Leica M Type 240 Digital Rangefinder Camera - Page 44

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Pre-vision of the Final Image - Focusing the Leica M - Part 3/5

By: Thorsten Overgaard. August 17, 2016. Last edit on August 21, 2016.

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Manual Focus with the Leica EVF-2 Electronic ViewFinder

With the Leica M 240, the Leica got Live View which enables you to see what the sensor sees while focusing, when you put the EVF-2 on top of the camera. It made a quantum leap forward in accurate focusing and previewing exposure.

Los Angeles. Leica M 240 with Leica 50mm Noctilux-M ASPH f/0.95. © 2013-2016 Thorsten Overgaard.

65 years later … The Electronic VisoFlex

After 100 years of almost unchanged proportions and usability, now sits a modern electronic attachment on top of the Leica M camera. I can't wait to get a Leica M with a built-in electronic viewfinder and I am sure we will see one such around September 19, 2016 when Photokina in Germany kicks off.

It’s called an Electronic ViewFinder (EVF), or “Electronic VisoFlex” as Leica calls it (with a reference back to the VisoFlex attachment they made in 1951, so the Leica M film cameras with screw-mount lenses had a built-in mirror).

The EVF-2 has turned out to be indispensable for me. I’ve used it a lot, and the only problem I have with it is that it sits on top of the camera and ruins the classic industrial design of the Leica M.

Leica Visoflex EVF2 electronic viewfinder. You can also use the Olympus VF-2 which essentially is the same.		The Leitz VisoFlex came out in 1951 as a way to implement a mirror on a Leica M. The first version exist for screw mount lenses and M mount lenses.

Los Angeles. Leica M 240 with Leica 50mm Noctilux-M ASPH f/0.95. © 2014-2016 Thorsten Overgaard.

The Polaroid of digital cameras

The EVF allows me to see the image I am about to make very precisely in terms of exposure, sharpness, depth of field and the actual frame I am getting.

Not only that, right after I make the photograph, the EVF-2 also shows me a preview of the photograph. This allows me to see if I got what I wanted: did I get the expression I wanted, did I get the person walking past me, how does the background work and much more.

Actor Terence Hines in Los Angeles. © 2014-2016 Thorsten Overgaard.

It's very much like what a Polaroid test-photo did in the old days. Those Polaroid test photos were made to make sure everything was in focus, that the exposure was correct, that the composition worked and that every detail was taken care of. It took a lot of time, effort and money but it was the way to do a professional photograph in the studio or on a set not that many years ago when there were only film cameras.

With the Leica M 240 and the EVF-2, it’s all back, implemented at no cost and as a constant quality control of what you do.

Leica M 240 with Leica 50mm Noctilux-M ASPH f/0.95. © 2016 Thorsten Overgaard.

Ansel Adams and (pre-) visualization

Ansel Adams realized when he was 25 years that he had to learn to visualizethe final print already when working with the camera in the field.

His visualization must be understood as two levels of prediction:

One is to have the knowledge and ability to predict how the current scene will look in a negative and what can be done in the darkroom for the final print with that negative.

The second level of prevision is the ability to see how it will technically work; and then make an artistic visualization of how to get the emotional impact you want (with the implied changes of the "correct" technical result).

Paris. Leica M 240 with Leica 50mm Noctilux-M ASPH f/0.95. © 2013-2016 Thorsten Overgaard.

You start out with proper focus, correct exposure and correct white balance. That’s the visualization that require technical skills. Then you decide that you want to colors to be much warmer, the focus to be shallower, and the sky to be rally dark. That’s the (pre-)visualization that requires technical skills and an idea how to depart from that (and technical skills on how to get to that result).

Sydney. Leica M 240 with Leica 50mm Noctilux-M ASPH f/0.95. © 2013-2016 Thorsten Overgaard.

The EVF gives you a great deal of prevision of the final result, and I’m sure Ansel Adams would have loved to be able to see the prevision already when hanging on some mountain side.

You put on a red filter and already before you press the shutter, you can actually see a prevision of how it will look. It’s actually pretty amazing. Maybe not as sportsman-like as not knowing, but who would blame you if the final photograph looks amazing?

Los Angeles. Leica M 240 with Leica 50mm Noctilux-M ASPH f/0.95. © 2016 Thorsten Overgaard.

The Leica EVF takes a swivel

One of the things you get used to with the EVF-2 is that the EVF swivel 45 degree up so you can in fact "look down" in the EVF-2 while the camera records what is in front of it.

I've seen people do that for street photography as it gives a good level to work from, with that added feature that people don't notice you are taking pictures.

The reson people don't notice you is that you don't have eye contact with them and doesn't seem to have any attention on them. This can be done also by simply being begind your camera and not make eye contact with people. But that's another story.

You get so used to this feature that when you get to use the Leica SL or Leica Q that doesn't have this feature, you miss it.

The Leice EVF can take a 45 degree swivel up.

"Not like the old days"

They have a saying in the England that "nothing is like the old days" and that is one slogan I think many Leica users would applaud and agree with. At least ‘til they have tried the EVF-2 electronic viewfinder.

