chung_lee2 Posted January 3, 2004 Share Posted January 3, 2004 hi gang, this all started because my wife wanted more snapshots of our 2 year old son. so i embarked on my quest for the appropriate camera. i tried the consumer digitals but the shutter lag and hyperfocusing was driving me insane, so i decided on a rangefinder type of camera for portibility as the number one criteria. after handling almost every brand rangefinder i was stuck between the contax g2 and a modern leica rangefinder. i tried both for a month and shot plenty of film. i decided on the contax g2 for the autofocus and cost. after shooting the contax g2 for a couple of months i couldn't shake the leica bug. part of it has to do with being a camera snob and nevering having owned one. so i purchased the m7 .72 with motor and lens. i love both systems tremedously. after shooting both systems in all types of situations, the number one advantage of the g2 over the m7 is my ability to shoot more spontaneous images. the advantage of the m7 is the faster glass. i like to shoot people wide open. if the g2 had a faster portrait lens then the m7 wouldn't have been a consideration. the other advantages the m7 offers (quiter, uses less batteries) aren't that big of an issue for me. for those considering either system, there are advantages and disadvantages to both and i think it comes down to shooting style and preferences. the other issues is cost but my suggestion is, if you really prefer the leica then get the leica. don't settle on the contax. get a contax because you prefer it. they both take great pictures. thanks for letting my ramble. chung lee www.chunglee.com ps, if i had to do it over again i would have gotten an mp. so i could have one automated system and one completely manual system. pss. just for fun can anyone guess what rig i used for this shot?<div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m_. Posted January 3, 2004 Share Posted January 3, 2004 it may just take you another month to get that MP. Keep going... A great shot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sanford Posted January 3, 2004 Share Posted January 3, 2004 I'm guessing this is the G2. I also have an M6 and a G2 (well, the G2 is back for warrenty repair right now). First, the 45mm Contax lens was depositing to small drops of oil on the camera mount every time it was dismounted. When I got it back, every single slide was way out of focus, I assume from assembling the lens wrong, so I had to send both camera and lens back. Freight and insurance have eaten up my great package deal. It's a great picture taker when it works but I've have lost all confidence in the system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
octavio bustard Posted January 3, 2004 Share Posted January 3, 2004 Chung- Its a tough choice. I just traded my black G2 system for an M7. The G2 is definitely the easier sreet camera, but the AF just drove me to distraction at times. Many times it just seemed easier to scale focus my m4 and shoot - no focusing lag, no misfocused pics. It is a fine camera within its limitations, but it wont 'move' you the way an M3 in your hands will. I'm ambivalent about the M7 as well though. Something about having an electronic shutter in a Leica just doesnt seem right. I wish I could buy back the mint M6 I had for 20 years and just sold a few months ago. Still got the M4 and just received my M3 back from Shintaro, who painted it a beautiful gloss black. His work is INCREDIBLE. It looks new; what a beautiful camera! Instead of buying that MP, buy the real thing - a good user M3- send it to DAG for a CLA, then send it to Shintaro for a black paint special. You'll have invested less money than an MP and will have a truly collectible classic M3. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gary_ferguson1 Posted January 4, 2004 Share Posted January 4, 2004 "You'll have invested less money than an MP and will have a truly collectible classic M3" Or you'll have an M3 with breast implants. An M3 is what it is, and an MP is what it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephen_w. Posted January 4, 2004 Share Posted January 4, 2004 Will repainting your car, especially a different, color increase its value? Skip the repaint, unless your goal is to deceive a future buyer of a false "collectible". Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_henry1 Posted January 4, 2004 Share Posted January 4, 2004 Maybe he just likes the look of a well-painted camera. Whoever said anything about counterfeiting a collectible? Lighten up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jay_. Posted January 4, 2004 Share Posted January 4, 2004 I'm glad to hear some honest and sane people admit that AF is better for spontaneous shooting and skittering moving subjects. This bit about Leica being the quintessential candid portrait camera is pure fantasy bluster. If all the worshipped street-shooting idols of the 30's-40's-50's-60's-70's had the choice between a Leica and a G2 most likely 95% of them would've chosen the G2. I love my Leicas and all my travel photography is done with them. When I'm off to photograph someone's toddler, or a pet, I grab my $150 Canon Rebel 2000, it gets me ten times the keepers...and I'm not talking about shooting with a wide-angle lens zone-focused and stopped down to f/11. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephen_w. Posted January 4, 2004 Share Posted January 4, 2004 Quoting: "You'll have invested less money than an MP and will have a truly collectible classic M3." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
