Killed Old Lady for Contax G1

[sooner]

Hi Folks,

Actually no, I didn't have to kill anyone or rip them off, but I did get a G1 with 45mm lens on the Bay for a sweet price, and it's in great shape. I can't tell my wife ("...you bought another camera?!") so must gloat and preen here. Used to have a G2 and sold it, then promptly missed the quality of those Zeiss lenses. First impression is that the G1 is maybe a little louder to focus than the G2; it's certainly not silent. But the finish and build quality makes it an instrument of wonder. I've got a test roll of drugstore C41 in it now, will post a couple of shots when they come back. Are there any tips for using the G1, keeping in mind I used to own the G2? And in case you're wondering, I went for the G1 this time to keep costs down. Thanks.

 

[pesphoto]

So how do you hide the big box coming in the mail from your wife?

...doing research of course......

 

[squirrel$$$bandit]

I love the G1...it's nice and small and the lenses are sharp as hell. I have no pointers...it basically always does what I want it to do.

Hiding cameras from one's spouse is way easier to do than hiding guitars, which I finally reached my limit of. And all of mine fit in a single drawer.

 

[pesphoto]

Hiding cameras from one's spouse is way easier to do than hiding guitars, which I finally reached my limit of. And all of mine fit in a single drawer.

Not if she works from home and is there when the mail person walks up your porch.........

 

[sooner]

Pesphoto, I have stooped to having cameras delivered to me at work. Sometimes even that doesn't work, though, as when my nine year old later blows it for me when he says in a loud and accusatory tone, "Dad, do you have a new camera?!" D'oh.

 

[jan normandale]

it's a good camera, the auto focus is a PITA but I live with it just for the glass. The "2" is the one everyone knows is better but I like the "1" best despite the advantages of the "2"

 

[Leighgion]

Don't be so hasty. You might yet have to kill your old lady over this camera. 😀

 

[BigSteveG]

"Killed Old Lady for Contax G1 "

Gee...I hope you didn't drop the camera or anything....

 

[Highway 61]

Those recurrent stories, spreading all over the Internet as if they were true, of adult men having terrible problems with their tyrannic spouses because of old-school film cameras suddenly invading the house from cellar to roof will never cease to surprise me.

You should all create a NGO to take defense of the PCCBUBTW (Poor Cameras Collectors Beaten-Up By Their Wives), worldwide. It's an emergency.

I bought you a fur coat for Christmas
A diamond ring
Big Cadillac car
And everything
(...)
Baby ain't I good to you...

 

[peterm1]

My strategy for buying new cameras is the same as my wife's strategy for buying new dresses....... Buy it, sneak it into home - or better still keep it at work, locked up in the desk. Keep it hidden for a couple of months and then when I think the time is right, casually let her see it sitting on the dresser or something.

"Oh darling" she says, "is that a new camera?"........... to which, "No darling, I have had it for ages!" is the (semi) truthful response.

She and I both play this game with our purchases and while she knows and I know she knows; and I know and she knows I know, we maintain this carefully crafted and exquisite little balance of terror which keeps us both happy. As long as the game remains unspoken she has free reign to buy dresses and I have free reign to buy cameras - so never a critical word is spoken.

PS have lots of fun with the G1!

 

[Ducky]

My wife gave up asking after a series of, "just more camera stuff." It's my sharp-eyes grandson who notices every change in my 'camera stuff'.

 

[Bob Michaels]

I have both a G1 and a G2. I use the G1 98% of the time because it's smaller, lighter, and does everything the G2 does.

tip: learn where the autofocus lock is on the G1. then use it.
tip: keeping the front rangefinder glass clean does wonders for the autofocus
tip: a low battery causes really strange things in a G1. always carry an extra battery and don't hesitate to use it.

I could write a lot of tips but those would always be in the top 5. They are so simple that people tend to dismiss them. I think they are very important.

 

[Leif Shuttyr]

My strategy for buying new cameras is the same as my wife's strategy for buying new dresses....... Buy it, sneak it into home - or better still keep it at work, locked up in the desk. Keep it hidden for a couple of months and then when I think the time is right, casually let her see it sitting on the dresser or something.

"Oh darling" she says, "is that a new camera?"........... to which, "No darling, I have had it for ages!" is the (semi) truthful response.
QUOTE]

Ha, ha! That's exactly my strategy too! I'm currently trying to figure out how to keep a Nikon D1h concealed for a couple of months - it's pretty imposing 🙂

I'm really impressed with the G1. The AF works fine for me (although I'm used to using AF SLRs) and the 45mmm is razor sharp. The VF is definitely squinty though. I've just got a 90mm that I picked up for a song (BGN from KEH and including shipping to the UK and import taxes, still far cheaper than they're sold for here😀)

Gav

 

[sooner]

Thanks for the tips, Bob, that's exactly what I was looking for, in addition to people's other comments about hiding cams from the spouse. Got the first test roll back last night, and they were very sharp. I noticed only a very slight difference in sharpness between two shots, almost identical, one mistakenly taken at f2 and the other f8. If you look closely there are key differences, to be sure, but the f2 shot is still darn sharp. A couple of pics of my four year old were slightly blurred, but that was him moving, not the autofocus.

 

[pesphoto]

I usually say something like..."Oh, it's just an old camera I picked up for $10 off my forum"I dont think she believes me though, she knows too much about cameras 🙂

 

[sooner]

Here are a couple of shots from the first roll.

 

[kuzano]

I have 13 guitars.... but>>>>

I have 13 guitars.... but>>>>

I love the G1...it's nice and small and the lenses are sharp as hell. I have no pointers...it basically always does what I want it to do.

Hiding cameras from one's spouse is way easier to do than hiding guitars, which I finally reached my limit of. And all of mine fit in a single drawer.

Not one of them will fit in a drawer. How do you do that?

 

[Thardy]

Pesphoto, I have stooped to having cameras delivered to me at work. Sometimes even that doesn't work, though, as when my nine year old later blows it for me when he says in a loud and accusatory tone, "Dad, do you have a new camera?!" D'oh.

My daughter did the same thing a few months ago.....

wife - hey what's in that box?

Kid- probably another CAMERA!