I have had people in my workshops who have given up Leica M because they couldn't focus. Generally, there has been an idea amongst Leica users that the EVF-2 just isn’t a real Leica, so that prevented some from getting to try one. They simply hadn’t heard about it.

Never to old to hang out on street corners. Paris, May 2014. Leica M 240 with Leica 50mm Summicron-M f/2.0 II. © 2014-2016 Thorsten Overgaard.

The blind leading the blind

I met one guy who had bought the Leica M and some lenses, but when he felt he couldn’t get the focus right, he sold it all and bought a professional Nikon with lenses. When he attended my workshop a couple of years ago, his astonishment that the EVF-2 existed was great, and it solved all the problems he had. So he sold the Nikon gear and bought a Leica M again, this time with an EVF.

Shanghai. Leica M 240 with Leica 21mm Summilux-M ASPH f/1.4. © 2013-2016 Thorsten Overgaard.

It’s not impossible to focus the rangefinder, but if you think it’s too difficult, there is nothing wrong with using an EVF.

I mean, look around. If you don’t see the EVF coming in as the future, you’d better look again. The EVF is what enables them to make a mirrorless Hasselblad.  It’s what makes it possible for many professional photographers to use a smaller camera most of the time (and only a dSLR for very specific things).

The rangefinder is charming. Yes, but it’s not the only way to do it.

Emirates from Jakarta to Sydney. Leica M 240 with Leica 50mm Noctilux-M ASPH f/0.95. © 2013-2016 Thorsten Overgaard.

The glass plate photography is back

Even when glass plates were replaced by the much more economical and handy film plates, Ansel Adams and others would still use glass plates. Considering that a landscape photographer back then in the 1930’s had to carry a large wooden camera with large lenses and fragile glass plates up and down mountains, it would have been so much easier to just go with film.

Even in the 1960’s you could order glass plates for large format cameras. It wasn’t easy to get, but they were available for the patient and ambitious photographer.

The point in using glass plates was (and is) that the focal plane is very precise. The film may move or bend slightly in a camera, but the glass plate stays 100% plane.

With digital sensors in the first digital rangefinder (the Leica M8 that came out on September 14, 2006) we achieved unheard-of precision in a 35mm camera.

Actor Terence Hines. Leica M 240 with Leica 50mm APO-Summicron-M ASPH f/2.0. This photo is with available soft light from the windows covered with white curtails. You can read about in The Story Behind That Picture "The Hollywood Murder", my photo session with actor Terence Hines. © 2014-2016 Thorsten Overgaard.

To begin with – let’s be frank about this – it created some new problems. Suddenly we discovered that we weren’t as great at taking sharp photographs as we previously thought.

The digital sensor was merciless and showed each little departure from exact focus. It was easy to tell because in a matter of minutes we could now import the photograph to the computer and zoom in on each little detail.

We also learned that the Depth of Field scale on the lenses wasn’t made for digital sensors. When the DOF scale said the lens would perform acceptable focus from 3 feet to 5 feet, we learned that this was in the film days. In the digital age, the acceptable sharpness was reduced.

Men in black in Rue de Beaujolais, Paris. Leica M 240 with Leica 50mm APO-Summicron-M ASPH f/2.0. © 2013-2016 Thorsten Overgaard.

Heck, the whole idea of what acceptable sharpness was, suddenly took a quantum leap in a disappointing direction.

With the EVF-2 electronic viewfinder that reads directly from the digital sensor, we finally have a tool that is suitable for achieving the accuracy we want.

So let’s look at how it works.

The ZOO in Los Angeles. Leica M 240 with Leica 90mm APO-Summicron-M ASPH f/2.0. © 2016 Thorsten Overgaard.

Focus Aid and Focus Peaking

The Leica M 240 offers Focus Aid (zooming in on the image) and Focus Peaking (colored outlines of sharp edges) to help you focus.

The colored lines require contrast and your image does not always have that. You will fairly quickly train your eye to look at the actual image and see when it is sharp. You don't a need red outlines to see when something is in focus.

Red outline isn't always sharp

You should know that the red outlines, when created by contrast, simply means there is a high contrast edge. This is not the same as optimum focus.

Expscially with wide angle lenses, the range of "acceptable focus" or "red outline" is much wider than for tele lenses, so particularity with wide angle lenses, you may find that what had a red outline, is in fact not in focus in the final image.

With a Noctilux at f/0.95, the focus is so narrow that often, when you see the red outline, it is in fact in focus.

The office of fashion designer Bolongaro Trevor. Leica M 240 with Leica 50mm Noctilux-M ASPH f/0.95. © 2013-2016 Thorsten Overgaard.

It’s a question I constantly get, “I don’t see the red lines”, and that’s the explanation. Sometimes you just don’t get them because there are no edges of hard contrast in the image.

It’s a bad habit from automatic cameras to wait for a green light or beep to tell you everything is OK to shoot. But with manual focus you never get any acknowledgement from the camera. The red outline is a help you sometimes will get, but mostly don’t wait for it. Just look at the image in the EVF. When it looks sharp, it’s sharp.

