G2 tips and techniques

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Hello everybody. Long time lurker, first time beggar... for info that is.

I just ordered a G2, 45 and 90 lenses, becuase of all the gushing praise found on the net, plus the very reasonable prices. I am not unlike many who have bought into this system, however, having some trepidation over such things as AF, noise, viewfinder size... nado, nado (little Japanese for ya); I even think I'll not like the lack of winding between shots.

Anyway, though I will be getting a manual with this used gear, I'd like to get some tips so that I don't start out any more behind the 8-ball than I fear I may already be with this system. I'm especially interested to know about how to most effectively use the focus system. Other than that, I guess the thing I fear most is damaging the body, lens, or both while swapping lenses. I suppose that an evening with the manual will be enough to eradicate this potential disaster, however.

Any and all tips would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance!
 
Hm, the most problematic thing is the autofocus.

Some people claim the camera focuses where it wants but in fact it focuses where you point it at.

From my very first roll I have a nice picture with the, ehm, profile of a waitress perfectly focused on the wall some 3 feet behind her.

Exercise focusing with the button on the back, hold it and check the distance indicated in the viewfinder, after some time you'll now by the focusing sound if it focuses on your target or behind it, long whirrr short distance and short whirr long distance.

Exercise "manual" focusing with the thumb wheel and the bargraph in the viewfinder.

Exercise to focus in single shot AF with the back button and turning the ring around it to manual focus, this comes in very handy as a focus lock.

The light meter is usualy spot on, it meters the reflekted light from the grey area on the outer shutter curtains. When shooting outdors I usualy meter the street or a lawn and compare that to what the meter measures on my subject and then adjust to my liking.

TTL fillflash is a bit tricky, there are lots of tips on the web and usualy it is recomended to switch the flash off, measure, set AE lock and then switch the flash back on.
I set my G2 to manual and set exposure for ambient light plus some.
In both cases the exposure compensation dial changes the flash output in TTL mode.
This works with a TLA200 and a TLA30.

Ah! The TLA200. It is nice and small, balances well and can be adjusted to 28,35,45 and 90mm and it takes the same batteries as the camera.
BUT, the batteries are very expensive and won't last long in the flash and due to the close distance to the lens it provokes red eyes.
This is why I bought an old TLA30, same TTL funcitonality plus manual and auto modes, less prone to red eye and works fine with rechargeable AA cells.

Try to get the cold weather kit, an external battery holder for four AA cells and a plug for the battery compartment. The CR2 batteries hold around 20 to 30 rolls but I tend to waste batteriepower while focusing and not taking a picture, ok, call it fondling :)

Hope this gets you started.

P.S.:

Don't forget to check your ISO settings, I just realized I set it to 1600 for a roll of Delta 3200 I shot last week and didn't reset it to DX for the Sensia 100 I just shot three frames on :-(
 
Thanks, Socke. That will help get me started a bit. I assume there is a center spot that indicates where the auto focus point lies???
 
schmoozit said:
Thanks, Socke. That will help get me started a bit. I assume there is a center spot that indicates where the auto focus point lies???
Click to expand...

Yes, there is a frame inside the viewfinder indicating the AF sensitive area.
 
Unregistered said:
I guess the thing I fear most is damaging the body, lens, or both while swapping lenses. I suppose that an evening with the manual will be enough to eradicate this potential disaster, however.
Click to expand...
True, the manual is helpful. :) The lens mount is a breech-lock type, as previously used on some Canon and Petri SLRs. The lens goes straight on, then a collar on the lens rotates to snug things up. You should be careful not to rotate the lens itself so that the AF drive gets correctly lined up and undamaged.

The viewfinder isn't as large as some, but is adequate, and larger than the G1! Other than the focus brackets, the viewfinder's not needed for focus as with an SLR or coincident rangefinder. Its big plus is, of course, that it's a zooming viewfinder... There's a motor-drive that zooms the finder under instruction from the camera's identification of the lens mounted. Further, it zooms very slightly as you focus to maintain accurate field size, and shifts for parallax compensation. Very sophisticated. The effect is about as close to the SLR experience as an RF can be...

I'd note (maybe emphasizing Socke's note) to pay attention to the viewfinder distance readout to verify the AF system was able to achieve focus, noting if the distance shown is reasonable. And if your subject is off-center, make sure you lock focus on that subject, then recompose as necessary. Though in some ways this is similar to focusing a manual RF camera, I've found some retraining is called for!

The Contax G2 is a marvelous system, very high quality, results can be among the best. My cameras seem to run in pairs; maybe I should get a second one?? :D
 
Ouch! Doug's post just reminded me! The AF sensor is fixed whereas the viewfinder window moves.

So on closer distances the AF spot is not in the middle like on a SLR. I had some misfocused shots until I adjusted myself :).

Focus and recompose is the way to go.
 
Thanks, Doug. And again to you too, Socke.

I was able to find some more info here and there and am gaining some confidence that I'll be able to handle the focusing. May as well be able to focus if your're going to bother getting nice lenses and all.
 
schmoozit said:
Thanks, Doug. And again to you too, Socke.

I was able to find some more info here and there and am gaining some confidence that I'll be able to handle the focusing. May as well be able to focus if your're going to bother getting nice lenses and all.
Click to expand...


If I can do it, you can, too!
 
And I am, Socke... and I am!

I got the camera with the 45 today, while the 90 arrived last night. I shot a test roll on the cheapest neg film I could find (really crappy stuff), had it developed, and am in total awe! I used to think my 50/1.4 Canon FD was sharp! Ha,ha,ha,ha! I am completely blown away by both the lenses. They are simply incredible.

Focusing went fairly well. The 45 locks in more easily than the 90, but even with that I've found that I'll need to be careful with funky angles and stuff. The 90 is definitely doable, but I'm gonna need some practice learning exactly what is going on while focusing with that lens.

I'm not as turned off by the noise as I thought I may be, and the camera is so dang easy to use it's not funny. That's what I was lookin' for. I got rid of my Bessa T because it wasn't being used like it should have been. I'm not a fan of focusing with one eyepiece and then hoping that nothing changes while I compose!

Thanks for your input, Socke. I'm doing some scanning now, but don't honestly know if I'll bother to upload any of the test shots. They're pretty uninspiring, but gave me all the info I was looking for nonetheless.
 
Congratulations on the blessed arrival, schmoozit! :) The lenses are indeed exquisite. My second G2 body arrived yesterday as well. It's now got the 28mm on it and a roll of Fuji NPH400 inside...
 
VERY nice camera. It's too bad I've had two lemons.

It seems that if they work well, they stay that way and only rarely have problems. On the other hand, if they have a problem, they probably have more than one (and if you send it to NJ for repair, they'll only fix exactly what you tell them to- NOT test the camera, meaning both of mine needed return trips, at $155 each...)

Beautiful lenses, indeed!
 
Socke said:
Ouch! Doug's post just reminded me! The AF sensor is fixed whereas the viewfinder window moves.

So on closer distances the AF spot is not in the middle like on a SLR. I had some misfocused shots until I adjusted myself :).

Focus and recompose is the way to go.
Click to expand...

So, to which direction in the view finder, does the AF spot move, when you focus on close distance?
 
With parallax, think about it- the AF patch moves up and to the left, relative to the frames, which move down and to the right.
 
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