Contax G2

I was excited about this camera. I wanted a light system that I could take anywere and I had read many good things about the lenses and build quality. I sold by Nikon N90s and most of my lenses to buy the G2 with 45mm and flash. I also purchased the 28mm and the 90mm and got a $700 rebate from Contax. Great deal! I wanted to love this camera- I really did. And there was much to love- superb lenses. fantistic build, great feel. But after using it ...
...not get used to. The viewfinder was terrible- small and dark. I expected more for a camera the size of the G2- perhaps the view similar to a Leica M. It was more like the view that a point and shoot would have. The second problem was the flash. I was used to the wonerful fill flash Nikon produces, so the limits of the TLA 200 were a disappointment, I endied up selling everything for a good price on ebay. I bought a Nikon F100 a 20-35mm f2.8 and a ... more

I was excited about this camera. I wanted a light system that I could take anywere and I had read many good things about the lenses and build quality. I sold by Nikon N90s and most of my lenses to buy the G2 with 45mm and flash. I also purchased the 28mm and the 90mm and got a $700 rebate from Contax. Great deal! I wanted to love this camera- I really did. And there was much to love- superb lenses. fantistic build, great feel. But after using it for about two years, there were two things I could not get used to. The viewfinder was terrible- small and dark. I expected more for a camera the size of the G2- perhaps the view similar to a Leica M. It was more like the view that a point and shoot would have. The second problem was the flash. I was used to the wonerful fill flash Nikon produces, so the limits of the TLA 200 were a disappointment, I endied up selling everything for a good price on ebay. I bought a Nikon F100 a 20-35mm f2.8 and a 180mm f2,8 and an SB-28 flash to go with the 35-70mm f2.8 and 300mm f4 lenses that I, thankfullly, did not sell. You know what, I cannot tell much difference in the quality I get from these lenses when I compare them to photos I took with the G2. For me, the view through the F100 makes a big difference in my ability to capture the shot when I am photographing people. Also, I missed the long telephoto shots. I considering just keeping the G2 and 45mm lens for a walking around camera, but it really isn't small enough for that. I bought a used Leica CM on ebay. It has a super lens, fantastic build, the fill flash is perfect. The viewfinder isn't any better than the G2 (What are camera designers thinking?), but I can handle that in a camera this small. I'm giving the G2 four stars because there is much to commend it, and I would have kept it if not for the drawbacks I mentioned. I see that this camera has been discotinued, which is too bad. I saw that coming and that was another reason I decided to sell it. 

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