BTW - G2 systems kits can be bought for under $2000 for the 28mm, 45mm, 90mm, and TLA200 with a G2 body. They are bargain priced compared to other brands with less quality. If you don't mind used e-bay has them for dirt cheap. A brand new kit from Hong Kong with hoods and filters cost around $1600. You just can't beat that. You get 1 year international warranty instead of 3 year US warranty on the lenses, but contax so far still services them unlike if you buy grey market Nikon - Nikon USA will not service them.
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Contax G2 or Nikon F100
- Thread starter pierre_l
- Start date
R
ramella
I agree using in travel a G2 with 28 and 45 and a SLR with 60 macro
i am a pro photographer and in this times i am working almost in digital...times goes on my friends...although i am in the way of buying a G camera with 28 and 45, i don't know if i have to buy G1 or G2...prices are really different but what about time reaction in fast snapshotting and reportage between g1 and g2?
thanks
i am a pro photographer and in this times i am working almost in digital...times goes on my friends...although i am in the way of buying a G camera with 28 and 45, i don't know if i have to buy G1 or G2...prices are really different but what about time reaction in fast snapshotting and reportage between g1 and g2?
thanks
Alberto,
I got rid of my G1 and bought a G2, after owning the G1 for four years, for mainly that reason - the time lag between pushing the shutter release and the lens actually focusing,, then finally the shutter firing. Often, it was just not fast enough. The G2 is significantly faster to focus and fire. Not 'a little faster' but very noticeably faster, like night and day, in my opinion. Quieter too. I liked my G1 but its slowness was often a major annoyance.
Mark Edwards
I got rid of my G1 and bought a G2, after owning the G1 for four years, for mainly that reason - the time lag between pushing the shutter release and the lens actually focusing,, then finally the shutter firing. Often, it was just not fast enough. The G2 is significantly faster to focus and fire. Not 'a little faster' but very noticeably faster, like night and day, in my opinion. Quieter too. I liked my G1 but its slowness was often a major annoyance.
Mark Edwards
I have just received my G2 body from Tamarkin to replace the role of my veteran G1 body with my 21, 28, 45 and 90mm lenses. G1 now has to fight with a much bigger Mamiya 6MF to be the "black-and-white" camera. Having used a G1 for many years, I can only agree that, within its operating range, it is capable of some the finest images I have ever made. To compare the G2 to a Nikon F100 however is very difficult. The G cameras are focused sports cars compared to a F100, which is a high-end do-everything camera version of an SUV like a Range Rover. The only times I wish that I was shooting with an SLR like that instead of the G are:
To use a split screen filter to darken a landscape sky in relation to the ground plane.
To use a polarizer filter without people asking what is wrong....
Perspective correction lenses that I lust for.
I can live without super telephoto, but those moments that I do NOT shoot, when others with a simple point and shoot-but one that goes out to 140mm or so-DO.
To use a split screen filter to darken a landscape sky in relation to the ground plane.
To use a polarizer filter without people asking what is wrong....
Perspective correction lenses that I lust for.
I can live without super telephoto, but those moments that I do NOT shoot, when others with a simple point and shoot-but one that goes out to 140mm or so-DO.
Pierre -
There are a lot of good commentscposted to answer your question. I have been following the post in my e-mail the past few days, but thisis the first time I was wble to get on-line to post a comment. I have been in photography for over 50 years and suffer with the same problems - old eyes, etc. I hav had many different cameras. I worked in a camera store for 15 years.
The G2 ( I have the 28, 45, and 90 ) system is the best I have ever owned (I had Leica in the 70s & 80s).
You will love the G2. When you get your first roll of shots back from the lab, be preepared for a shock. The results are truley amazing.
I really don't care if Contax does not keep up with new products as long as they continue to support and service the product. I do want a digital back, but so does everyone else.
As far as your Nikon equipment goes, consider keeping the body and enough lenses to fill in the area wher the Contax can't be used. If your photography technique and needs can be fulfilled by the G2 (as mine are now) then it can be your only system.
Good luck with your decision.
Jim
There are a lot of good commentscposted to answer your question. I have been following the post in my e-mail the past few days, but thisis the first time I was wble to get on-line to post a comment. I have been in photography for over 50 years and suffer with the same problems - old eyes, etc. I hav had many different cameras. I worked in a camera store for 15 years.