Another thing that makes the lines hard to see is the fact that they are small. I for one am thankful that the lines are rather discrete, because if one looks through the Sony A7 the red outline is so dramatic it disturbs the composition.

Wedding outside Cafe Les Foudres in Paris. Leica M 240 with Leica 50mm Noctilux-M ASPH f/0.95. © 2013-2016 Thorsten Overgaard.

If you have used the matte screen of an SLR in the past when they were bright and accurate (as in Nikon 3F HP) or the current Leica S, you will know that a complete matte screen without the divided "focusing field" in the middle is more accurate to use than the "focusing field". It's just a matter of habit and trust in what you see rather than what some electronics tell you.

Stars and stripes in Los Angeles. Leica M 240 with Leica 35mm Summilux-M f/1.4 AA. © 2016 Thorsten Overgaard.

Setting up the Leica M for Focus Aid (zoom to focus)

When the Leica M comes from the factory, it’s set up with Manual Focus Aid. That means you have to press the front button on the camera to turn it on. Unfortunately, the factory setting also means that the Focus Aid doesn’t zoom in on the image.

Obviously, you don’t see the point in focus aid if it doesn’t do anything. But when you have activated Focus Aid (by pressing the front button), you can change the zoom that Focus Aid is supposed to provide by turning the thumb wheel and choosing 1X, 5X or 10X enlargement of the image.

Aha! Now you see what it does. It zooms in 5X or 10X on the image so you can see when it's in focus!

Playing. Leica M 240 with Leica Cine 100mm Summicron-C f/2.0. © 2016 Thorsten Overgaard.

In the Menu of the camera you should immediately change the Focus Aid from Manual to Automatic. This will make the camera turn on Focus Aid automatically when you touch the focus ring on the lens.

All Leica M lenses, even the old screw mount lenses from the 1930’s, activates the focus in the camera. There’s a metal ring inside the lens that touches and moves the focus mechanism in the camera.

All M lenses then work with Automatic Focus Aid. Only Leica R lenses, Leica Cine lenses and other brand lenses mounted on the Leica M requires you to press the Manual Focus Aid button on the front.

1 X Focus Aid		5 x Focus Aid		10 X Focus Aid
The full frame at x 1		The image enlarged x 5 times		The image enlarged x 10 times
The Thumb-Wheel is the one that you use to scroll between X 1 and X 5 and X 10 preview size in the EVF-2. I recommend you use X 5 for most things, maybe x10 with very wide lenses like 21mm and 18mm.
The four corners that make frame lines in the middle are a little confusing. They illustrate what part of the image will be visible if you use X 10 Focus Aid. I never use them. All I ever got out of them is a lot of e-mails asking what they are there for.

Focus Peaking explained (red outline)

	The red outline of red is not always easy to see.

Focus Peaking is the outlines on the screen or inside the EVF-2 of where the image has high contrast (sharpness). If there is no high contrast, there will be no Focus Peaking visible.

In the Leica M 240 the outlines can be set to Red, Blue or Green. I prefer Red as it is easily visible in my black & white image preview. Blue or Green might work better for others, especially if the image preview is in color.

London. Leica M 240 with Leica 50mm APO-Summicron-M ASPH f/2.0. © 2015-2016 Thorsten Overgaard.

Black & White Preview explained

In the beginning, the Leica M 240 offered you the possibility to photograph both DNG and JPG at the same time.

Not much reason to photograph JPG pictures in colors when you photograph DNG. The colors and all of the DNG are so much better when you work them over a little in Lightroom.

So I would set the JPG to black & white so as to get the DNG in colors (it is always on color as it’s the full raw data of all that the sensor records) and the JPG in black and white. When editing in Lightroom, I would see the same photograph in color and black and white and it would be very easy to see which worked best in what, or if both the color and the black & white editions worked well.

Happy friends in Sydney. Leica M 240 with Leica 50mm Noctilux-M ASPH f/0.95. © 2013-2016 Thorsten Overgaard.

This setting also meant that the preview in the EVF-2 would be in black and white only. I prefer that because the colors aren’t that accurate or important to preview. The exposure is, and that is actually easier to preview in black & white than colors. And on top of that, the red outline (when it is there) is easier to spot when the rest of the preview is in black & white.

With a later firmware update Leica made it so you can photograph DNG only, but if you set the camera to black & white preview in the Menu under Film Mode, the preview is black & white without you ever have to make or download a JPG file.

Alexis Khoo working her Leica in Singapore. Leica M 240 with Leica 50mm Noctilux-M ASPH f/0.95. © 2015-2016 Thorsten Overgaard.

Focus Aid explained (zoom to focus)

Focus Aid is the button on front of the Leica M 240. You press the button and there will be a preview of the focus. While focusing with Focus Aid you can scroll the thumb wheel to choose between 1X, 5X or 10X enlargement.

I recommend 5X as that is enlarged enough to see focus. 10X may be helpful to see minor details for example when using a 21mm super wide lens. But mainly 5X is the setting of enlargement.

