This is NOT a photograph of the M EV-1 Camera.
It's an older film model. But one can assume the overall body
style will be much the same...
The very first Leica M camera was announced in 1954 and became widely available in 1955. In an evolution from previous Leica rangefinder cameras the rangefinder and the frame lines were incorporated into one window from the two separate window versions. The distance between the two rangefinder windows was much bigger which allowed for greater focusing accuracy and was a logical improvement that allowed for good focus with faster and longer lenses. That model was the M3. Named the "3" because the viewfinder switched between three bright line frame lines automatically when the appropriate lenses were attached. That was 70 years ago. And for most of those 70 years the basic design of M series bodies was largely unchanged. The design exception being the M5 cameras which are love em or hate em body designs... And, of course, the shift from film to digital sensors.
The current top line Leica rangefinder is the 60 megapixel M11 series with 60 megapixels of resolution but even this current body is visibly closely related to the original M3 in overall design and operational details.
The current M11 uses a .73 magnification viewfinder while the M3 offered a .91 magnification viewfinder. Maybe that's why, among film photographers, the M3, at 70 years old, is still a sought after choice for use with classic 50mm lenses... So close to the photographers unaided vision.
The M11 is a 60 megapixel camera using the same classic, triangulation based, mechanical, rangefinder focusing mechanism as nearly all previous M cameras (exception are scientific bodies which are meant to be used with adapters and have no rangefinders). To many Leica enthusiasts the rangefinder focusing is the main reason to use these cameras but....
What the popularity of the Q series cameras showed Leica is that adding an EVF to the mix instead of a traditional rangefinder resulted in the most profitable line of camera models in the company's recent history. The Q series of cameras has been the gateway drug into the system wide catalog but a huge number of enthusiasts have been so happy with the Q camera's implementation of a "modern" viewfinder that they've stayed with their Qs and have felt no need to upgrade to a classic M rangefinder.
What a number of Leica users have wished for since the introduction of the original Q camera has been for an M camera body that features the ability to interchange lenses (and almost all M series lenses made in the last 70 years are interchangeable with all of the latest Leica M cameras; digital or film) while being able to take advantage of a built in electronic viewfinder. (Add on EV finders have been available at least since the M240...).
And there are a number of advantages to an EVF starting with being able to see the full view of any attached lens, no matter how wide or long without the need for auxiliary optical finders or add-on EVF modules. An EVF means that one is focusing and viewing through the taking lens so there is no parallax -- which can be an issue for optical rangefinder cameras since the focusing and viewing window is located at a different place than the taking lens. The finder sees a slightly different, offset view. No parallax is especially great when taking close ups! And, one can finely preview the images they will get by using the EVF.
The benefit for Leica is that an EVF module is a global commodity part, mostly made by Epson, and can be incorporated into a camera at a much, much lower cost and with much less skilled manual assembly than a mechanical precision rangefinder instrument. Lots cheaper. And because the finder is solid state instead of depending on moving mechanical and optical parts, it is more reliable and doesn't require re-calibration from time to time. Not as subject to failure from shock or environmental extremes. And cheaper. Lots cheaper to make.
With all of this in mind the web is right now on fire with rumors and pre-previews of what everyone is calling the Leica M EV-1. Rumor mills were calling the impending camera an M11-V but I'm now convinced the the new M EV-1 nomenclature will be closer to the final name. And some of the bigger names in the Leica influencer community are taking serious notice.
Other than the fact that the new camera will use an EVF no details or confirmation has been divulged by Leica or other sources. Most pre-preview-reviewers are claiming that because of cost savings from the change from mechanical to silicon tech the camera will debut for about $2500 less than an M11 (original/optical) camera. That would peg the price of the new EVF M to about $7500. I think that's optimistic but I guess we'll see soon enough since everyone is predicting the big announcement by the end of October. Just in time to pre-order for my 70th birthday! Maybe I should wait for the Safari Edition....
Does anyone need this new camera? Well, people who wear glasses and have an issue seeing the full finder on a current M Leica would certainly be a ready market. Same with people who want to use their current Leica M lenses but are having vision issues (usually arriving with advancing age) focusing a traditional rangefinder. And then there are rangefinder fans who will find the EVF very useful when using very short focal lengths or focal lengths longer than 50mm (which have a smaller frame line in the optical finder and so are harder to compose with).
In all honesty, will I rush out an actually buy one? Probably not. I'm currently pretty happy with the M cameras I own but I am more interested in the Leica Q3-43 with its APO corrected 43mm lens, the 60 megapixel sensor, the image stabilization, and the autofocus. It's more squarely aimed at the way I would like to photograph and makes for a nice partnering with the basic, 28mm Q2.
Let's be frank here. There is no logical reason to spend the money buying Leica cameras and lenses if you are looking at the usage for everyday, normal photography. Fuji, Sony, Nikon and Canon make perfectly good cameras that equal the technical specs of even the best Leicas. Same with the lenses. If you are a rational person who likes to make budgets and buy things based on equivalences buying Leica gear makes no sense at all. But... if you think certain intangibles are meaningful to YOU and you have the ability to afford something different then you might find value in the industrial design, the menus, the interfaces and even the visual character of the Leica lenses. You won't necessarily get BETTER but you will get DIFFERENT. And some people like that.
Stay tuned. I have a blog post coming which I wrote after my friend, sometime video producer partner and seriously skilled post production guru told me about the results he saw after spending a full month doing very complex post production on images from a series of shoots. The post production was on images created by three different photographers. One shooting with a Canon R5, one shooting with a Sony A7R5, and me shooting with a Leica SL2. Each photographer using the premium standard zoom lenses for the respective systems. His observations made me stop and think. More to come.
For now I guess Leica nerds are are waiting for signs from Wetzlar re: the M EV1. More sure to follow.
