps and 4.5 fps, but its published specifications do not describe those frame rates as directly dependent on ISO. Whatever the cause in my shooting conditions, I found the inconsistent feeling of speed annoying and was disappointed that the camera did not always seem as responsive as I wanted.

The M EV1 pairs especially well with newer Leica lenses that focus closer than many older Leica M lenses. I recently upgraded my all-time favorite lens, the 35mm Summilux f/1.4, to the latest version, which focuses as close as 0.4 m, noticeably closer than the traditional 0.7 m rangefinder limit. Leica specifies that focusing from 0.7 m down to 0.4 m is performed using Live View, a Visoflex electronic viewfinder, or the Leica FOTOS app on compatible rangefinder bodies. With the M EV1, the electronic viewfinder makes focusing throughout that closer range seamless. The latest Leica lenses, such as the 35mm Noctilux and 75mm Noctilux, also proved impressively sharp wide open in my use.

When I am shooting with a Leica M, I enjoy the process of taking pictures as much as I enjoy the final photographs. As modern cameras simplify the process of creating images, I wonder whether some young shooters will become less interested in the mechanics of photography and more concerned only with the final photograph. With each technological advancement in cameras and editing software, the person holding the camera can rely on more automation to create a technically successful photograph. A sculptor who creates a figure out of a block of marble isn't necessarily trying to make the process easy for themselves. Hardship and artistic expression often go hand in hand. The process of taking photographs is easier in many ways today, and cameras make it easier than ever to produce technically strong photographs, but I am not sure that necessarily makes the process more enjoyable.

In summation, Leica deserves credit for creating a camera that is so different yet so similar to an M camera. The M EV1 has several flaws, but I enjoyed using it and am pleased with the images I created with it. I know I would have created stronger images with less work had I used my Z9 for these shots. However, I enjoyed trying to nail focus with the M EV1, even if choosing this camera resulted in a lot of unusable images. Whenever I want to embrace struggle and uncertainty and immerse myself in the process of creating photographs, my first choice will always be a Leica M. Currently, I can select from the M9, M10, or M10 Monochrom, but I wouldn’t be surprised if one day the M EV1 were added to that list.