The menu should be set to Automatic as then you don't have to press the button on the front of the camera anymore. The focus mechanism on Leica M lenses automatically activates the focus aid. When you press the shutter release gently the EVF-2 goes from 5X enlargement to 1X so you see the full image you are composing. So don't press the shutter release at the same time as the Automatic Focus Aid then is not showing.

The way to use Focus Aid, explained

The way to use it is 1) turn the focus barrel on the lens and focus on the main subject in the image, then 2) press the shutter release gently to get the full image (which now is in focus) so as to compose the image and cropping.

A bicycle in my hometown Aarhus, Denmark. Leica M 240 with Leica 50mm Noctilux-M ASPH f/0.95. © 2014-2016 Thorsten Overgaard.

EVF doesn't care if the focusing mechanism is out of focus

One of the other advantages of the Leica EVF-2 is that when it reads the image from the digital sensor, the rangefinder mechanism can be out of adjustment and it doesn’t influence the focusing.

I got so used to the Leica M 240 with the EVF-2 that this became my preferred way of focusing for a long time.

Morning tea in London. Leica M 240 with Leica 50mm Noctilux-M ASPH f/0.95. © 2013-2016 Thorsten Overgaard.

Using the new camera back in March 2013 and giving it a rough time, I managed to displace the rangefinder mechanism. As the EVF isn't susceptible to being displaced, it was an easy choice to use the EVF.

For me it meant that during the first three months of using the new Leica M 240 I had to use the EVF, as my rangefinder mechanism had to go back to Leica in Wetzlar to get adjusted. Then when it was adjusted, I had gotten so used to the EVF-2 that I kept using it.

Chess in Sydney. Leica M 240 with Leica 50mm Noctilux-M ASPH f/0.95. © 2013-2016 Thorsten Overgaard.

The EVF always reads the image from the sensor, and if that one if in focus, the final image is also. I'm stipulating this as a fact as I have had a few questions coming up from people who had trouble focusing their Leica M 240 with EVF and thought the EVF was wrong.

It is simply not possible that the focus is off when it is in focus in the EVF. Period.

But what is possible, is the same phenomena as with the rangefinder: you are sure that you’ve nailed the focus, but then when you get back to the computer, there is back focus (the focus sits a little further back than what you focused at).

Banksey in London (Clipstone Street). Leica M 240 with Leitz 50mm Summicron-M f/2.0 "rigid" Series II. © 2013-2016 Thorsten Overgaard.

In the rangefinder mechanism it is possible that the rangefinder needs adjustment. When it does, it’s mostly back focus and rarely front focus (the focus sits a little in front of what you focused at).

What happens when you focus and then photograph somebody or something, is that they move or you move. That’s why you will still see back focus in some photos made with the EVF-2.

Shanghai. Leica M 240 with Leica 21mm Summilux-M ASPH f/1.4. © 2013-2016 Thorsten Overgaard.

Focusing a Leica M with EVF-2 digital viewfinder

The EVF-2 is a somewhat alien instrument and may feel wrong on a Leica M. But you must get over that, and frankly, if you haven't tried the EVF-2, you are missing out.

As simple as that.

The hurdle with the EVF-2 is that it is terribly ugly and that it is slow. When I used it all the time for the first three months back when I got the first Leica M 240, I simply got used to the rhythm of the EVF-2.

Tokyo. Leica M 240 with Leica 50mm Noctilux-M ASPH f/0.95. © 2013-2016 Thorsten Overgaard.

A couple of years later I decided that I wanted to use the Leica 50mm APO exclusively for a couple of months to see if I could increase my affinity for this lens.

It’s far from as sensitive to focusing precision as the Leica 50mm Noctilux-M ASPH f/0.95 that I use most of the time. So I decided to take off the EVF-2 and use the rangefinder.

The smaller size of the 50mm APO invited to simplify my setup, and I really liked it. I liked it so much that when I put on the Leica 50mm Noctilux-M ASPH f/0.95 again and used its razor-thin focus, I kept the EVF-2 off the camera.

Paris. Leica M 240 with Leica 50mm Noctilux-M ASPH f/0.95. © 2013-2016 Thorsten Overgaard.

Built-in diopter adjustment

The EVF-2 has built-in diopter so you can adjust for your eyesight. The way to set it is to look into the EVF and when the text is crisp and clear, the focus is ideal.

The diopter ring tends to get loose and turn by itself when you walk with the camera. I’ve solved this by putting a piece of isolating tape under it so it stays where I want it.

The garden 8:00 AM at The Manor Hotel (Chateau Elysee) in Hollywood. This is my office in the morning when in Los Angeles. Did you notice where the focus is ... and did it matter? Leica M 240 with Leica 50mm Noctilux-M ASPH f/0.95. © 2014-2016 Thorsten Overgaard.

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“I can’t focus without the EVF”

Using the EVF-2 has the back side that you lose confidence that you can focus without it.  When in fact, you can focus with the rangefinder, and it’s actually much easier than you thought.

You don’t need the EVF-2. Almost 100 years of Leica camera models without it document that it isn’t necessary to use the EVF.

The car. Leica M 240 with Leica 50mm Noctilux-M ASPH f/0.95. © 2016 Thorsten Overgaard.

