New G1 and G2 owner

daveywaugh

daveywaugh

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Apr 14, 2008
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Just a quick post to say that I finally made the plunge and the postman arrived today bearing a G1, G2 with the 21, 48, 45, and 90.

Many thanks to all the people here who answered my boring questions, gave advice and made me finally do it ;-) The kit literally arrived 30 minutes ago so I need to go and play. First impressions... feels wonderful, looks funky and frankly the autofocus isn't that noisy or the VF that bad... I am surprised the G's get such a bad rap for those things. I find the AF swift enough and the VF comfortable to use. Yeah it's not like looking through a Leica perhaps, but I prefer the full frame for all lenses any day! I love rangefinders but as a kit with different focal lengths - I'd prefer the G solution.

Anyway, thanks again everyone and I'll post some pics soon. Very happy. Bought it off a pro photographer (who sold me his Blad also a while back) and he's been incredibly supportive - even allowing me to pay off this acquisition. So it's been a good week photographically for me - did my first B&W at home also and it even worked ;-)

David
 
I have 2 G2s. The cameras and the lenses are fantastic. When I bought them 10 years ago, Contax was still in business and these were the preludes to a supposedly digital G series. Too bad it never happened.

Enjoy your purchase!
 
Good for you man, you'll enjoy it.

I'm not sure I'd have bought the 45 and the 48 though, even though the 48 is rare enough to be considered non-existent :p

You're going to love it, the 45 and 21 are my favourites.
 
Yes, the issues with the G series are but minor quibbles...something that every camera model ever made also has. :) The key is that they are very well engineered machines with superb glass. Enjoy!
 
My Black G2 Milenium arrived on Friday last and I put a couple of rolls through it over the weekend and loved it. My M8 is now on the market and I am going back to film.
 
Good on you Hausen! :) My first weekend with the G2 has been great fun and I love it. I think the only small quibble I have is that the manual focus ends up making as much noise as AF. I quite like the MF, but as soon as you press the shutter the lens obviously has to move first, so the stealth is wasted. I am assuming the MF is really only useful for scale focusing landscapes?? Or am I doing something stupid?

Could I also ask people's opinions on flash? I have the TLA140 but would like to do something off camera and be able to bounce. TTL would be nice so I assume I need a 280 or 360 with the EXT cord 100? Any other ideas?

Thanks.
 
Well pat your self on the back..and don't look back. your going to find and experience shooting in either AF or MF to be only a matter which lens your using. Also the Zeiss glass just has honest balance of contrast and sharpness that is so natural. not to mention your negatives will make printing more enjoyable. Good Luck
 
daveywaugh said:
Could I also ask people's opinions on flash? I have the TLA140 but would like to do something off camera and be able to bounce. TTL would be nice so I assume I need a 280 or 360 with the EXT cord 100? Any other ideas?
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I have several Metz SCA 380 adapters for my Contax G2 cameras and these provide TTL for the Metz flashes I use these adapters with.
 
Way to go brother ! I had three G2s and all the lenses and loved every moment I used them Professionaly all over the world untill I had to go Digital.
Little Tale about 9 yers ago I was using them on a 'job' when I was approached by a couple of 'Gentlemen' with huge slrs and 50 to 300 mm lenses sticicking out of their 'mid drifts' and one said "Wow thats a couple of 'oldies' you got there". I couldn't be bothered to reply. Such is the dominace of the slr market driven by falshood and greed.
If only Contax could compete with a full frame digital G2 because that 21mm is INMHO is the best wide angle I ever used.
Enjoy them as you certainly will.
 
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Another aussie g1 owner

Another aussie g1 owner

Good on you. My G1 is no more eccentric than the person who currently owns it; me of course. One thing that is very important for me is that I love just picking it up, its so damn comfortable. As they say in restaurants. "enjoy."
 
After using a G2 / 28, 2.8 I can safely say that this is the only camera I'd want to have on a wrist strap. It's so fast! Although I have to hunt with the AF a few times... I'm wondering if the copy I have has some issues?
 
kzphoto said:
After using a G2 / 28, 2.8 I can safely say that this is the only camera I'd want to have on a wrist strap. It's so fast! Although I have to hunt with the AF a few times... I'm wondering if the copy I have has some issues?
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Isn't it only the autofocus that fails to focus? It happens once in a while if you don't point it the way described. You should focus on vertical lines
 
A warning to new G users. Don't rotate the innermost black ring on the lens when mounting or dismounting the lens. The gold contacts can easily break if you try it. It's the second ring that needs to be rotated.
 
Personally I thought the G1's finder really did suck(I still do), but I kept the camera. The AF is really fast in my experience, though loud.
 
FS Vontz said:
Personally I thought the G1's finder really did suck(I still do), but I kept the camera. The AF is really fast in my experience, though loud.
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Yes, the major weak point IMHO in the G series especially the G1 but in many ways the major strength. How?

The way the VF adjusts automatically to each focal length without stupid framelines is awesome and just so sensible. If only the G1/2 had the beautiful bright & large VF of the Leica M but with that auto adjusting to each lens without framelines it would have been near perfect! :)

Now, if my Leica M8 had such a clever VF I would be one happy bunny!
 
cidereye said:
The way the VF adjusts automatically to each focal length without stupid framelines is awesome and just so sensible. If only the G1/2 had the beautiful bright & large VF of the Leica M but with that auto adjusting to each lens without framelines it would have been near perfect! :)
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Agreed, the adjusting framelines is one of the most magnificient features. The G2 viewfinder is perfectly fine for me, somewhat small but really no problem when composing. The viewfinder is basically for composition since the camera auto focuses, which it does extremely well if you know how to use it.
 
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