Contax G2 users

[darryljeremiah]

Hey all! Anyone still using the outstanding Contax G2 electronic rangefinder?

Just got one from my uncle and I immediately put a roll of film in and started shooting away! Love it and love the zeiss lenses that come with it

 

[STCHAN]

Me, personally i find that it gives the overpriced leica system a run for it's money.

 

[DoveVadar]

Wanted to get the system back then but realized I wouldnt have time for it. Heard alot about its outstanding lenses esp the 28mm

 

[JaiYenJohn]

Shh! The Contax G system is supposed to be a photographer's secret! I picked up a full kit, (g2, +28,45,90mm lenses) for less than the price of a used summicron. It's always amazing to me that those high-quality zeiss lenses go so cheaply. The pictures are simply unbelievable.

We want all the Leica people to stay over there, buying Leicas. Leicas are much better cameras really, the optics, the pedigree, the feel, the Leica Look. Trust me it's not even worth considering a Contax G2. Nope. Don't even bother... Hey wouldn't a new shutter button look good on that M? :angel:

 

[artspraken]

My friend has a Contax G1. It is true it is a great camera and the lenses kick ass.

However, it does not give the rangefinder experience.

Autofocus + Autoexposure + Auto film advance means it is a machine gun. You just point and ratatatatatata. Chews through a stack of film very quickly.

Great lens, great camera, but not rangefinder. You pure mechanical experience of leica will be absent. However, the Contax automates many things. It allows you to take pictures. Depending on your style, its a good choice.

 

[daredevil123]

I have the G1 plus the 3 standard lenses. Nice camera. I heard the G2 focuses faster though.

 

[ed9119]

Great lens, great camera, but not rangefinder. You pure mechanical experience of leica will be absent. However, the Contax automates many things. It allows you to take pictures. Depending on your style, its a good choice.

as much as Leica would like to distance itself from technology(by virtue of its focusing methodology via triangulation) the G2 IS a rangefinder and always will be ...... even as an auto-everything

of course despite its handsome looks (either in titanium or black versions) and TECHNOLOGICALLY the most advanced RF camera then, the M still reigns supreme

Honda S2000 and Bently Coupe ...... how to compare ? at least still better than standing side by side a fixed lens Canonet LOL

 

[raytoei]

i personally like the G2 system. It is razor sharp, it has everything:

* slow curtain sync
* AE Lock
* Continuous Lock
* Scale focusing
* Autofocusing
* TTL
* speeds up to 1/6000 auto and 1/4000 manual (if i remember correctly)
* the fabulous zeiss lens, specially the much misunderstood sonnar 90/2.8...

blah blah blah...

it was so powerful that i didn't use it much and i went back to a non-battery leica....

here's a pic of the gorgeous 28/f2.8

 

[JaiYenJohn]

Autofocus + Autoexposure + Auto film advance means it is a machine gun. You just point and ratatatatatata. Chews through a stack of film very quickly.

This is exactly what makes the G2 the ultimate street photography camera. You spend less time focusing, setting exposure knobs, and winding film, so you're more prepared and your camera is actually ready for those "decisive moments". If you've got a posed subject and controlled environment, I agree there's much more satisfaction about manually composing a photograph, but if your subject is running around a corner, driving by on a bike, or even just walking towards you on the street, the Auto Everything clears up your mind to focus on composition and waiting for that perfect moment.

The G2 is of course a rangefinder, in so much as it uses two different images to triangulate distance for focus. I think what you meant was that it's not a Leica experience.

To be fair, one place the M wins in spades is its viewfinder. The M's are much clearer and bigger and brighter. The G2's viewfinder is dim, and small, however it does auto correct for any lens you put on it, eliminating the clutter of viewfinder lines that are in the M's.

 

[Cactus jACK]

The G2 is of course a rangefinder, in so much as it uses two different images to triangulate distance for focus. I think what you meant was that it's not a...

critics are that the G is not a "true" (mechanical) rangefinder... but regardless, it is a rangefinder, just with an electronic AF mechanism. another example would be the fujiGA645 (medium format).

"rangefinders are rangefinders because of it uses a rangefinder focusing mechanism" :bsmilie:, be it auto or manual, electronic or machanical, large format, medium format, 135 format, compact, pano, digital, film, etc.

but naturally, even within the rangefinder family, there will be ppl with a preference towards film or digital, LF or pano, A or M... we love them all, so we shouldn't get so hung up on which is better. we can discuss their differences, their pros and cons, and how we all enjoy photography.

lastly, the G2 is an excellent RF system, esp the lenses available to it!!

 

[DoveVadar]

How fast is the auto-focus? lets say, you lift up the camera and focusing time starts there... 0.5s? 1s?

I heard the AF is super cranky even for G2. Care to share guys?

 

[ed9119]

leica's sheer lens choices will blow Contax's small arsenal out of the water

but I used to use the G for quick responses beyond hyperfocusing ..... one key thing is that loading and unloading a film cartridge is about a 15 sec job on the G

 

[ed9119]

never measured but af speed was of course slower than dslr

and the G lens has a whining sound as it focuses

How fast is the auto-focus? lets say, you lift up the camera and focusing time starts there... 0.5s? 1s?

