| 21 November 1999
The ease of adapting to a new camera
system is an important purchasing consideration. G camera owner
perspectives on the transitions to the G cameras from the classical
viewfinder camera and the SLR cameras are presented below. There is a
short discussion on the G camera as a first interchangeable lens camera
system.
There are several “quirks” inherent in the G2
that require some acclimatization for photographers who have used an M
series camera. First, I’ll list the obvious improvements then I’ll
discuss the aspects that require some practice and personal adjustment. I
won’t address the highly personal question as to which camera is better.
From the first use, the G2 is a blessing in many
respects. The film loading is as easy as it gets in 35mm.; pop in the
canister, pull the leader over to the other side, and shut the door. The
film rewind is also easy and effortless. The custom functions can be set
to leave the leader in or out after rewinding. The auto-wind is also a
pleasure since many times the best moments occur a split second after
firing the shutter or while you’re winding the M6 (unless you have an
M4-2 winder, Leicavit or Rapidwinder weighing down the bottom).
Aperture priority, combined with the AE compensation
dial is great, and is even something that many M users have been quietly
hoping for. Auto bracketing combined with auto-wind eliminates these
mindless chores.
I won’t get into the hot debate about which lenses
are better. Suffice it to say that both Leitz and Carl Zeiss lenses are
superb. Besides, both of these cameras are designed to be hand-held, so
microscopic analyses usually become academic. It should be noted, however,
that Leica lenses’ closest focus is 0.7m, while most G lenses focus to
0.5m. The Contax lens hoods are easier to find than Leica’s hoods, but
should be included with the lenses, as should the metal hood caps. All
standard G2 bodies are titanium clad, and the body is about half the price
of the M6.
Now for the quirks. First and foremost is the
auto-focus. At first it is a bit disconcerting not to have the direct
feedback of an image-coupling rangefinder. The G2 does have a distance
display in the viewfinder and auto-parallax correction also is a guide to
what the lens sees. The best answer to this is to read the instruction
manual, and practice. Although most of my photos were in focus from the
first roll, it took me about 8-10 rolls to begin to feel really confident.
Besides, all photographers, regardless of the camera used, will have a
certain percentage of photographs that are not in focus. “Shutter lag”
is not a problem- I simply pre-focus, just as I used to do with the M6.
Some people like the idea of having a mechanical
camera, so that if the battery dies they can still trudge on and
photograph. Yes, if the battery dies, the G2 is dead. So I carry two spare
CR2 batteries all the time (about half the size of a film canister). As
far as anything else malfunctioning other than dead batteries, there's
just as much chance of something breaking down with a mechanical camera
like the M6. For a really important assignment or exotic trip- get a
second body. This is more easily accomplished with the G2 ($900) than with
the M6 ($1800). In the meantime, the G2 offers a more accurate, versatile
(1/6000s-16s) almost step-less shutter, auto-wind, aperture priority etc.
Also, a second body permits the photographer to mount a second lens and
use a different film.
Leica M users are accustomed to seeing outside the
frame and are sometimes uncomfortable with the G2 viewfinder. This is a
personal preference. I prefer the G2 finder since I find the extraneous
information in the M finder to be distracting. When I want to see outside
the finder’s view, I open my other eye. The G2 viewfinder is smaller
than the M6- for wide-angle lenses only. At normal and short telephoto
range, the frame of the M6 finder is either the same size or smaller than
on the G2 since it is not a zoom finder. Also, it is easier to see the
full frame in the G2 finder while wearing glasses (much like the Nikon
F3HP). The G2 finder also has +/-2 diopter correction built-in to the
eyepiece surround.
The focusing and winding sounds are noticeable at
first. However, I have now realized that they are only obvious to the
person holding the camera and not to the subject. I have photographed
people from only a few feet away. After making several exposures, the
subjects who were aware of my actions repeatedly asked if I had taken the
picture yet. The candid shots went unnoticed, even for several exposures.
Unless you’re Super Invisible Person, your subjects usually know what
you’re doing anyway. You either get the shot or you don’t, regardless
of the sounds you make.
All said, you cannot go wrong with either the G2 or
the M6. The preference is quite personal. A great degree of practice and
patience is necessary whenever a new kind of camera is being used, whether
it is the M6 or the G2. Most importantly, have fun practicing and learn
from your mistakes. And be sure that 20 years from now, you have a
collection of great photographs.
