The Leica M-EV1
It's about time I chimed in on this...
Disclaimer: I have not touched the M-EV1, I don’t have to for the purposes of this post. There are valid reasons I suggest this but won’t list them as I am sure you’ll see my reasoning throughout this newsletter and either agree with their validity or dismiss them because I’ve never used one.
I’ve used M-mount glass on many, many full-frame EVF based mirrorless cameras. I’ve never done that in the context of real photography. The only reason I’ve done so is to prove/disprove and evaluate M lenses against other glass instead of reading other Leica shooters opinions about certain properties that I questioned. It is amazing how hard it is to find head-to-head evaluations of Leica lenses, especially highly vaunted, legendary M glass against other lenses. It’s hard to find that even with reasonably controlled circumstances on different bodies let alone the same body. Given how long that’s been easy to do one has to question why they are so rare. I speculate there are two reasons for this even though every M photographer I know has another system mirrorless or not.
People interested in this are non-M photographers but don’t own any Leica M lenses so they can’t. What’s more their interest falls short of buying into the Leica M system. Let’s call this curiosity at best.
People that own M lenses, especially those made by Leica and especially the high-dollar modern M lenses really rather not know or if they do they do not want to demonstrate results that don’t “optically” justify the purchase.
Merely my speculation, maybe I’ll dig up some of my tests and put them out there. Here’s the bottom line. Leica makes good glass. In many cases throughout the decades one might even say superlative glass when that lens was “new” compared with the competition. Today they still do make great lenses… for their size. The important qualifier there is the “for their size” part. Personally I am not that interested in “perfection” at any size. I love the size of M-mount glass from Leica and other providers. I’m not a collector nor do I have any desire to buy “the best” lens Leica can make such as the 35 and 50 APO lenses, don’t care.
I won’t go into crazy detail but I’ll give one example of Leica M lens nutty-ness that has existed forever and literally exists to this very day. Let’s take the case of various 35mm and 50mm Summicron lenses. Like many newer versus older lenses older models tend to have less contrast. Most normal folk consider more contrast = better lens. Not in LeicaM-land. I’ve seen endless debates on how older Leica lenses are far better because the lower contrast leads to better shadow detail???? Wrong and stupid. I continue to hear people talk about the Leica “glow” when referring to brand new M lens designs that use everything in the book to eliminate anything that could remotely be referred to as “glow”.
Yes, many older, much older Leica M lenses do very much have a “glow” to highlights in particular. Any other brand and people would throw that lens in the trash, glow yea… right… I’ve been provocative enough to challenge that with friends that are Leica shooters and use that term off-handedly with things like the new 35mm ASPH designs etc. I challenge them to show me, right here and right now. I’ll use my regular old camera with whatever happens to be mounted and we’ll see if you can show me. Never happened, never will. Want “glow” buy really old Leica glass or a bunch of other glass from the same era with similar glowy flaws. Hey, I am all in on lenses I like to use and produce a result I like. I love my Leica M Summitar, there aren’t many lenses as glowy as that. What’s great about that lens is the size, the feel, and how remarkably good it is when stopped down.
I thought this was about the M-EV1
The M-EV1 is a camera for people that want to shoot M-mount glass with an EVF. Most Leica shooters can already do this as most Leica M shooters already have a mirrorless camera and probably an M-mount adapter. I know photographers that have a Leica SL camera just to do this and own no SL lenses, not even Panasonic lenses. This camera is for those people who want an EVF for the occasions where they will get better hit-rates than using the Noctilux, or a 90mm/2, or a 135mm wide-open than they will on a regular M camera. The same will also want perfect framing on wider lenses.
Will they get the “best” way to shoot those lenses with an M-EV1. The short answer is absolutely no with absolutely no qualifications. I’ll give you a list of reasons for that assessment.
No argument about Leica’s current EVF from the SL-3, the Q3, and now the M-EV1 having a gorgeous high-resolution EVF with great optics in front of that EVF. Here’s the rub, it suffers massive performance issues in low light just like the snap-on Visoflex they already sell.
