Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1997/07/30

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Subject: Re: Contax G vs. Leica M
From: Chuck Warman <cwarman@wf.net>
Date: Wed, 30 Jul 1997 22:33:10 -0500

Answering some questions sent me by private e-mail:

>a.) I heard from several first time users that the G2 is hard to focus & in
>no way can u tell whether what you are seeing thru is focused or not ?? is
>it really that bad ??

Blinking LCD's in the finder tell you when you're not focussed.  The
autofocus has not failed me yet, but manual focus in next to impossible,
and, anyway, why do it?  In continuous focus mode, you can easily pre-focus.

>b.) I know that there is no dof indicator whatsoever--well, i hardly use
>this feature anyway so its not much of a concern to me.

Nor do I, but I felt it worth mentioning. Although I rarely use a DOF
scale, I feel sort of vulnerable without one.

>c.) how do you find its optics ? specifically 28-35-45-90 ?? I might get
>all four of these ? since you have used an M3, can u say that the contax
>optics is as good as the Leica's ?

Believe it or not, I used the 40 and 90 C lenses on my M3, along with a
current 28 Elmarit and an old rigid 50 Summicron.  Used them all on my CLE,
too.  At first blush, I think the Zeiss lenses are marginally better,
especially the 28 Biogon. But then again, I'm not sure I'd recognize bokeh
if it bit my nose.

>d.) have u had problems (mechanical or electrical) with the G2 ? how do you
>rate its reliability ? (very important consideration)

I haven't had it long enough to comment.  No problems in the first month,
though.

>e.) despite its limitations, and its use as a compliment to my existing
>slr, would u recommend it over the M6 ?

For me, it's a better choice.  I'm not an expert photographer, and the more
automated the camera, the more I can concentrate on my greatest weakness -
composition.  Also, it seems to me to be at least as well-built as the M6,
though less solid than my old M3.

>f.) the viewfinder is rather small but is it really that bad ? i heard you
>can experience blackouts at times ??? is the size comparable to something
>like the Nikon 35 Ti rangefinder ?

It's definitely smaller and dimmer than an M6's, but totally adequate for
my purposes. I wear glasses, and have not had any blackout problems. 

>g.) I;ve read test reports that @ wide open apertures on the 28/2.8 and
>35/2.0 there are some vignetting ? any truth to it ? at what apertures are
>these lenses maximized, sharp !

No vignetting in any of my shots so far.  I haven't put a loupe on any of
my pics, but I can see no visible loss of sharpness at maximum aperture.
There's bound to be *some* falloff, but I haven't detected it.


Chuck
- ---------------------------------------------------------------------
Chuck Warman     
cwarman@wf.net    (Wichita Falls, TX)
- ---------------------------------------------------------------------
"The abdication of Belief / makes the Behavior small."
                                 ----Emily Dickinson