Asher Schachter
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After many years of using Pentax, Nikon and Canon
SLR’s for general photography, I bought a new G2 system consisting of
the G2 body, Carl Zeiss 90mm, 45mm and 28mm lenses. I had been impressed
with the lively and highly saturated pictures taken with my small Contax
T4 P&S and wanted a camera that also used Carl Zeiss lenses.
First Impressions
Compared to the plastic marvels of the SLR world,
the G2 is a small and very solid feeling camera. Although it is a basic
slab design, the knobs are very intuitive and an easy transition from
those of an SLR. The Contax titanium finish seems to shed dust and the
tiny lenses are a joy for their precision and finish. However, this
precision requires a little more finesse in mounting lenses. You may find
yourself fumbling on your first attempts. If you simply grasp the lens by
the inner knurled ring and carefully align the red dots, everything will
work fine. Tripping the shutter and film advance is very quiet and if you
are not using flash, your human subjects will not really know when you
have taken an exposure.
Function
After proper lens mounting technique, the next
adaptation, for me, was to develop a habit of using the focus lock.
Although the G looks like a precision Point & Shoot camera, it requires more careful
technique. Placing the focus bracket on the point of desired focus and
depressing the focus lock insures more consistent in-focus pictures. However,
be aware that stops of f2 or f2.8 can bring paper thin DOF's with them -
that gal with beautiful eyelashes may end up with a fuzzy nose! Sometimes it is difficult to pull focus on your subject and
you have to employ little tricks to satisfy the camera. One trick is to
twist the camera vertically about the axis of the lens until the camera
signals "focus lock", recompose and shoot. This can be a
frustrating trait, but understanding this need for "lock-on" has
made it second nature for me. The way I look at it: I deliver
"lock-on" and the camera delivers stunning images. The
rapid-fire settings are a joy to use-without having a loud mirror flailing
up and down and I have found the focus during rapid-fire to be quite
accurate. Knobs on the G can be knocked off their preferred settings
when stowing your gear. A sure sign of this circumstance is wild exposure
settings in the viewfinder. It is a good habit to check things before you
start shooting.
Rangefinder Fears
It is possible to take exposures with the lens cap
on, but you have to completely ignore the viewfinder to do so. Two large
blinking arrows will point down at the lens flashing the "more
than 16 sec exposure" warning. After the first such warning, you will
reach around and take off the lens cap. Since you are not looking through
the actual lens, it seems a little risky to depend on the camera for
focus. In fact, most cameras in autofocus mode, are as accurate as human
judgment. Use the focusing brackets properly and you can depend on the
focus. Also, a viewfinder that is always in focus can be a big time-saver,
when checking out possible compositions.
Lenses
The Carl Zeiss lenses are what this system is all about. The small lenses
possible with this rangefinder camera deliver dazzling images with high
saturation and rich color. The wide-angle lenses, in particular, are
distortion free and produce incredible results. You can pack all your
lenses and camera in a very small bag. Transitioning to the Contax G is
a short learning curve. The images possible with this system are well
worth the small effort. My SLR gear gathers more dust every day. It is
amazing how "washed out" my Canon images look by comparison.
Lincoln Michaud
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The majority of interchangeable lens camera systems
are designed assuming the owner will have a basic familiarity with,
insight into, and experience with a number of photographically important
concepts. Using such a system for the first time is very much an
experience with a steep learning curve. While the concepts are not all
that difficult to learn or to practice, there is no need to make the
experience any more difficult than it need be.
Some camera systems make the experience easier than
other systems. The Contax G camera owner’s manuals are less than average
in content, detail, and some important information is omitted completely.
The translation of the owner’s manuals into different languages is often
poor and/or unclear. Contax does not offer any support such as the Nikon
School or the Canon CDROM course. There are no Contax sponsored
newsletters, user Q&A forums, and email questions are generally not
answered. Contax G camera technical support is for all practical purposes
nonexistent.
In the absence of such very important Contax
sponsored support, a completely candid assessment would be that the G
camera is not a good choice as a first interchangeable lens camera system.
A prospective Contax G buyer will want to read the
advice given at the Contax G User Pages at http://www.novia.com/~jlw/contax/advice.html.
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Transitioning to the Contax G Camera
