Excellent, & *affordable*, lenses; Attractive & user-friendly industrial design (incl. all the inherent advantages of any rangefinder, such as small size, etc.); + good complement of manual & automated features.

All inherent drawbacks of any rangefinder (limited telephoto & macro, etc.); expensive accessories; small viewfinder; + autofocus not quite as accurate & dependable as top SLRs.

Doesn't do everything, but does everything it's designed to do, as any good tool should. In many ways, it handles like a super-charged point 'n' shoot rather than traditional SLRs & rangefinders, so it may initially confuse users who are more experienced with those types of cameras.

Customer Service

Haven't had occasion to use customer service.

Similar Products Used:

Leica M series, Konica Hexar series.

Lenses, finish, overall quality, meter

slow focus, viewfinder brightness

A mechanical piece of beauty and function. Small and very user friendly. Doesn't do everything well, but what does? I too wish the 21mm was coupled. All-in-all I'd buy one again and again.

Customer Service

None needed

Similar Products Used:

None, first autofocus. other than P&S

Very well built and light weight camera, great for traveling with. A great system when dragging your full gear out is impossible or just too much trouble.
Quick and simple loading compared to my M6.

Remeber to check the dials every now and then, it is true that it gets moved very easily. Fill-in flash is a pain, but generally none of these are real problems that could take away from the fantastic system.

It had totally replaced my SLRs once i got the G2 and saw what it could do. No more sacrifices in quality for compactness.
I've read alot of reviews on various websites about the "horrible" AF system. I've been using the system for around a year and i've had close to none problems with the AF. It very simple.
I regret not to have found it earier.

Customer Service

Haven't needed it.

Similar Products Used:

EOS 1n, Contax G1, Leica M6

It is the best build camera I ever owned.
Highest possible quality in every detail.

None!

The most modern Rangefinder, and in the same time, the best build camera available today.
The lenses have the best quality/price value in history. It reaches mediumformat picture quality, with finegrain films such as Kodachrome, Fujichrome and b/w films such as Kodak Technical Pan 2415 and T-max 100.

Customer Service

None!

Similar Products Used:

Many different!

Compact high quality rangefinder body with a world class set of Carl Zeiss autofocus lenses.

The Contax G bayonet mount can be a little troublesome at times. Price of Contax and Zeiss accessories is astronomical.

At the price of the G-system, the G2 should have the same spot metering option used in the Contax Aria.

This is a fantastic well built compact camera system offering aperture priority of full manual exposure control. The body shows Contax's typical attention to ergonomics with simple, well laid out controls.

Customer Service

Haven't needed any.

Similar Products Used:

Currently also have a Konica Hexar, Canon QL17 GIII, and a Minolta X700.
Have also used Leica M2, Kodak Retina, and C

Small machine with full function. No other function is required with this small camera. Best good on auto focusing, color of lens, easy to use, all analog setup instead of LCD with button setup. easy to travel with it and high quality of performance. Very low vibration with shutter.

Price too high

Overall, this is very good camera when you travel or if you want to carry the camera all the time.
I love this machine.

Customer Service

No trouble so far

Similar Products Used:

None

Superb optics. Solid build.

Noisy AF. Fiddly focussing. Bad viewfinder.

I love the lenses. The camera is well built, and operates nicely. It seems to be a perfect camera. But, if you imagine it to be a modern Leica, think again. 1.The viewfinder is bad, really bad compared to Hexar and Leica M. 2.Autofocus is noisy. I got really tired of listening to what sounds like a dentists drill, and you'll hear this a lot, cause the lens resets to infinity every time you release the shutter. I sold mine, and bought a used Leica M6. If you really need the autofocus and motordrive, it's a good camera, and the lenses are the best there is. But if you want a camera that doesn't get in the way, but lets you concentrate on your subject - I'd recommend a Hexar, or a used Leica M.

Customer Service

Ok, but slow.

Similar Products Used:

Hexar, M6.

Autofocus, Zeiss lenses, compact size.

Contrary to many people I like the sound this camera makes. The viewfinder has never been too dark for me. I occasionaly rub the exposure dial, unknowingly changing things. People who like the Leica M6 always want to compare- I had manual cameras twenty years ago and appreciate the automation, batteries notwithstanding!

This camera is the finest I have used. It is an excellent piece of travel kit. The exposure and autofocus functions extremely well, especially for quick candid shots. The only time I use an SLR now is when I want a longer lens. This is an excellent camera for someone who enjoys fine things.

Customer Service

No problems yet.

Similar Products Used:

A2E, manual Canons, Nikons, Contax Tvs.

Lightweight
Optical performance

Poor manual focus
AF tricky to come to terms with, at first.

Great portable camera. The G2 + 21,28,45,90 and TLA200 weigh next to nothing and take up little space. Great travelling camera with a few quirks one easily gets ones way around, eventually. Wish it would have a manual focusing ring - then it would be one of the best!

Customer Service

Haven't had the op.

Similar Products Used:

Not "similar" really but RF:s; Xpan, Hexar RF

Excellent lenses, very well made really great body.

Noisy, inaccurate autofocus. Lousy, lousy viewfinder. conspicuous appearance (champagne titanium ), batteries good for only a few rolls of film

I really wanted to like this camera, I bought the complete outfit, and I actually had a G1 outfit some years before that I sold for the same reason. The lenses are superb, the best, but they are ill served by very noisy and attention attracting autofocus noises. The viewfinder is terrible. If the committee at Kyocera that designed this camera had any clue about making a revolutionary camera like this, then would have consulted me first! : ) It needs a manual override for the focusing that works with a coupled rangefinder, and silent maybe USM motors.

Customer Service

N/A

Similar Products Used:

leica M6, Mamiya 6