On the left is the manual focusing wheel with the self-timer LED just above it to the right.
Contax g2 leather iso#
Left to right: the ISO button used in conjunction with the focusing wheel to override DX speeds the motor drive mode dial LCD screen displaying DX or manual ISO speed AF or manual focus distance, multiple exposure indicator and battery low warning film plane index flash shoe exposure compensation dial with auto-bracket lever underneath on/off/AEL switch and shutter release button film counter and shutter speed dial. In theory I would prefer the black to the titanium, but it seems to be a kind of chemical blacking with an unattractive oily look, and which chips or wears easily round the edges looking very shabby. There was also a black version, sold in a kit with 28mm, 45mm and 90mm lenses and flash, also in black and all supplied in an aluminium case. There are one or two bits I do not like, in particular the shiny black plastic viewfinder housing and the pull-out back release knob, but these are minor points in an otherwise excellent package. The right-hand side of the body has a hard rubber grip running from the front, round the side and onto the back, which is shaped for your fingers and thumb and make the camera comfortable to hold. The body feels very solid and well-built, and in particular the controls are smooth and positive.
The body is made of titanium which is a of a very attractive and stylish greyish silver colour and the lenses and other accessories all match. The cap slides over the lens hood which can therefore be left on permanently.ĭespite its high-tech innards the styling and handling of the G2 are very traditional. In fact, they used this technology very well and it still compares favourably with the latest advances, even after a decade or more.
In concept and purpose this is exactly what the Contaxes are, but what makes them different (and beyond the pail to some people!) is that they use the sort of state-of-the-art technology such as autofocus, DX coding, motorised film advance/rewind and light metering previously found in contemporary SLRs. It was supplemented and then replaced by the improved G2 which can be considered as the definitive G-System camera, and which is now available second-hand (or “previously loved” as they say in the classic car business) at very reasonable prices which means the G1 is not really worth considering.Īt first glance the Gs appear to be very similar to a multitude of rangefinder cameras that date back to the 1930s, and continue to this day with the Voigtlanders/Rolleis/Cosinas, the Zeiss Ikon and the Leica MP and M7. Some feeling it did not quite deserve to be put on the pedestal they wanted to put it on, others feeling it betrayed the manual and mechanical purity of the rangefinder photography tradition. The original G1 was launched in the early 1990s to a mixed reception. Christopher Webb takes a look at this classic camera. The Contax G2 is one of just two cameras that formed the basis of the G System, which also comprises lenses and accessories.
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