“I can’t stand the EVF-2”

When I finally put on the EVF-2 again, I was surprised how slow it was. The sound of the shutter becomes sticky and slow. The reason for this is that when you use Live View, the shutter curtain goes up when you turn the camera on. It stays up, so when you take a photograph, there is a slight delay (and some extra mechanical noise) because the shutter curtain first has to close, then open to take the photo, close again when the exposure is over, and then open again so the Live View works.

This is a lot of movement and a lot of unfamiliar noise compared to a traditional Leica M.

Nirata Airport, Tokyo. Leica M 240 with Leica 21mm Summilux-M ASPH f/1.4. © 2013-2016 Thorsten Overgaard.

Also, the EVF-2 is set up so you see a one second preview of the photo you just took. You can turn off the preview in the Menu, but then you still will be getting a 1 second blackout. So you might as well set preview to 1 second in the menu. Better looking at something for 1 second than nothing!

If you take a burst (series) of photographs, you see the last photograph in the burst for 1 second in the EVF-2.

For us who wear glasses, the rubber ring on the EVF leave smudges of rubber. The Leica SL and Leica Q do the same because it’s soft rubber. The Leica M also has plastic around the rangefinder viewfinder so that it doesn’t scratch the glasses; but that is hard plastic and it doesn’t leave smudges at all. Genius design, actually.

Take a note, Leica Camera AG. No more soft rubber rings around viewfinders.  

Per Hildebrant working the Leica X-Vario in the Paris Workshop. Leica M 240 with 50mm Noctilux-M ASPH f/0.95. © 2013-2016 Thorsten Overgaard.

Not to make anybody wrong, it should be pointed out that the EVF is a great tool for anyone who wear glasses to see more of the frame, or actually the whole frame. That is extremely helpful when working with wide angle lenses. Wearing glasses and using the rangefinder in the Leica M, your view is usually limited to a 40mm frame.

Disneyland, California. Leica M 240 with Leica 35mm Summilux-M ASPHERICAL F/1.4 AA. © 2016 Thorsten Overgaard.

When to use the EVF-2

When I do assignments where I need to make sure the focus is accurate, I will use the EVF-2.

I sort of like the freedom and speed of the rangefinder, but I also like the precision of the EVF-2.

Often I will photograph some of a photo session with the EVF-2 and a portion without. It’s two different styles.

With the EVF-2 on the camera for portraits I get the precision and can focus on the subject’s eyes with a precision that was unheard of before. But then after I take the photo, I can’t see the subject for 1 second.

I fake it, because the subject doesn’t know. I keep the camera in front of my eyes and wait for the preview to disappear. Then I set the focus again and give the subject the next instruction. They have no idea that I just “lost them” for a second.

Without the EVF-2 I have a real-time view of the subject through the rangefinder all the time and can react to it, take photos when they make a special expression, and I can work much faster. But … with less precision.

Well, actually not less precision. But with less guarantee for the result.

I recently had a Leica M 240 that went out of focus. It seldom happens, so I had been photographing for two days before I noticed that something was actually wrong. There were simply too many weird out-of-focus photographs.

So I checked the focus, and yes, it was off.

Richard Williams in Shanghai. Leica M 240 with 50mm Noctilux-M ASPH f/0.95. © 2013-2016 Thorsten Overgaard.

When I had to photograph an actor a week later, one was out and the other was perfectly aligned. So I used both cameras. One with the EVF-2 and one without. The advantage being that I know that my focus will be perfect with the EVF-2. And I also know I wouldn’t be able to have him fly out again for another photo session if my focus had been off.

So that is the way I use the EVF-2, almost as the Polaroid in the old days. A test then of things to make sure every detail is perfect.

Robin hanging out in LA. Leica M 240 with Leica 50mm APO-Summicron-M ASPH f/2.0.

Overheating and freezing the Leica M

One of the new things that came with the EVF-2 was overheating of the Leica M. The fact that the Live View heats up the sensor and thus the camera’s electronics, resulted in the camera simply freezing.

I found that it would for sure freeze when used in even normal room temperature. If you had a not-too-hot day in New York and you worked with the EVF-2 in the sunshine, the camera would for sure freeze after 5-15 minutes.

With freeze, I mean the camera would stop responding, or the EVF woild lock up in black or white. Or simply just not work.

But even on a very cold day, the Leica M 240 would freeze too.

Mr. Grant in Hollywood. Leica M 240 withLeica 50mm Noctilux-M f/1.2. © 2016 Thorsten Overgaard.

Several firmware updates have come about and each promised that this phenomenon would now happen less. Which might be true, but it still happened from time to time, and mostly at the most inconvenient times (while in the middle of a photo session).

With the current firmware, it doesn’t happen that often, if ever. But sometimes the EVF-2 will go completely white or completely black so you can’t see anything.

The remedy for a frozen camera or EVF-2 is to turn off the camera and turn it on again. If that doesn’t remedy it, take out the battery (to reset the camera completely) and then insert the battery again.

I won’t spend much more energy on this issue, as it’s not as troublesome as it was in 2013 when the Leica M 240 came out. It’s annoying when it happens, but it doesn’t happen that often anymore.

