Beautiful design,well constructed, excellent lenses, uncluttered viewfinder(noframe lines), Light , small, quiet, fast.

Auto focus takes a bit of experience but works well with the 3 lenses I have(28, 45& 90mm). There doesn't seem to be a simple way to add fill flash,which I don't use often.

This is without doubt the best 35mm camera I have owned (after years of Nikon use). It is particularly useful for candid street photography, being both inconspicuous and quiet. Some people complain about its noise level but I find it just a little louder than a Leica M6 used by a friend. If you want loud try Nikon.
I have tried the G2 but see no need for it; except in extreme situations focussing is the same, I don't need the hyperfast shutter, and other minor "improvments' are of no concern. I'll take the smaller size, lighter weight and lower price.
There are some pretty extreme statements made about the quality achieved with the G lenses. No doubt they are good, but in real life picture making I don't think you'll see any difference from results with other quality 35mm lenses and cameras. 16x20" black and white prints from the G1 are not as sharp as those from 4x5" negs(both tripoded). In most 35mm work however, camera shake is the limiting factor; in this regard the G1 is pretty good. It has fine balance, enough mass and lack of mirror flop. It gives extremely good hand held prints at 11x14" and even 16x20".
I would recommend this camera highly to anyone wishing a small, fast, versatile camera capable of high quality work. I find it a pleasure to use.

Customer Service

No need to use in 4 years. Have spoken to helpful Contax reps.

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Leica M4, Minolta CLE,Retina 3C. I have also owned several medium format cameras and a Toyo 4x5", which is still my

nice compact, rugged body
looks and feels expensive with the heft
nice control layout like all contaxes
it's like owning a valuable piece of jewelry

manual focus almost useless
framing errors if not careful w/ subject s at close distance
viewfinder a little small
noisy focusing, and works hard sometimes
pics could be out of focus if left in manual mode inadvertently when autofocus is desired for camera will still move lens as if autofocus is on
uses up battery quick and battery is expensive
dedicated flash is wimpy

expensive camera to own but feels that way too. rangefinder has its own idiosyncrasies like parallax errors, cap on lens problem, focusing mishaps at times but makes up for lens sharpness, small size, bright viewfinder, capturing the right moment without the mirror black out problem, and the smoothness of the shutter. Focusing noise was the loudest complaint i have on this camera, and composition adustment which is inherent on all rangefinders.

Customer Service

no problem with camera after 2 years of use

Similar Products Used:

none

Durable, lightweight and stellar optics. Bought for a trip to Europe, purchased with a 35mm lens agreat combination. Have since added a 90mm and intend to get the 21mm next. I also shoot medium format and 4x5 and image quality matters to me, I think the pictures speak for themselves. The thing I love about the camera is the way the controls are laid out, very much like an older mechanical camera. The important controls are wheels and NOT buttons that you have to scroll through to get the function you want. If Contax could put a 28-200 zoom on a G camera the only reason to get a slr would be for Macro.

none for my purposes

Solid reliable camera, great optics and very easy to use.

Customer Service

have not needed it.

Similar Products Used:

Minolta, Pentax, Nikon

VERY well designed/built. I also like that the designers have managed to keep the size down. Extremely pretty. Controls are logical and easy to access. I have the 28,35,45 & 90mm Zeiss lenses. All balance perfectly on body. All tack sharp and built beautifully. Prospective owners should be aware that operation is somewhat different than an SLR. There are certain situations that this camera is not suitable such as fast action sports or Macro photography. For general landscape/travel photography, people, photojournalism or fine art this camera is awesome. It is liberating to have the whole entire "G" kit in a small shoulder bag. Custom functions (esp. film ledr. out) very cool.

Some people have complained about the focusing of this camera but I have had no problems providing that I concentrate on what I am doing and do not get sloppy.

Highly reccomended small compact kit with a HIGH quality quotient.

Customer Service

N/A

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The G2 is even better spec'd than the G1, but I felt that the smaller size and weight of the G1 (not to mention sma

Very well built camera. Though some part of the design is odd. Placement of dials and functions. But these have been resolved in the G2 which also has some pro features added. I had to decide between the two G's. But it was easy to choose the G1 becuase of its bargain kit price now.

The titanum chasis is very attractive compared to the plastics on most slr.