The EVF also suffers in absolutely horrific focus peaking visuals as do all EVF’s, maybe even worse. Where the M-EV1 is supposed to shine it fails miserably with respect to the newest competitors, all of which you can fit with M lens adapters. Even the SL cameras are better due to better processing of the EVF data.
If you want “perfect” and quick focus with lenses like the Noctilux or any of the wide-aperture super-shallow DOF M mount glass the M-EV1 is not the best option. You will have to punch in to be precise, you probably have to do the same with an SL. In my own assessment other mirrorless cameras do better in this department. Let’s hope for a firmware upgrade or something.
I expected something truly great, something really innovative. Something like Canon has had for a while with their manual focus guides, or more recently the Nikon light-up focus point.
Yes, I know the Canon and Nikon focus confirmation aides work differently and depend on lens communication but conceptually, especially in the Canon focus guide case, this is the true successor to the rangefinder patch. It’s perfect, it shows you a small square with two arrows that get farther apart or closer together depending on how far out of focus you are, better yet they turn gray when they are PERFECT. I’d imagine you could easily simulate that with computing power (the kind that can detect and track eyes in real-time) rather than the rough, not so precise focus peaking of a decade ago. Punching in sucks, it is not fast and has most of the downsides of using a real M in Liveview.
I almost never criticize Leica on “performance” vs price because using any sort of quantifiable price-performance metric is silly. If you want the Leica form factor and the best rangefinder you can get with all the haptics an M presents and access to all the Leica M and screw-mount optics in that package it’s a niche market producing premium products and the price is the price. I do however criticize a few things like gouging loyal customers that support the company and want to continue to see it produce cameras like the M via absolutely unjustifiable prices for things like a battery ($200+) but worse in my opinion is the price positioning of products like the M-EV1.
Can and should this new not-a-rangefinder EVF camera command an $9000 price tag? Let’s see if we can justify this? It’s a niche product that will definitely be a lower volume product than anything like a Sony, Canon, or Nikon in a similar form factor. Yes, I would never expect it to be price competitive with anything that is remotely similar. Secondly, it is a premium product by some measures. It does have a high-end EVF with high-end optics you view that component through, that’s important. It is made from high end materials, it’s not plastic. In that way a premium price is warranted.
How about looking at the purely within Leica-world. I’d have to say it is absurd and accidentally signals who this product is for. Remember that guy I mentioned above that uses an SL to shoot his M lenses but owns no SL lenses? That guy that wants an EVF but has an M. The M-1EV is for that guy, that guy who will pay more money for a worse experience and be happy for it. Yes, you can buy a Leica SL3 or an SL3-S with the same build quality and a better EVF experience for less money. More money, worse EVF experience, no option for some great/better SL glass but it is an M. That is who this camera is for, the guy that is shooting and SL3 with M lenses that will definitely pay more… because it’s an M-something-or-other. This is obvious because of that $9000 price tag.
For those who would argue with me. Let’s take a look at a brand new Q3 at less than $7000. Not cheap, no complaints but you get a body with the same sensor, same imaging capabilities, a better EVF experience, a decent MF experience, AF, and a superb, arguably the best 28mm optically as a bonus. Maybe I’m wrong, maybe it’s for who I think it should be for but Leica is so, so, worried it will not sell many that they are going for the only market that is “safe”. That safety in really low numbers exists only in the M-buyers market. It’s a really high priced EVF for M-buyers.
I wish they were more courageous and priced the M-EV1 where it might shake things up a bit. I think they should peg this camera $5,000. This would really shake things up and give Leica buyers something to think about. Consider this…
Current Q camera owners now have a choice of grabbing a “43” to complement their “28” or considering the possibility of giving up AF and getting an M-EV1 and a 50 of differing specs for “around the same money”. A real gateway into the M system.
Same for those M-curious non Leica customers. Would it be so bad to give more people a way into a new M and a lens that would be palatable? I think more than a few of those entry customers would save their pennies for an M11/M12…
You might even cut into a heck of a lot of manual lens on mirrorless shooters at that price point.
And yes, you’ll still sell a $5,000 OVF to those M customers that have it all.
With this pricing definitely would produce more volume, you did it with the Q cameras. Are you sure you can’t do it sans lens with a very similar M camera?