Thoughts on the Leica M EV1

Leica has just introduced the new Leica M EV1 — the first M-system camera to swap its traditional optical rangefinder for a built-in electronic viewfinder.

As someone who owns an M11 (with three lenses (21 SEM, 35 LUX, and 50 LUX) and uses it daily, I wanted to share a few personal thoughts on why I think the EV1 makes sense and what it could mean for Leica’s future.

First of all, I think it’s great that Leica is trying to innovate within its own market. Obviously, that innovation might seem subpar from the outside compared to other brands. But the same thing also happened with Apple. Whenever Apple released a new iPhone, people complained that certain features already existed on other brands and that Apple was slow to innovate.

But there is always an echo chamber. And just like with Apple, you know that nothing compares to the experience of using an iPhone versus another phone brand.

The same applies to Leica as well. A lot of converts or Leica users are simply happy using their gear. They know how rock solid it is, and they’re fine with its current limitations. So, first of all, people are happy with the status quo.

Meaning, the EV1 will mostly be a welcome addition for many Leica enthusiasts. It solves a few things that the current M digital lineup is missing. For example, the new lenses that Leica has been releasing recently all have a close-up focus distance of 35 cm, whereas the old lenses were limited to 70 cm. Why? Because the rangefinder mechanism cannot focus on objects closer than 70 cm. To use these new lenses (like the new 50 mm Summilux), you had to either use the screen on the M11 or the Visoflex EVF. Both were honestly cumbersome to use.

So with the EV1, you can now use a viewfinder for those lenses. This is something only Leica users would understand, especially those using newer lenses. I bet Leica will release more lenses with shorter close-up focus distances in the future.

Second, the rangefinder shows you what’s out there optically. That means if you have vision issues, you need to buy additional diopter correction lenses and attach them to the body. I have one with +0.75 for example. With age, this gets worse, so you always have to update the diopter. But with the new EV1, that’s solved. The electronic viewfinder lets you adjust the diopter from –4 to +2. So this device is perfect for long-time Leica customers who already own M-system lenses but have eyesight issues due to aging.

Lastly, I think the newer generation of M bodies is already fully digital. They even have Wi-Fi connections and tons of other features. I think it’s wild that people still believe Leica will stick with an analog system. Of course not. They’ll continue to innovate, just slowly because they know they can sell plenty of these devices before introducing major upgrades each year.

Yes, they could have released a device with better focus peaking or IBIS or whatever else you think should be there, but that’s not how companies operate nowadays. I bet the EV2 or future versions will have more features (maybe some will even arrive through firmware updates, who knows).