[Review & Sample Photos] Leica M EV1 x Elmar-M 24mm f/3.8 ASPH. | A High-Resolution EVF Opens New Ground for Wide-Angle M Snapshots

The "Leica M EV1" marks a major turning point in Leica's long history. It is an innovative model that forgoes the optical rangefinder long used in M cameras and instead adopts a built-in high-resolution EVF (electronic viewfinder).

This time I paired it with the wide-angle lens "Leica Elmar-M 24mm f/3.8 ASPH." It is a lens that boasts the superb perspective of 24mm, rendering with extremely well-controlled distortion, and uniform resolving power across the entire frame.

With conventional rangefinder M cameras, accurately checking the angle of view of wide-angle lenses such as 24mm or 21mm required an external viewfinder or, on digital Ms, Live View. With the M EV1, you look directly into that 24mm world through the built-in EVF and capture the light and shadow exactly as intended.

In this article, along with monochrome sample photos taken while walking through the city center, I thoroughly review the shooting experience and rendering power this combination delivers.

Innovation in a Traditional Form: The Look and Feel of the Leica M EV1

The "Leica M EV1" inherits the refined body lines, stripped of anything superfluous, that are so characteristic of Leica.

With the viewfinder window and other elements of conventional M cameras gone, the impression from the front is simpler and more rugged. Even so, the feel in the hand and the overall presence still clearly retain the character of an M.

What has changed most, of course, is the viewfinder.

Because you now shoot while looking through an EVF rather than a rangefinder, you can check composition and focus more intuitively. You feel the difference especially strongly when using wide-angle lenses.

It unmistakably looks like a Leica M. But the moment you look into the viewfinder, a shooting experience unlike any before opens up.

A camera that keeps the traditional design while greatly changing the way you shoot. That is the Leica M EV1.

The Leica M EV1, which does away with the rangefinder windows and shows a lean, solid appearance.

Freedom From the External Viewfinder: The Joy of Looking Into a 24mm Field of View

With conventional M Leicas, when using wide-angle lenses such as 24mm or 21mm, you had to check composition with an external viewfinder or the rear LCD.

Also, with focal lengths such as 40mm that have no dedicated bright-line frame, you have to shoot while picturing the covered area in your head.

With the M EV1, you are freed from these constraints.

Even the wide 24mm field of view can be checked exactly as it will be captured simply by looking through the viewfinder, so you can concentrate on composition and press the shutter.

The "Elmar-M 24mm f/3.8 ASPH." used this time is very compact and goes together superbly with the M EV1.

Raise it the moment something catches your eye while walking the streets, and shoot. It's a combination that lets you enjoy that kind of nimble snapshot photography.

[Sample Photos] Street Snapshots Capturing a City Where Light and Shadow Intersect

Out in the sun-drenched city, you appreciate even more how easy the M EV1's EVF is to see.

Even in scenes of strong light and shadow that are hard to check on the rear LCD, inside the viewfinder you can watch the brightness balance and adjust exposure on the spot.

In a shot of a person walking against the light, natural tonality remained in the dark areas while the strong light was preserved.

In the frame photographing shadows stretching across a crosswalk as well, deep blacks and bright areas coexist solidly, impressively depicting the strong contrast of the city.

Even under strong backlight, the gradation between light and dark is richly expressed. The three-dimensionality of the space leading from darkness into light stands out.

The contrast between strong sunlight and a crosswalk. Even with a high-contrast monochrome setting, tonality in the shadows holds on tenaciously.

Finely Honed Distortion Correction and Detailed Rendering

What worries people with wide-angle lenses is distortion around the edges of the frame. Especially in a city full of buildings, if straight lines curve unnaturally, the impression of the whole photo changes greatly.

The Elmar-M 24mm f/3.8 ASPH. has very little of this distortion and renders the lines of buildings naturally.

In a shot of a person crossing an intersection too, the windows and straight lines of the buildings in the background remain true all the way to the edges of the frame, giving the expanse you expect of a wide-angle without any unnaturalness.

In a scene with a Japanese flag, too, everything from the soft texture of the fabric to the buildings in the background is finely rendered with a natural sharpness that never becomes harsh.

A silhouette emerging against the backlight and the exterior of a modern building whose straight lines extend pleasingly. The low distortion gives the frame a sense of stability.

The gradation drawn by the flag's fabric and the crisp edges of the figure. The richness of texture rendering is something only Leica can deliver.

The Pleasure of Directly Controlling the 24mm Perspective

Slightly wider than 28mm and not as extreme as 21mm, 24mm is a superb angle of view that captures the breadth of the city while retaining natural perspective.

Part of the fun of 24mm is that the impression of a photo changes greatly with where you stand and the angle of the camera, whether making a nearby subject look large or emphasizing depth.

With the M EV1, you can check how the four corners fall and the balance of the whole frame on the spot while looking through the EVF.

You can arrange and shoot the wide 24mm field of view exactly as you see it, without relying on feel alone. This ease of handling is a charm unique to pairing it with the M EV1.

Uniform rendering with no breakdown all the way to the four corners conveys the scale of a large space in full.

The Ultimate Snapshot Package That Brings Out the True Value of Wide-Angle M Lenses Today

The Leica M EV1 is not simply a camera whose viewfinder has become an EVF.

While keeping the simple handling typical of an M and the appeal of M lenses, it frees up shooting that was previously bound by the limits of the viewfinder frame.

The Elmar-M 24mm f/3.8 ASPH. used this time was exactly the lens that let me feel that change. It's compact and easy to carry, and you can shoot while checking the wide 24mm field of view directly in the viewfinder. That casualness suits snapshots taken while walking the streets extremely well.

Raise the camera the moment you notice light, shadow, or a person's movement, and capture the scene exactly as you see it.

The M EV1 and Elmar-M 24mm f/3.8 ASPH. were a combination that made me feel new possibilities in the joy of shooting with M lenses.

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