james_evidon

I have a G2 and have used it from time to time over the last 4 years when I wasn't shooting digital SLR's. Auto focus has been spot on and any out of focus shots were my fault. Manual focus is difficult but can be mastered. Frankly I prefer the old fashion twist the lens barrel school of design for manual focusing. I bought the outfit for the auto focus feature because I have always had a problem with manual RF focusing due to my lousy eyesight. A problem, that is until I took the plunge and bought a Leica M8. I am now so hooked on Leica that I have purchased and am waiting for a used M4P-70 Jahre for my film work.

For improving your manual focusing, go to http://contaxg.com/ and especially http://www.rangefinderforum.com/ and look for relevant forum topics or start your own thread. Both are very helpful in managing an idiosyncratic but wonderful camera. I will be selling mine soon with three lenses, etc, because I have simply run out of room and it duplicates my Leica stuff. But, the Contax G2 was and is always a wonderful camera to own and use.

I have a G2 and have used it from time to time over the last 4 years when I wasn't shooting digital SLR's. Auto focus has been spot on and any out of focus shots were my fault. Manual focus is difficult but can be mastered. Frankly I prefer the old fashion twist the lens barrel school of design for manual focusing. I bought the outfit for the auto focus feature because I have always had a problem with manual RF focusing due to my lousy eyesight. A problem, that is until I took the plunge and bought a Leica M8. I am now so hooked on Leica that I have purchased and am waiting for a used M4P-70 Jahre for my film work.

For improving your manual focusing, go to http://contaxg.com/ and especially http://www.rangefinderforum.com/ and look for relevant forum topics or start your own thread. Both are very helpful in managing an idiosyncratic but wonderful camera.

I will be selling mine soon with three lenses, etc, because I have simply run out of room and it duplicates my Leica stuff.

But, the Contax G2 was and is always a wonderful camera to own and use.

Happy shooting.

Firass Al Jundi,

You have summed up all that is important to a Leica user. Your clarity and eloquence is appreciated. As we often say in the States, "if you haven't tried it, don't knock it". It's not as elegant as your response, but it states the case.

I suggest that you go to either RFF or L-Forum and read the thousands of threads by Leica users and not collectors: many of them still shooting regularly with cameras that 50 years old or older, as well as users like myself that shoot regularly with the more modern models. I also suggest that you check with reputable lens testing sites such as Reid Reviews before you generalize about lens performance. The older lenses are used by some to get a certain "vintage" effect, Most are using modern lenses. There are also collectors and let them enjoy a camera on the shelf. Most prefer to shoot with theirs.

BTW, while Summicron is an older formula, it has been significantly upgraded since 1979 as have all their lenses currently in production. You have to be careful making broad statements referring to Leica lenses by name. They keep recycling lens names, but the lenses keep changing.

And the recent Leica lenses do have significantly more contrast that the recent Nikon and Canon lenses and all of the above naturally have better contrast than any older lens, whether Leica or otherwise. Coatings improve as do glass formulations and that is progress.

As to contrast, that is a matter of taste, and not quality. Some photographers prefer a lens with less contrast believing that it improves shadow detail, although I have not noticed blocking of detail in that regard. Higher contrast just gives the picture more "snap", but is not necessarily better.

Basically a light proof box? Hardly.

Having run across this apalling thread, I feel compelled to respond.

Leicas are mainly about the glass and certainly the precision feel of the camera. Leica glass is incredibly sharp as

is the glass from the fixed focus Nikon and Canon lenses. So, what is so great about the Leica glass? It has more

contrast than the higher quality Japanese glass; even a little more than the excellent Zeiss glass. It yeilds a range of

tonality that is unavailabile with any other lens. It has a character all it's own. I own upper end Nikons, both digital

and film. I own a Leica M8 digital. On the M8 I use both Leica and Voightlander glass (Japanese lenses with a

German character to the image). There is a difference and Leica is the best. Expensive? You bet. But, skilled

German labor cost a lot more than Southeast Asian labor, where most cameras are manufacturered these days.

One final word on the Leica M8 digital. It's color output in RAW requires little or no post processing unless you are

after special effects. The resolution of the sensor cannot be beat, even by my Nikon D300, which is excellent.

The camera itself is a masterpiece of precision and a pleasure to use. Nothing cheap feeling about it. If that is

unimportant to you all, so be it. Throwing rocks at a product you don't own or don't care to own is a silly waste of

time and only displays embarassing ignorance. Not all light proof boxes are created equal. I say that, not out of

snobbery. I say that out of experience.

There is nothing more to say in response to these comments without becoming crude.

If this is an example of the level of exchange in this forum, count me out.