The G1 is a very different type of camera from the slr. The viewfinder image is not through the lens, so I have in my enthusiasm of the moment (when my newborn smiles) taken a few shots with the lens cap on. This never happen during the past 8 years with my slr. But once I gotten more familiar with the G1 (after 5 rolls), using it becomes almost like second nature and stupid mistakes like never occur again.
The focusing is a little noisy and slow compared to my Elan but definitely competent for most situations I have encountered. It is very accurate. I have checked the accuracy of the focusing by placing objects at various distances (from .4m, 1.2m, 1.8m, 2.5m, 3.5m through 5m)and each time the distance readout on the camera is right on. This was done with the 35mm lens. For taking pictures of people like I do, I find that this camera fits the bill nicely. I don't need the blazing 1/6000 speed of the G2 or its 4 fps. (Over the last 8 years I have my Elan, I cannot recall having shot at 1/4000 sec even once).

I have taken quite some nice photos with my Canon Elan (non-L optics) during the last 8 years but my wife has never been impressed with them.
That is until now ... the first row with the G1-35mm and it was wow. She likes the G-Zeiss photos so much that I have been recently 'commissioned' to get another G1 kit! I figure I will get another G1 body to have the 90mm lens permanently mounted.

One feature I miss dearly on my Elan that is not on the G1 is spot/evaluative metering. It's not on the G2 as well. The G1 center-weight meter works quite well under most situations but when there is too much contrast ... that's when spot metering would be useful. While I hope that this lack of metering options gets resolved in the next G (G3?) body, I don't think I can afford to buy the new G just for the metering improvement alone. Furthermore, the G2 is already quite substantially larger and heavier than the G1, adding anymore features to the next G might increase the size and weight further.

Anyway, my solution to the metering problem is to get a $400 Sekonic L508 meter (it has spot meter built-in and is a flash meter as well :))
And the cost of the G1 kit plus L508 is still less than getting a G2 with 35mm or 45 mm lens.
The L508 is a nice piece of gear to have.
(I shall review later when I have had more experience with it)

Caveat: The G1 body will not take the new 35-70mm zoom lens but the G2 will.

None so far.

This is a great camera for the current bargain price of the G1 kit ($799 for body 35mm lens and TLA 140 flash). Now is the time to take the leap of faith and check it out.
Warning: after you see how contrasty and sharp the G-Zeiss photos are, you might find that there is no turning back ... I think my slr is up for sale soon.

Customer Service

NA

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None. This is my first rangefinder. My other camera is a Canon Elan.

The quality of the workmanship is excellent and the optics are outstanding. I wanted a small quality camera with the panache of a Leica without the price tag.

The auto focus is slow, noisy, and inconsistent in low contrast situations.

Great portable little camera with legendary Zeiss optics. A little tempermental in focusing, but worth the eccentricity when you get the photos back.

Customer Service

N/A

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I have a Nikon F 100

Small, light weight. Titanium body. The lens is one of the best out there in the market.

AF is a little too loud. When you put the hood on, you can see it in the viewfilder. Doesn't effect the picture.

I stop using my Nikon system and carry just Contax with 2.8/28 and 2.0/45 lens. It's very compact and picture quality is excellent.

Similar Products Used:

None

Size
Quality of materials
lenses!!

DIM, TINY VIEWFINDER!!
Noisy auto film advance

I bought this after the G2 came out because it was far less expensive, looked and felt much smaller and I didn't need all the alleged "pro" features that the G2 had. And after testing the G2, I found the viewfinder to be basically as DIM and the autofocus of the G2 punked out in the exact same places as the G1. I hate the viewfinder - eye relief is the worst and it is dim, dim, dim but having the convenience of auto focus with the fun of a "rangefinder" is wonderful. And everything they say about Zeiss lenses is true. I'm sorry, but it's just true. They are great - sharp, accurate color and edgy blow-ups. The smaller G1 looks very nice and it's real fun to shoot with. Plenty mint ones around at good used prices, too. Why not?

Customer Service

None needed

Similar Products Used:

Leica M6
Konica Hexar
Hasselblad Xpan

Compact
Sturdy
Unbelievable lense quality

Shutter delay
Focusing hiccups

I actually love this camera. I have a Nikon system, but I was looking for something less obtrusive for street photography, while having autofocusing. I haven't had problems with the focusing accuracy, although I can see why you might if you're not prepared for it. The camera is built like a house and the lenses are as good as you've heard. The TLA 140 flash, while a little expensive for a Chiclet box sized piece of equipment, has good range and fits the camera well. It does everything I want from it, and takes great pictures.

Customer Service

Never used

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Nikon F100

Built very well,compact
excellent for travel pics

None yet

The best little camera I,ve ever traveled with.
excellent optic,s

Customer Service

Not needed yet
Contax people very helpful with question,s
that I had

Similar Products Used:

Nikon N90
Canon elan 2