Online bidding is now open at the 2025 Tamarkin Photographica Auction “100 Years of Leica” (the auction will take place on Saturday, November 15, 2025):
Copyright 2025 Niels Ackermann: This image is, for me, a perfect example of what the sensor is capable of. The exterior details through the window are perfectly legible without the dark details inside Rexhep’s office being blocked. There is, of course, a little rebalancing in Lightroom, but working with such a light latitude is impossible with most sensors.
You want to immerse yourself in the world of the Leica M but want to keep some of the advantages that classic digital cameras have accustomed us to: exposure simulation, information in the viewfinder, extended possibilities in terms of focal lengths. It is a solution that will also appeal to people with diminishing eyesight, making it easier to focus without having to use the viewfinder.
You don’t need video. One of the big things missing from this camera. A purely marketing choice that I find questionable. If I wanted to do reporting with this camera, I would need another camera for video sequences. We do more and more of that during reports. An interview here, a static shot there…
You want a body with a full-frame sensor and ultra-compact interchangeable lenses. I could fit the body, the 35mm, a 50mm, the macro adapter and a battery in a very small pouch (the Camera Cube XS from Peak Design). An unbeatable image quality / size ratio, but which comes at the cost of the absence of autofocus. The crazy sensor coupled with the brand’s legendary lenses gives images of unique quality.
You have time. Unless you’re using hyperfocal length, manual focusing is a time-consuming exercise, especially on moving subjects. If your photos are landscapes, relatively static subjects, or “decisive moment” shots where you set up your frame and wait for the action, you’ll be able to get a lot out of this camera. If you’re in a hurry, the experience will be a little less enjoyable.
You have money. Let’s face it, these cameras are expensive, and to really get the most out of them, you’ll also need to mount a quality lens, which alone could cost the same as a professional DSLR from other brands. In exchange, that high price tag gets you into a club. You’re also buying a little piece of history, much like buying a factory watch.
Leica M EV1 With Leica M 35/2.0 Summicron ASPH, ISO 200, Circa F/8 @ 1/250 Photo Copyright 2025 Sean Reid/Reid Photography
Sean Reid, of www.reidreviews.com, has been working with a late pre-production M EV1 for an extended period of time and today published a detailed field review. Next up, he will be doing comparison studio tests looking at how the M EV1 and SL3 perform with challenging rangefinder lenses. He offers the following tip about working with this new model:
“It’s important to remember that rangefinder lenses have no auto aperture stop down (ASSD) system because they don’t need one to work with a mechanical rangefinder. So to focus precisely, by eye, with the M EV1 it is important to open the lens to maximum aperture before setting focus using the EVF’s magnified view (with or without help from focus peaking). Then stop the lens down to the desired taking aperture (unless that aperture is wide open) before releasing the shutter. This process takes a bit of time but it allows one to focus at the shallowest depth of field the lens can offer. The same advice applies to focusing rangefinder lenses using an SL series camera or a Visoflex on an M rangefinder digital. It also, of course, applies to using R lenses on any of these cameras.
Or, of course, if you want to stop down to F/8 or so and pre-focus/zone focus the lens using its marked distance scale — as many of us old rangefinder photographers often do for fast work — you can do that directly and not worry about “riding the aperture ring”. That’s how the M EV1 picture above was focused.”
Reid Reviews, founded in 2005, is a subscription-based site that accepts no advertising.
“Another new addition to the camera is the FN switch, which is located on the front of the camera and is programable to alter your viewfinder display. This can be used to initiate and cycle through any of the aforementioned EVF display features. Hold the switch to assign the desired function, and once complete, simply toggle it to use the programmed function.” (Explora)
