G1/G2 fascinations other than Planars?

[morfic]

I have this urge to try range finders to complement my dslr and allow me shooting film.
I came across the G1/G2, and the G1 would even fit my budget somewhat, with the 45mm Planar, both in bargain condition.
Until i read about the manual focusing, there is no range finder patch, and i need to read the distance and set lens to that?
So i wonder, if the G1/G2 are so popular, is it all the glass? Or do some of you actually like the AF w/o any shape or form of visual confirmation of the focus?
I have a Planar T* 50/1.4 for my 30D and so, yeah the glass was most attractive, i just am not sure if the Gs would give me the range finder feel i'd like to have with a RF i spend more than $50 on 🙂

So i wonder why do *you* like the Gs?

Thanks,

Daniel

 

[Socke]

They are autofocus cameras, so you need no RF patch.

Manual focus is focus by wire.

If you know how to use it, it's damn fast and acurate. Compared to a 30D it is very small. I carry a G1 and a G2 as well as four lenses and a TLA200 flash in a bag to small to hold a D30 with a 35/2.

The Contax G Planar 45 is on par with the Y/C mount Planar although one stop slower.

 

[arseniii]

for me it was just the lenses(especially planar 45mm). I could not wait to get rid of G2 and to get a leica! It really pissed me off. Now, i'd have one g1 as my back up point and shot but 200 is still way too much for this camera.

 

[rich815]

For those who take the time and effort to figure how to get it to work right it is LIGHTNING fast and easy to use. But it's not for everyone's taste by any means. I have a G2 with the 21/28/45/90 lenses and they are truly second to none. I also have a Leica MP and CL with a variety of glass but mostly the kind that gives me a more "classic" look for B&W work (90 Elmar, 50/2 DR 'cron, 50/1.4 Summilux, 50/1.5 Summarit, etc). The G lenses are the sharpest and most contrasty you can find and are unsurpassed, IMO, and the color saturation you get from them is simply amazing. They are not used in a standard RF way though, and not for everyone's style and taste, and that is what you'll have to determine. The prices lately are simply amazing too. Still too many who give up on them too fast or expect them to work as a manual Leica-type rangefinder does and thus are quickly disappointed and dump them.

 

[kuzano]

Know about the supplemental focus manual

Know about the supplemental focus manual

I have a G1 w/28, 45, 90mm lenses. Compact package. Phenomenal results and I like mine. However, the focusing is/was tricky enough for Contax to write a supplemental manual for how to use the autofocus. There were some complaints about focus, until users realize the focus patch is small, and the autofocus is fast. So, you have to focus on the subject YOU WANT in focus, lock focus with the shutter button, and recompose before snapping. I am quite OK with that, but be sure you know that about the camera before committing.

I don't know how these cameras that are autofocus can be ranked into the rangefinder category unless they are using the rangefinder technology automatically. When you manually focus the Contax G, you do not use a dual image patch, but rather are notified by a rolling symbol in the viewfinder.

Still, in all, a great camera, with relatively good lens selection of high quality. But, I have a hard time thinking of it as a rangefinder.

 

[uhligfd]

I guess the Contax Gs are rangefinders by exclusion and inclusion: they are not SLRs (exclusion), obviously, and they have an automatic rangefinder built in to focus (inclusion).

There is no law that says rangefinders must have a Leica style matching images patch? Is there? The first Leicas did not have rangefinders at all ... Even if the majority of rangefinders (Hexar, Bessa, Mamiya, ...) have such patches, the Gs don't.

And if you want to learn about a new camera/technique to take great pictures, you need to try one out without the chip on your shoulder. Or just forget it.

 

[foto_fool]

I have a G1 w/28, 45, 90mm lenses...

I have the same kit except that my wide is the 21mm/2.8. Be aware that if you buy the G1 it must have a green sticker in the film compartment, or you will have to send it in for a ROM upgrade in order to use some of the newer lenses.

The VF on the Contax takes some getting used to, but really it is far more sophisticated than the RF systems on all the current-production rangefinder bodies. The magnification and FOV changes to fit the lens mounted - no constant mag and framelines. There is automatic parallax compensation. The entire FOV in the VF is essentially an RF patch - it shows the actual focus changes similar to what you see in the VF of an SLR. Manual focus works fine but the autofocus is so good I never use it. Plus the VF has built-in diopter correction. Amazing.

But the Contax G system really is all about the lenses. With the prices pretty well collapsed, you can buy a complete kit with lenses that are optically as good and functionally as good or better than the newer ZM equivalents for about one third the price of just a new Ikon body alone.

I have and use manual-focus rangefinders regularly. The G1 is easier to use IMO. I like mine so much I am keeping it and selling my other autofocus rangefinder (the Hexar AF - which I also love for what it can do - it is just that the G1 can do more).

- John