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1bwana1 wrote:
When I played with the EV-1 pre-release at an invited event I was just one of others in a group setting. We were not able to go outside and shoot as we normally do. This time I was given a loaner and able to go out for a few hours and shoot street in my usual way. I got a much deeper and more personal test this way.
For me it is clear that this is not the right Leica camera for my use. So, I passed even though I could have bought one of 2 in stock for 6,700 which is a nice discount from the 8,995 being quoted in the US. One had been bought by someone and returned so discounted, the other was new in an unopened box and after VAT refund and other things came out to about the same price.
It is a nice camera in all ways, and I am sure that a lot of what throws me off is I am so used to what I already shoot daily. I am faster, more fluid, and more accurate, with either my RF M11 or my SL3 when shooting M lenses. The M11 RF is so bright and clear. The EVF-1 is nicer than using the VisoFlex on my M11, but not by much. It is still a bit jumpy and not smooth, especially when zoomed in with a long lens. It is far inferior to shooting M lenses on my SL3. The amazing EVF on the SL3 is brighter, has more contrast, a better eye cup, and because of it's faster refresh rate and IBIS much smoother and easier on the eye. This makes a huge difference. Because of the lower contrast on the EV-1 the focus peaking is often difficult to see meaning I had to zoom in to confirm focus. Te SL3 EVF is much larger, has a near perfect eye cup which blocks light leaking in and improves visibility immensely. I found the EV-1 to EVF to much less easy to see in.
The form factor of the EV-1 is full stop M11. It is native M mount so my library of lenses are native, all my accessories and much of my workflow would remain the same. I loved this about it the camera. For those who don't love the RF experience, or are coming from a Q or even a system other than Leica I believe the EV-1 is a very viable choice. It should do well in the leica lineup. It is my sense that this line of camera will begin to iterate, and improve, on a schedule not directly tied to the RF M cameras like the other M cameras do. It will develop as it's own thing eventually. Maybe even slightly in form factor to enable features that are hugely beneficial to mirrorless a camera experience. I believe we are see the birth an a mirrorless camera line that shotts M mount natively. I am guessing that is why it is named the way it is.
Back to my test. I decided to shoot a lens that is difficult to shoot on an RF camera. Long, fast, and character rich. So, I chose my Voigtlander 75 mm f/1.5 Nokton and went people street shooting around the beautiful Duomo are of Milano Italy. To make it even more difficult I shot at mostly very wide apertures so narrow DOF. After all, my goal was to test the focusing workflow and results. Maybe I went to far with this on an unfamiliar platform. I missed more that I succeeded to be honest. Because I was too slow moments often escaped me. Because I was unaccustomed to the view finder framing was often off. Because I was having trouble with pixel peaking and zooming using this low contrast lens I missed focus a little way too often.
Anyway below is a small collections of images from the test to illustrate my experience. Nothing artistic the goal was to test the workflow. I hope you all enjoy them and they help you understand this new Leica camera. Feel free to ask specific questions and I will do my best to answer them. No YouTube or reviewer agenda here with me....Show more →
Nice write-up.
I'm inclined to think that my approach will be split with my SL2-S (future SL3-S) and M-10R. I mostly appreciate your chose of the VM 75/1.5, as I previously shot that (pre-SL2-S) lens on my M240P. I've come to a place where I'm starting to have a dividing line between focal lengths vs. bodies. Meaning that I'll likely load up my M's mostly with 24 - 50 glass, and my SL with other glass. Your input regarding the M-EV1 (as an alternate to SL) is well regarded ... and the use case (i.e. when afforded time vs. more reactive) is also well appreciated. 
As to the Visoflex ... I haven't mounted mine to my M's (M246 / M10-R) since getting my SL2-S, but I still have them as an option. Instead, I tend to just mount the glass to the SL2-S (which, as you know, the IBIS with longer glass can be nice, too), as well as the EVF for critical focus, etc. Shorter glass, the M's and I get along just fine. Longer glass, pushes the envelope a bit more ... which I can do, just not as rapidly, particularly when a lens has focus shift in play (such as the referenced VM 75/1.5).
That said, I think your inputs align with my (proposed) direction to the SL3-S + M10R vs. $$$ for an M-EV1.
Thanks again for the nice write-up.
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