How long will a G2 last?

[Harry Caul]

ToCad is the service for kyocera and as far as I know, they still service them. Usually do a complete service when you send it in.
http://www.tocad.com/

+1

I had a G2 with a stuck film advance fixed a few months ago. Talk to Sally. The flat repair cost of the G2 was $173.60 -- which covers parts, labor and 6 month warranty. Given all the electronics I was quite surprised as it was only $50 more than a CLA (which doesn't cover parts) for my fully mechanical M3. The turn around was fast too... just a couple weeks.

 

[john_s]

There is no DIY fix for the pad itself, you need a spare. I have heard of nobody so far who identified a suitable replacement. These connectors seem to be cut to measure, so there is no real off the shelf solution. But there are related connectors widely used on smartphones for which the makers offer replacements, so it might just be a matter of asking the right telephone repairman.

Thank you, a good idea. A project for the new year!

 

[Phil_F_NM]

Save for two cameras, I've never had an electronic camera fail me. Both of the aforementioned failures were high priced boutique products still within warranty.

The first was a Contax AX. One night it just died. That happened to be the evening before I was supposed to shoot the 60th anniversary meeting of the Nurses of the Pearl Harbor attack. I didn't have a spare body and I had to hand the shoot off to a coworker who wanted it.

The Monday after that, I walked into the shop where I bought it, turned all my Zeiss glass in as well as the AX body and said I wanted a Nikon F3, a few lenses and to cash out the rest. The Contax representative was there (I had called the shop and told them what had happened then they called him) and he practically begged me to stay with the brand. After using Nikons earlier in my Navy career and seeing what abuse they could take, I was done with Contax. Great lenses but that AX was a dog. The RX was awesome though.

The other failure was a Leica M9 which I bought new. Out of the 20 months I owned it, just over 9 of those months it spent getting repaired. After the shutter failed that was the last straw. I had it repaired while still within warranty but couldn't rely upon it so it had to go. Again, I went back to Nikon.

That said, during the last 25 years, I've owned numerous electronic cameras. Models from Nikon L35AFs, F3s, F4s, Canon EOS bodies, Pentax plastic fantastic SLRs, Olympus P&S bodies and a Konica Hexar. None of them have failed me and I'd have no reservations on buying a good condition Contax G2.

Phil Forrest

 

[Scrambler]

I have a Minolta XG-1 from 1979, a CLE from 1982, a Canon eos 1000N plastic cheapo from 1992 (Ive owned 2, sold one and bought again later). I've owned a Pentax of similar vintage. Now have a 2001 Konica Hexar RF.

I had an XG-1 die after (as in months after) having a soda put through it at a kids party. Apart from that no electronic failures. 30+ years after manufacture its flat circuits were flexible. Why you would worry about them in use baffles me: they aren't a wear item.

 

[VisualDarkness]

I would say that it's not a question of mechanical vs electronic, it all depends on how it is designed and built. Just like there's often badly designed mechanical parts in consumer goods, the same kind of weak links is common when it comes to electronics.

The most common failures has to be bad capacitors as designers use worse specifications that what would "guarantee" longevity to bring down costs. There isn't really any interests for most consumer goods makers to design products to last longer than what is a projected replacement cycle.

 

[rjstep3]

We'll see - I am just back in Bangkok after 9 days in Myanmar, where I took the G2 around with me. Seems ok, though I did manage to drop the 28mm lens, which fortunately seems to have survived the accident.

Thanks for the ideas - I still can't help feeling that the old mechanical cameras are going to go on for far longer than "consumer" - even high-end consumer - electronic cameras like the G2.

rjstep3