I heard the AF is super cranky even for G2. Care to share guys?

 

[newghost]

oh this is only getting warm!... technically, my Hexar AF is also a rangefinder albeit with AF, well, think i'd better just leave it as that and shhhhh...lolz

 

[Cactus jACK]

How fast is the auto-focus? lets say, you lift up the camera and focusing time starts there... 0.5s? 1s?

I heard the AF is super cranky even for G2. Care to share guys?

i don't think that the G was ever about speed... it definitely was not suppose to be compete with the nikon flagship F4, which already coming to the end of its production life at that time. to me, it is a different camera with a difference relationship between the camera and the photographer... a different response / feel, the AF on the G system gives me a different response to when i focus with my M, or with a F5 for that matter. but my biggest pain with the G system is how the AF “resets”... between half-presses.

as for the AF accuracy, i think it’s a matter of getting use to. just like many probably took a little while to “re-learn” how you view the world and focus from using a SLR to your 0.72x viewfinder... it takes some practice to get use to the G viewfinder - it is smaller and not as bright as the Ms.

what does this have to do with focusing? well, you are trying to focus through a tiny little dim viewfinder (relative to the M) to find a good spot for your focusing bracket to hit. it takes some understanding and practice... esp with parallax issues in near focus. so you can’t quite treat it as a point and shoot nor can you treat it like a SLR.

i used a G1 some time back before i got my M, and enjoyed it after i got past that part of the learning curve. the only thing limiting me getting a G2-45mm set for myself right now is drycabi space... oh, and $$... :angry:

 

[raytoei]

JaiYenJohn,

let me tell you why the contax g/g2 behaves more like a SLR in street shooting than a RF.
This is not a flame bait so please dun shoot me:

the top 4 reasons why the G is a sniper than a Street shooter:

No.4: Noisy Shutter. Not too much of a problem on a noisy street. But it goes "Clack"
No.3: Very Noisy Rewind. I had to hide it in a bag. The rewind is not quiet at all.
No.2: Autofocus Lag. There isn't much of a shutter lag. But focus lag is always there. In its defense, it is probably faster than most SLRs.

Above 3 points, irritating but not a show stopper. But the no.1 show stopper for the Contax being a RF Street Shooter:

No.1: Difficult to shoot based on DOF or pre-focusing.

2 concepts here: Hyperfocal shooting and Pre-Focusing.
Because the lens does not have DOF scales, it is hard, not impossible to do hyperfocal shooting.
Hyperfocal focusing requires a certain range of distance to be in focus, hence you spend your time within that distance
just doing framing and not worried about the focusing.

For example, by I could set f8 from 3m to 10 meters that is in focus, so if I use this method, I do not have to put the camera to my eye, I could just aim from the hip and click, and anything within 3 - 10m will be in focus.

HCB uses pre-set distance and he waits for the decisive moment.
The contax G allows you to set a distance focus, but it doesn't give you DOF indicators.

What the above means it is that it is more like a SLR than a RF when it comes to shreet shooting.

 

[ed9119]

ray you bring back old old memories for me from the 70s when our photography club in our sec school had these tests where you were required to answer written questions and fill-in-the blanks tables at various f stops at various distances for the 50mm ....

or the perinnial 'kelong' questions ..... for a 50mm focal length lens when focussed at infinity and set at f8 from which distances will a subject stay in relative focus ..... used to nickname it the '8344' and '8186' questions ......go figure why

in those days almost everything was single focal length .... got tele but no zoom

the crazier ones could memorize dof scales for 28 and 35mm as well LOL tougher than memorizing the Chemistry Periodic tables

I returned all that back to the teacher years ago

 

[ed9119]

the FUJIFILM X100 ...... now THAT is NOT a rangefinder...... LOL

 

[Cactus jACK]

the FUJIFILM X100 ...... now THAT is NOT a rangefinder...... LOL

:bsmilie: i was wondering when someone was going to bring this up... actually deleted a similar statement from my previous post.

but we should wrap up the "what is or isn't a rangefinder" here, and leave this thread for sharing and discussion on the contax G1 / G2... it's flaws, the joys, photos of, photo from, etc.

if csers would like to continue with the discussion what is or isn't a "rangefinder", or the definition / understanding of a "rangefinder", I suggest it be on a new thread as that discussion can get a LOT more technical in a hurry.

 

[Royale With Cheese]

This is exactly what makes the G2 the ultimate street photography camera. You spend less time focusing, setting exposure knobs, and winding film, so you're more prepared and your camera is actually ready for those "decisive moments". If you've got a posed subject and controlled environment, I agree there's much more satisfaction about manually composing a photograph, but if your subject is running around a corner, driving by on a bike, or even just walking towards you on the street, the Auto Everything clears up your mind to focus on composition and waiting for that perfect moment.

I dont quite agree though.

I think my manual focusing based on scale is a lot much faster than the AF on the Contax G series.

I my exposure settings are much faster than the G series as well imho.