[Leica] Contax G2 and Dan's evaluation - long

["Doug McLernon" <Douglas.McLernon@tcd.ie>]

I believe that I posted the first impressions to appear on  this list when
Contax brought out the G1. My original though was that it was an enjoyable
camera but that I trusted the reliability of my M2 more. Reliability has not
proven to be a problem with the G1 and I exchanged the M2 for an M4P and an
M6. (N.B. never sell  ANY Leica - you will regret doing so) From time to
time I have also commented upon my later G2. The post by Dan Bereskin on his
experience with the G2 and his comparisons with  the M6 are spot on. Leica
and Zeiss glass are both first class. My subjective evaluation is that the
Contax lenses are a bit cooler than Leitz and,  for the 21mm and 28mm
produce a bit more contrast and the 21 viewfinder beats the Leica hands down
(but then so  does the Rustar 20mm finder  - which comes WITH a lens for the
price of the Leica finder). The 50 (latest) Summicron and the 45mm Zeiss
are, to my eye, almost indistinguishable. The Contax ones lack depth of
field markings.
With regard to the handling I am more familiar with Leicas - since I first
used my father's IIIF at the age of thirteen (and still have one) and three
weeks ago celebrated my sixtieth birthday. My major criticism of some of the
newer Leitz lenses is the absence of the focusing lever. The Contax needs a
bit or learning to use properly, especially with the 90mm wide open. It has
all the bells and whistles of most modern SLRs, a more accurate and faster
shutter, much quicker to load and the motorised features Dan mentioned. It
is also noisier - quite a bit noisier - than the Leica and the viewfinder is
definitely inferior. Even the option of using a Leica BLF is out because, as
Dan wrote, the focus point is dependent upon the location of the  viewfinder
brackets. I now travel with the G2 and the M6 and if we go by car throw the
G1 and M4P in the boot as well. If I only take one camera (rare) it is the
Leica on there grounds that old farts like myself don't completely trust
modern technology. Which reminds me - some of you have complained that there
are more Leica users out there than on the LUG. What do you expect? Anybody
who uses camera equipment dating back to  1933 (yes, I  know, I mean  the
rangefinder models) probably still uses a slide rule rather than a computer.
Regards,
Doug