Leica’s new M camera drops its iconic rangefinder for an EVF

Clean and simple? Yes. Weird and jarring? Also yes.

Leica is announcing a caller benignant of M-mount camera, its archetypal that’s not really a rangefinder. The caller M EV1 is based connected the M11-P from 2023, but it strips retired the accepted rangefinder successful favour of a 5.76-million dot physics viewfinder — hence the omitted viewfinder model connected its front. The caller camera is launching successful Europe and different markets contiguous for €7,950, and coming to the US astatine a aboriginal clip owed to an FCC delay, wherever it’s expected to tally $8,995.

Since the M EV1 is based connected the M11-P, it has the aforesaid processor, 60-megapixel full-frame sensor, 64GB of interior storage, and enactment for Content Credentials. That besides means that, similar different M11 cameras, the M EV1 does not grounds video astatine all. Without the rangefinder assembly, and with an aluminum operation similar the achromatic M11, the M EV1 weighs 484 grams (or 1.07 pounds) without a lens attached. That’s 46 grams lighter, astir the value of 1 play ball.

The M EV1 is inactive manual absorption similar a accepted rangefinder. However, alternatively of focusing by aligning images successful a spot successful the halfway of an optical viewfinder, you spot and absorption done the lens connected the half-inch EVF oregon 2.95-inch rear LCD. And conscionable similar immoderate different mirrorless camera, you tin get a unrecorded vulnerability preview and usage focusing immunodeficiency similar absorption peaking and magnification. 

A unrecorded presumption done the lens makes utilizing ultrawide and telephoto lenses connected a Leica M overmuch easier. Any lens wider than 28mm (which Leica makes a assortment of successful M-mount) usually required immoderate benignant of outer finder, and 90mm focal lengths oregon longer could beryllium hard to accurately focus. Full-time unrecorded presumption besides allows easier close-focusing for caller M lenses that spell shorter than the accepted 0.7 metre minimum absorption regulation — oregon erstwhile adapting a macro lens from different manufacturer.

M cameras could beryllium utilized with unrecorded presumption since the M (Typ 240) of 2012, but they required focusing connected the rear show oregon adding an accessory EVF. The built-in EVF of the M EV1 is akin to the 1 recovered successful the fixed-lens Leica Q3, but it runs astatine a slower 60Hz alternatively of 120Hz. The M EV1 besides borrows the diamond-patterned leatherette from the Q cameras, though that’s astir wherever its Q similarities end. (Pour 1 retired for the Leica fans hoping for an M EVF camera that’s Q-sized.)

One absorbing rotation connected a classical rangefinder power is the M EV1’s caller beforehand lever. What was usually a preview lever connected accepted M cameras, for changing framelines successful the viewfinder earlier switching lenses, is present 2 caller customizable relation buttons. You tin toggle the lever near oregon close to alteration absorption peaking and magnification, oregon you tin long-push either absorption to telephone up a paper that changes those customized functions. It’s a beauteous clever instrumentality connected what would different beryllium an anachronistic control. Another alteration to the M EV1’s power layout is that it drops the ISO dial archetypal introduced successful the M10, going backmost to menu-based ISO power you bring up with a relation button.

I precocious got to clasp the Leica M EV1 and tinker with it for a fewer minutes successful a precise little hands-on preview, and I recovered it to beryllium precisely what I was expecting from a long-rumored “M EVF” camera — though not a modicum more. It’s the bare minimum of swapping the rangefinder for an EVF connected an M11-based camera, particularly considering Leica deleted the viewfinder model and near that country starkly blank, without adjacent relocating the reddish dot logo. The model for the rangefinder spot is oddly inactive there, too, present lodging an LED airy for the timer. It each looks a small jarring and, frankly, disfigured to me.

But that’s fine, I guess, arsenic altering a long-established plan sometimes conscionable takes clip to set to. While I expected Leica mightiness bash thing a small much caller here, I (and I’d wager others) was besides hoping that subtracting the costly mechanical rangefinder would besides mean subtracting a much important magnitude disconnected the price. The $845 delta betwixt the M EV1 and M11-P isn’t an insignificant amount, but this remains a $9,000 camera, the aforesaid terms the now-discontinued M11 archetypal launched astatine successful 2022. Perhaps it’s a small terms extortion for the accepted M cameras, successful lawsuit Leica learns much of its fans than expected favour EVFs implicit a rangefinder.

Photography by Antonio G. Di Benedetto / The Verge