G2 battery life, framing accuracy and possible shutter fault

[migelrev]

I have been trying out a Contax G2 with a 28, 45 and 90 for five weeks, having made an agreement with present owner to buy it if everything functioned as it should during that time. So far the camera has worked well in most respects, and I’m very enthusiastic about it. I have four worries though, and I’d be very grateful if anyone could help me determine whether or not they’re groundless.

First, I was a bit surprised to find that the batteries gave up their breath after only about 9 rolls. Is this normal? I realize that my shooting style, which includes a lot of recomposing, and my unfamiliarity with the G2 autofocus-system, which led to a fair amount of fiddling, has probably influenced the batteries’ lifespan. But I still find 9 rolls to be fairly short.

Second, having been led my some reviews to believe that the framing accuracy of the G2 is perfect – Ken Rockwell, for one, says that he “always get perfect framing at any distance” – I was also surprised to find that my sample seems to exhibit a certain amount of parallax error. In general, the image recorded on the film would appear to be somewhat right-centered in relation the image shown in the viewfinder. Is this only to be expected of a rangefinder camera, or does it represent a fault with my sample? If it would help, I could post a few images to show the amount of error encountered.

Third, although most of the images come out perfectly exposed, some of them are highly overexposed, and this for no obvious reason. In one instance, the frame was totally blown out, and my lab – Diafilm Service Gera, in Germany – informed me that they suspected there had been a light leakage. I find that unlikely, however, and worry that it, and the other instances of overexposure, are instead the result of an intermittent shutter fault that might grow worse over time, to the point of rendering the camera useless. Has anyone had any experience with this or similar issues?

Fourth, although in most cases the auto-focus seems to be very accurate, sometimes the camera backfocuses. I saw this most clearly in some tests I ran, where I shot a ruler from a 45 degree angle at the closest possible range using maximum aperture. In some, but not all of these shots, the camera backfocused by several centimeters. Does this give reason for worry, or is it merely a matter of the auto-focus system not functioning optimally in situations like this?

Thanks!

 

[sepiareverb]

As to framing accuracy with the G2, with only 90% VF coverage I find using the 28 & 45 is pretty difficult, and I'm planning on filing down the VF cam on my 45 lens to bring up the 35 VF FOV. I sold the 28. As you say, there is always going to be some difference between what one sees through a VF and what lands on the film- that comes with any VF camera, and is something one adjusts to.

I get plenty of battery life from my G2, as I did with the pair I used to use daily. I'd try another round to rule out the batteries themselves?

I had a light leak in one G2 body, there was something amiss with the shutter blades and I was getting some fog within the frames- but exposures were always fine. TOCAD in the US did the repair and the camera was fine from then on. Not sure who in Germany would take a look at a G2.