Childhood dream: my first Leica M EV1

I took the opportunity to test the Leica M EV1, the first Leica M without rangefinder focusing. This isn’t my first Leica — I’ve owned a Q and then a Q3 — but it’s my first with interchangeable lenses.

Spoiler: it wasn’t worth the price I paid.

A beautiful object

It is by far the most beautiful camera I’ve ever held. It weighs only 450g, which feels surprisingly light in hand — yet it’s not plastic but aluminium.

It’s very slim while still being pleasant to hold, even without an additional grip. It’s exactly the form factor I’m looking for: full-frame that fits in a pocket. The finish is flawless, the buttons click perfectly, the shutter sound is great.

On the other hand, Leica — if you’re reading this: stop releasing special editions just to remove the red logo from the middle of the camera. We’re proud to own a Leica, but for a happy life, live quietly. Just add a simple option for red logo or black logo and be done with it. I’m not comfortable showing everyone I’m carrying a Leica with that badge — it’s the best way to get it stolen.

The M lenses

The advantage of the M mount is that the lenses follow the same philosophy as the body: ultra-compact and well-made. There’s no point building tiny bodies if the lenses are enormous.

When I see what Panasonic does with the Lumix S9 , it’s a waste. The body is nearly as slim as the Leica M, but the lenses are monstrous. You could argue they have autofocus — true. Except the 26mm pancake is manual and only opens to f/8.

Leica lenses remain unaffordable for most people. You either buy one and that’s it. You’d be better off buying a Q at that point: you’re buying the lens and Leica throws in the body for the same price. Fortunately the list of alternatives is long, and Voigtländer does excellent work. It’s a shame Zeiss no longer innovates on the consumer side — I was a big fan on the E mount with the Loxia range and their Zeiss 55mm f/1.8, the best lens in the world.

Another detail that annoyed me: the body doesn’t recognise mounted lenses. You have to code them yourself, but the corrections applied are mapped to Leica lenses, so you end up back in post-production. And I hate that. At this price, maintaining correction profiles for brands that bother to make M-mount lenses would be the least they could do.

The rangefinder legacy

The rangefinder heritage also means it’s impossible to focus closer than 70cm. A large number of lenses can’t do it. With the EV1 and its electronic viewfinder you can work around the issue, but you need the right lens for it. A major source of frustration for me, not knowing this limitation. The Voigtländer 50mm f/1.5 II, compact and fast though it is, won’t focus closer than 70cm — so forget tight portraits.

For focus assistance, you get automatic zoom when you touch the focus ring, and focus peaking that highlights the sharp zones in colour. I was used to that, having already used it on my Sony with M and Loxia lenses. Except the EVF refresh rate is only 60Hz, which adds a lag to the image that’s genuinely unpleasant.

When you’re betting everything on an electronic viewfinder for focusing and you’re called Leica, you owe it to yourself to provide the best possible screen for the job. Look at Fujifilm with the X100 or the X-Pro: the hybrid viewfinder is remarkably implemented, with an optical finder and the ability to display a small EVF inside it for focus peaking. The best of both worlds.

Serious technical shortcomings

The EV1 uses the Maestro 2 processor — the older version of the one in the Leica Q3 which runs the Maestro 3, even though the Q3 came out earlier. I get the sense the EV1 was cobbled together from the M11: Leica simply replaced the rangefinder with the EVF.

Why does that matter? First because this processor is power-hungry, so the battery is rated for only 200 shots. Yes, you read that right. For an €8,000 camera, that stings . The standard M11, by comparison, gets 700 shots with the optical viewfinder.

On top of that, this older chip makes it incompatible with the new Leica Looks, which is baffling. I’m trying to get away from post-production — I want JPEGs straight out of the camera that match my taste. Just look at what Fuji or Panasonic do on this front, and even Leica offers it on its other digital bodies.

Don’t expect image stabilisation either: there isn’t any. Forget handheld shots of the Colosseum at dusk. That said, I personally prefer a light body over built-in technology, so that doesn’t bother me.

There is, however, a real issue with white balance and metering. In certain conditions you’ll shoot a series and the white balance shifts from one image to the next: one pulls blue, the next pulls orange. Same with metering — it’s the first camera where I struggle to find the right setting, with underexposed shots happening regularly.

The freezes — should we talk about it?

From the very first use, I had to pull the battery because the camera had frozen. Straight-up crash. After asking around on forums, I discovered it was a card issue: once formatted by the camera, the problem disappeared. How can a brand like Leica not anticipate this kind of issue?

I’d already experienced reliability problems with my Q3 and its battery draining on its own. At €180 per battery, you’re entitled to expect proper quality control.

The verdict in two columns

What I liked:

• The most beautiful photographic object I’ve ever held, 450g of aluminium in your pocket.
• Compact M lenses that respect the body’s philosophy.
• The shutter sound and the feel of the controls.

What bothers me:

• €8,000 for a recycled Maestro 2 from the M11 and 200 shots of battery life.
• Incompatible with the new Leica Looks, forcing you back into post-production.
• Unpredictable white balance and metering, SD card freezes, no stabilisation.

In short, a dream object ruined by compromises unworthy of the price. If you’re on the fence, keep your money — or look at the standard M11 instead. And if like me you cave anyway, sell it properly the day clarity returns.

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