Cimetiere du Pere Lauchaise in Paris. Leica M 240 with 50mm Noctilux-M ASPH f/0.95. © 2013-2016 Thorsten Overgaard.

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Cleaning contacts of the EVF-2

The reason for the EVF-2 going black or white and not showing any preview can also be dirt in the connection to the camera. I’ve had people reporting that after they cleaned the contacts with alcohol, the problem disappeared.

Alex Marton in Hollywood. Leica M 240 with 50mm Noctilux-M ASPH f/0.95. © 2016 Thorsten Overgaard.

Battery usage and the Leica EVF-2

The battery in the Leica M 240 is really powerful. It was made to support Live View and video.

Video is something that drains a lot of power because both the sensor and the buffer (writing the data to the SD-card) is working hard.

If you plan to use a Leica M 240 for video, don’t leave home without three batteries.

For a day out and about with using the EVF-2, the first battery will be drained after 5 hours or so. So always have two batteries.

If you use the rangefinder, the battery will last for more than a day.

Fitzroy Square in London. Leica M 240 with 50mm Noctilux-M ASPH f/0.95. © 2013-2016 Thorsten Overgaard.

Advanced light metering and battery usage

Be advised that if you have set the light metering in the Leica M 240 to Advanced, this is the same as Live View as the sensor is exposed all the time and the light metering works off the preview of the image. Even if you are not looking at that Live View, it’s active for the light meter. So this, obviously, will eat just as much battery as using the EVF.

London. Leica M 240 with 50mm Noctilux-M ASPH f/0.95. © 2015-2016 Thorsten Overgaard.

If you haven’t tried it

From my own experience and the many users who I see in my workshops, my estimate would be that 70% of the current Leica M 240 users would buy the Leica M with a built-in electronic viewfinder.

Over time a Leica M with a traditional viewfinder would be an excellent object to own and admire, just as the Leica MP is the perfect film camera with admirable technical and industrial design qualities.

REMM Hotel in Ginza, Tokyo. Leica M 240 with Leica 21mm Summilux-M ASPH f/1.4. © 2014-2016 Thorsten Overgaard.

Next EVF in the next Leica M

The Leica Q and the Leica SL point towards the next EVF we will see in the Leica M 241 (or Leica M 11 we might hope it would be called)

The Leica Q shows how fast and elegant a Leica can be. The EVF in the Leica Q is far ahead of any other EVF’s in similar cameras. The resolution and image quality is really great. It works so there is no black screen between photographs. Part of the reason for this is the computer-power of the buffer and the overall camera operation. It’s just faster. But also, the camera doesn’t have a shutter curtain that has to close and then go up and down to take a photograph.

Paris Nights at Restaurant Aux Lyonnais. Leica M 240 with 50mm Noctilux-M ASPH f/0.95. © 2015-2016 Thorsten Overgaard.

Leica SL which is the new Pro camera from Leica has an even better EVF. The optics in front of the EVF is brilliant, wide and bright so you can easily see the screen, which in itself is another step up in image quality.

The Leica SL electronic viewfinder is so precise and so bright that many sold their Leica M 240 and bought a Leica SL to use for their Leica M lenses. Suddenly it was possible to see the image so clearly that, without zooming in, you can comfortably focus a Leica 50mm Noctilux-M ASPH f/0.95 or a Leica tele lens.

The Leica SL doesn’t have a shutter either, so a much faster, almost instant, operation, and no “blackout” between photographs.

London rain. Leica M 240 with 50mm Noctilux-M ASPH f/0.95. © 2013-2016 Thorsten Overgaard.

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Leica M11 or Leica M 241

The next Leica M is definitely coming, and likely it will be announced at Photokina 2016.

There are several possibilities for how it will integrate an EVF, but it’s unlikely that it won’t have one. It could be another add-on on top of the camera, but much faster and maybe even prettier and more durable than the EVF-2.

Zhi Min Wu in China. Leica M 240 with 50mm Noctilux-M ASPH f/0.95. © 2013-2016 Thorsten Overgaard.

Another possibility is a Leica M model with integrated EVF. They must have been speculating till the grey hairs stared growing at Leica Camera AG in Wetzlar: “Just how important is the rangefinder for the Leica M users?”

When the EVF-2 came out, nobody liked it. Now many use it.

Back then I predicted that Leica would make a Leica M with EVF built-in and a traditional Leica M without EVF. I don’t know if that’s going to happen. But for sure, a new and better EVF solution will come for the Leica M. That’s a given.

Working the Leica M 240 in Paris. © 2016 Thorsten Overgaard.

Updating the EVF-2

The Leica M 240 was constructed in a way that EVF can’t be updated. It’s made by Epson and used by both Olympus and Leica. When Olympus came out with an updated EVF, it worked for them, but the same EVF didn’t work for the Leica.

For the Leica M 240 there is only one EVF that fits, and that’s the one and only EVF-2.

So no matter what else happens, you won’t be able to upgrade the EVF-2 on the Leica M 240.

Sydney. Leica M 240 with 50mm Noctilux-M ASPH f/0.95. © 2013-2016 Thorsten Overgaard.