The G2 ( I have the 28, 45, and 90 ) system is the best I have ever owned (I had Leica in the 70s & 80s).
You will love the G2. When you get your first roll of shots back from the lab, be preepared for a shock. The results are truley amazing.
I really don't care if Contax does not keep up with new products as long as they continue to support and service the product. I do want a digital back, but so does everyone else.
As far as your Nikon equipment goes, consider keeping the body and enough lenses to fill in the area wher the Contax can't be used. If your photography technique and needs can be fulfilled by the G2 (as mine are now) then it can be your only system.
Good luck with your decision.
Jim
>
I just returned from a photo shoot out west. Put 60 rolls of B&W through my Contax G2. Combination of T400CN, Tech Pan, Tri-X, and Tmax 100. In that order of awesome negatives. I also put 40 rolls of color film through my Nikon. Combination of Kodak color films from 100 to 800 speeds.
The Contax 21mm lens gave me shots that are unbelievable. The only time I used the Nikon was if I wanted a color shot of what I was shooting in B&W or if I wanted to use a long (600mm) focal length lens. In general, the images from the Nikon are nice snapshots but the images from the Contax are all professional quality. My wife who was with me used an Olympus APS point and shoot and her images came just as good as the Nikon shots. In both cameras I used a tripod for every shot.
By the way I can reply to notes but can someone tell me how initiate a new subject?
Dave
I just returned from a photo shoot out west. Put 60 rolls of B&W through my Contax G2. Combination of T400CN, Tech Pan, Tri-X, and Tmax 100. In that order of awesome negatives. I also put 40 rolls of color film through my Nikon. Combination of Kodak color films from 100 to 800 speeds.
The Contax 21mm lens gave me shots that are unbelievable. The only time I used the Nikon was if I wanted a color shot of what I was shooting in B&W or if I wanted to use a long (600mm) focal length lens. In general, the images from the Nikon are nice snapshots but the images from the Contax are all professional quality. My wife who was with me used an Olympus APS point and shoot and her images came just as good as the Nikon shots. In both cameras I used a tripod for every shot.
By the way I can reply to notes but can someone tell me how initiate a new subject?
Dave
By the way, I'm not comparing the F100 and the G2 directly. Apples and oranges, as another poster said, and I agree completely. I'm only considering both because they are in the same price range I will be looking at. My real concern with the G system is whether it will continue to be supported, especially with all the digital hoopla going on right now. The last thing I want to do is to spend over $2000 Cdn and soon after end up with an orphan system. I'm still trying to find out how well the G system is doing in the marketplace.
coodeville
Well-Known Member
I own both. Both have advantages and disadvantages. Whip out the F100 in a location where pro photographers are not welcomed and see what happens. Most people take the G as nothing more than a P&S. The G2 is decieving and that's what I like about it. The F100 is fast. Try shooting sports with a G2 and see what happens. More power to both of these great systems.
I don't think you're going to be able to get sales figures very easily. The question to ask yourself is why specifically this "orphan" issue is important to you. If you are looking for major upgrades to the system, new lenses, a film G3, etc. I think you are likely to be disappointed, though there have been periodic rumors of a digital G. If you are worried about parts and repairs then I would guess this is less of a concern. Mostly what I am saying is that if the camera is still taking quality photographs years from now it doesn't really matter whether the line is discontinued. Your camera won't disappear.
As far as information is concerned, what we know is that Contax continues to produce and promote the G2. We know that the used prices are dropping (check eBay- a "standard" kit: body, 28,45,90, TLA-200, is about US$1500, down somewhat) but this is due in part at least to the move to digital, not unhappiness with the G2.)
Make what you can of all this, but remember that orphan cameras work just fine. There are a lot of discontinued models out there, making fine photographs.
As far as information is concerned, what we know is that Contax continues to produce and promote the G2. We know that the used prices are dropping (check eBay- a "standard" kit: body, 28,45,90, TLA-200, is about US$1500, down somewhat) but this is due in part at least to the move to digital, not unhappiness with the G2.)
Make what you can of all this, but remember that orphan cameras work just fine. There are a lot of discontinued models out there, making fine photographs.