george_conboy1 Posted January 4, 2004 Share Posted January 4, 2004 I think it's a chuckle that one of your reasons for choosing the G2 was cost, but you ended up with both the G2 and the M7 in the end. So much for saving money! Now you're on the slippery slope with the rest of us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dale_griffith Posted January 4, 2004 Share Posted January 4, 2004 I bought a black G2 with the 3 lens kit as a less expensive way to scratch the Leica itch. It's a good system, but there is NO optical rangefinder so no real manual focus. The "manual" focus still uses the electronic rangefinder. I ended up buying an M6TTL and later on an M7 anyway and haven't run two rolls through the Contax since. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allen Herbert Posted January 4, 2004 Share Posted January 4, 2004 G2,quality built p/s. Nikon F100 does it all so much better. Leica M is a different ball game, why confuse them.....hardly birds of a feather. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jay_. Posted January 4, 2004 Share Posted January 4, 2004 I ran into well-known travel-photographer, author and lecturer Bob Krist one time a couple years ago, he's known for using Nikon AF SLR's. He was carrying a Contax G2 at the time, said there were times and places the Nikons and their lenses just were too big and cumbersome. I told him that's basically why I carry Leicas for travel vs SLR's, asked him why he used the G instead of Leica. He said something like "because I make my living at this". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chung_lee2 Posted January 4, 2004 Author Share Posted January 4, 2004 thanks gang for sharing your thoughts. as far as comparing the two cameras, i have used zeiss lenses for years and can vouch for their quality. i compared the two rigs because zeiss and leitz lenses are the best. i agree the bodies are very different but i was comparing more picture quality then anything else. the only leica i have ever used was a 80 1.4 on an r8 body which i loved but sold because my rts II and 85 1.4 was just as good and sold the leica gear to move up to medium format. the above image was shot with the contax and 90 2.8. i like both rigs equally. yes i originally moved to contax for cost reasons and it's now ironic i also purchased the leica gear. however, i don't think i would be happy with the leica gear if i didn't have the contax to compliment it and visa versa. if i had to choose either or i would go with the contax for it's autofocus and cost. i went to adorama today to check out the mp thinking i would be impressed but was disappointed in the feel of the shutter and advance action. it felt like a bessa r2. then i played with the m3's and was very impressed with the action of the camera. a photographer named mike dixon on another forum gave me a heads up about an m3 that was cla'ed but i dismissed it thinking that newer was better. i am now a convert. i love the action of the m3 and will probably end up getting one of those and having it overhauled to like new condition. what a solid camera. i don't plan on adding alot of leica gear and i really only need one body to drive the 75 lux. so i don't know what i would do with the m7. i don't really have gear sitting around since i'm not a collector so i will probably sell it as soon as i get an m3. so far i have handled the m6 in ttl and non ttl, m7, mp and the m3 and i like the action of the m3 then the m6 and then the m7 and the mp last. just some observations from a leica newbie. for those thinking of getting into leica rangefinders, i would recommend getting an m3 with a portrait lens, (90 cron on a budget or a 75 lux with the money saved on a new body). as always, chung lee<div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
octavio bustard Posted January 5, 2004 Share Posted January 5, 2004 some of you guys crack me up.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marco_vera1 Posted January 5, 2004 Share Posted January 5, 2004 One more positive vote for the G system. Over the holidays I recieved my first Autofocus camera ever a Contax G1 and the first one ever to come new in a box... Well I am pleasantly surprised and love it. Even with it's "primitive" AF system, the camera is quick, very small and a pleasure to use. Very different from a mechanical (& Optical) rangefinder but it deserves a place of it's own in camera production. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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