Another EVF bites the dust

The EVF is made by Epson for Leica (and Olympus) and is not exactly a piece of Leica engineering though it has gotten a design by Leica that resembles the VisoFlex.

It's a strange piece of electronics added to the top of the camera and as such it doesn't fit into the industrial design of the Leica body. And perhaps more importantly, it easily gets damaged. I drop my Leicas several times a year, either by accident or simply bang into things or drop them a little too hard on the table.

It's not really a problem for the Leica M, but for the EVF it is. I am on my fourth EVF now in three years.

Paris apartment. Leica M 240 with 50mm Noctilux-M ASPH f/0.95. © 2013-2016 Thorsten Overgaard.

When in Rome in May I photographed three men talking by a cafe. One of them, Flavio, came over to me and asked, and then invited me to come see his apartment inside the courtyard. He wanted to show how painters and artists used to live in the high-ceiling spaces with large windows before this area of Rome became one of the most expensive. I learned later that this is a very sought-after location for movie crews and location scouts, hence the people who live there is very protective and it is almost impossible to get in. I did some portraits of him, as well as this one. The space was purely his working space. A large apartment with lots of books, and he put on some classic music on the cassette deck(!) to create a nice atmosphere. Leica M 240 with 50mm Noctilux-M ASPH f/0.95. © 2013-2016 Thorsten Overgaard.

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Neon at Hollywood Blvd Vine Street in Hollywood. Leica M 240 with Leica 35mm Summilux-M ASPHERICAL F/1.4 AA. © 2016 Thorsten Overgaard.

Night vision and the EVF - Seeing in the dark

The EVF shows the image as if in daylight. Only when you press the shutter release slightly down do you then see the preview of the exposure. Until then it is as a daylight photo, even in the darkest places. That is obviously very helpful when it is dark.

The Grammys. Leica M 240 with 50mm Noctilux-M ASPH f/0.95. © 2016 Thorsten Overgaard.

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Peter Wais in San Francisco. Leica M 240 with 50mm Noctilux-M ASPH f/0.95. © 2016 Thorsten Overgaard.

New exciting possibilities with the EVF-2

The EVF-2 for the first time makes it possible to focus lenses without focus coupling to the Leica M rangefinder. You can mount any lenses you can find an adapter for, including Leica R lenses, Leica Cine lenses, Canon, Nikon and more.

Working with #lenses in #hollywood by #leica #photographer #thorstenovergaard #noctilux #summicron #cine

A photo posted by Thorsten von Overgaard (@thorstenovergaard) on Aug 14, 2016 at 4:48pm PDT

Macro and EVF

Also using a Macro adapter is now a possibility on the Leica M 240. The OUFRO adapter from the 1970's is my favorite as it moves the lens 10mm away from the camera and thus brings you closer, but not too close.

Leica Camera AG also made a Leica M Macro Adapter which brings you even closer; and then you can "zoom" it to bring you really close.

OUFRO on the Leica M Type 240 for macro. OUFRO is an original Leitz Extension Ring (produced 1959-1983 as part no. 16469Y). OUFRO can even be stacked withs everal of the at a time for greater magnification and will work on the Leica M Type 240 as macro for all lenses, including the Noctilux, 90mm APO-Summicron-M ASPH f/2.0 (as shown on this picture) and even 21mm lenses. With the EVF-2 and Live View you see the image crisp and sharp, easy to focus. The 90mm f/4.0 or f/2.0 would be my preferred macro lens. © 2013-2016 Thorsten Overgaard.

An easily overlooked detail is that the macro ring is variable! It is very neatly designed and is a real piece of Leica engeneering. One turns the ring and it expands, as simple as that. $690 at BH Photo.

As can be seen in this image, the extent of macro (how far out the lens is moved from the Leica M body) is different from the OUFRO to the Leica M Macro adapter. The OUFRO is a compact choice for traveling and have close range possibilities. The Leica M Macro adapter gets you even closer.

Size proportions for the Leica Macro M adapter and the OUFRO

Leica Macro Adapter closest		Leica Macro Adapter widest		The Leitz OUFRO

China. Leica M 240 with 50mm Noctilux-M ASPH f/0.95. © 2013-2016 Thorsten Overgaard.

Leica M with auto focus

Why hasn't Leica made an auto focus, when that would obviously be easier to deal with?

Maybe they will one day.

When the Leica III came out, Leica promoted it as "automatic focusing". What they referred to was of course that now - thanks to brand new technology - you could look through the viewfinder and find the accurate focus. Before that you had to guess the distance to the subject and then set the dial on the lens accordingly. Not very precise, and not suitable for low light lenses with narrow DOF (Depth Of Field).

It would be foolish to say that Leica Camera AG is so great that everything they do is the best. The matter of the fact is that they have chosen a technology that on one hand gives some possibilities for control, on the other hand restricts what one can do.

It's a well-known fact that Leica invented auto focus back 40-50 years ago but deemed it so unwanted by users that they sold the patent! It could be classified as a bummer, or minimally a wrong estimation of reality. As in the famous estimations that nobody would ever want a telephone, or that nobody would ever want a personal computer.

Robin and her tutor Terry in Hollywood. Leica M 240 with Leica 35mm Summilux-M ASPHERICAL F/1.4 AA. © 2016 Thorsten Overgaard.

In practical terms a manual lens that is made into an auto focus gets lighter and less durable to drops and hits. To make room for the motors inside the lens that focus the lens, everything has to be smaller and lighter. At least, that's how it has been with Nikon and Canon lenses.

One of the things Leica Camera AG have been playing with has been making auto focus by moving the sensor.

If it is a realistic dream or just a cool sounding idea, I am not the one to judge. I know it has been on the drawing table along with other ways to offer auto focus.

China. Leica M 240 with 50mm Noctilux-M ASPH f/0.95. © 2013-2016 Thorsten Overgaard.

I wonder how you would move the sensor enough to achieve the focus when the lens element often has to move half an inch or more to achieve the focus. I could also think of a system where the user focuses and the camera then fine-tunes the focus.

Or perhaps like on the Leica S where the camera auto focuses but the user can then fine-tune the focus manually.

One of the advantages with manual focus is the control of focus. Auto focus will put the focus on the nose or the glasses on a face, even though the photographer wanted the eyes to be in focus. It’s out of control in a way that manual focus isn’t.

I don’t think it is in the future of the Leica M system to have auto focus. The Leica SL came, and that is definitely an auto focus system.

San Francisco in the fog. Leica M 240 with Leica 50mm APO-Summicron-M ASPH f/2.0.

The next thing

There is no doubt in my mind that the next integrated viewfinder we will be seeing in a future Leica M will be either an indirect Live View as in the Fuji below ... or simply a straight Live View and no analog view as was the case in the Leica Digilux 2 that came to market in 2004, as well as in the Leica SL from 2015 and the Leica Q from 2015.

The Fuji X100 camera was - apart from being very complicated to use - the first really smart combination of the analog viewfinder, combined with an LCD screen for preview of what the sensor saw, as well as focusing. The LCD would zoom in on a detail of the image so you could focus, then return to the full image so you could frame it correctly. It was a really awful smart idea!

In all fairness, the reason this type of viewfinder didn't find its way into the Leica M 240 is not because they are still writing everything with fountain pens on handmade paper. Stefan Daniel who is product manager at Leica Camera AG certainly has drawings of the next two or three generations of the Leica M on the wall that he and the team works on consistently as they work their way through samples of new electronic gadgets that may or may not be implemented in a future Leica model.

The Danish Prime Minister (upper left corner) does a selfie with school kids in Denmark, September 2014. Leica M 240 with Leica 21mm Summilux-M ASPH f/1.4. © 2014-2016 Thorsten Overgaard.

Already in 2010, a year after the Leica M9 was released, product manager at Leica Camera AG, Stefan Daniel was talking about Live View and electronic viewfinders, and the possibility of it being good enough for the next camera following Leica M9. This was at a meeting with 120 members of LHSA (The Leica Historical Society), and it was clear that Stefan and his team had been playing around with the new toys and that Stefan Daniel believed in the possibility.

	Same procedure as last year, Miss Sophie?

The people he carefully asked were mainly camera collectors, whom – as we all know – would probably prefer a remake of the Leica M3 over any new camera with a digital sensor!

I mention this to put the future possibilities into perspective. I think that Leica Camera AG internally believed in an electronic viewfinder in a Leica M 240, but also knows that 95% of the Leica M users would never allow such a radical change.

This is why the Leica M 240 came out with the glorified traditional rangefinder mechanism, as always. Just as in the 90th Year Birthday ... and then an add-on on top of a EVF-2 to test the waters.

I still meet people who haven't even considered buying a EVF-2 electronic viewfinder for their Leica M 240. That is how the alien the idea is to some hardcore Leica M users.

Robin. Leica M 240 with Leica 35mm Summilux-M ASPHERICAL F/1.4 AA. © 2016 Thorsten Overgaard.

My experience is that 70% or more of the Leica M 240 users really like the EVF-2 electronic viewfinder when they get it. Obviously, if the next Leica M is being offered in two models - one with only EVF and one with only RF, then the EVF model would likely sell a little more than the RF version. But many of us would want to get both of them.

But a Leica M with a combined viewfinder as the Fuji had, bridging the two possible models into one might just spare us all a long and tiresome discussion about what is better.

We will see, I guess ...

Paris Workshop. Leica M 240 with Leica 21mm Summilux-M ASPH f/1.4. © 2014-2016 Thorsten Overgaard.

I hope you enjoyed this article on focusing with the Leica EVF-2. As always, feel free to e-mail me at thorsten@overgaard.dk with suggestions, ideas, corrections and interesting stories and details. I will be finishing the last two pages on focusing the Leica M soon, but expect my Leica M-D 262 and Leica SL articles to come before that.

#1712-0816

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Color photograhy and the Leica M		Focusing the Leica M - Five pages about that...

Arteh Odjidja. Leica M 240 with 50mm Noctilux-M ASPH f/0.95. © 2013-2016 Thorsten Overgaard.

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