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How is the rangefinder on a Contax G2?
Let’s find out!
How Is the Rangefinder on a Contax G2?
The Contax G2 is an excellent camera for people who want to take pictures quickly. The rangefinder on it is also very good. The Contax G2 was designed as a luxury camera for rich people. It has a cult following because of its design.
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Design Aspects of Contax G2
The design of Contax G2 is very user friendly. There are many buttons and dials on the body. This camera is easy to use.
Exposure Compensation Dial is located right next to Shutter Release. Underneath it, you will find the A.B.C. feature. You can bracket your shots by taking 3 exposures in auto mode or 1 shot in manual mode.
This camera has an excellent focusing system. A dedicated dial lets you toggle between single, continuous, or manual focus. The dial is positioned under your thumb, making it easy to use while holding the camera.
The viewfinder of the Contac G2 is indeed unlike any other rangefinder. It automatically compensates for parallax error for close focusing and has a diopter adjustment.
It also zooms as you change your lens and corrects for different magnification at different distances.
There’s a backlit LCD screen at the bottom of the camera body that displays the shutter speed, but no aperture. It also serves as a flash reading indicator, exposure compensation status, and a focus indicator when using autofocus.
When you use manual focus, there’s a focus scale on the LCD. The whole LCD flashes when a picture was taken.
AF system uses an active IR-beam to instantly get approximate focus, and a second precise passive rangefinder fine-tunes for exact focus.
AF speed and no-light capability can see up to 10 feet in the dark, and the precision of passive autofocus can see through glass.
There is no reassuring indication that things are focused other than the bottom LCD screen, you’ll have to rely on the camera’s ability to do what it says it does.
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Things to Keep In Mind While Using a G2
The G2 has a few quirks that I didn’t expect. For example, it doesn’t like being left in direct sunlight for long periods. It will start to heat up and shut itself off. Also, if you leave it sitting in a hot car, it will eventually stop working.
Leaving the Front Lens Cap On
The Contax G1 is a camera that doesn’t require a front lens cap. When the front lens cap is removed, the viewfinder shows a clear image. This tells us that there is nothing wrong with this camera.
When using a G2, there is a chance that the shutter may stay open after pressing the button. The problem is that the camera will take 16 seconds to shut off. You should always check the shutter speed before taking pictures.
The camera is choosing a slow shutter speed (16”) because there is too much motion in the scene. A fast shutter speed (1/1000”) would be better.
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How Is the Rangefinder on a Contax G2?
Locking Exposure When Turning the Camera On
The camera stays at 1/500 shutter speeds even if you change the aperture.
You should be careful when you turn the camera on or keep the camera on during the session instead. It will go into standby mode after a few minutes and wake up again when pressing the shutter release button halfway.
Using Halfpressed Shutter to Maintain AF Distance
This mistake isn’t super fatal. But it costs me a few moments I want to capture. On my digital camera, it is relatively easy to half-push the shutter button and recompose.
If you want your subject in the center of the frame and your focusing point is in the center of the picture. Then you put your subject in the center, half-push the shutter to lock focus, and then recompose and push the trigger to take the shot.
On the G2, the halfway press is super sensitive. Holding focus and moving the camera around is risky because accidentally pressing the shutter button while doing so could cause the camera to lose focus.
To avoid this problem, the G2 has a feature called AF/MF switch. This allows you to turn off autofocus when using manual focus mode.
When turned off, the camera won’t try to adjust the focus during shooting. You’ll be able to manually focus as usual.
Don’t Swap Lenses When Film Is Loaded
The most embarrassing mistake is when you think that light reaches the film when the lens isn’t attached. When you remove the lens, the film is exposed to light. You should always finish a roll before loading a new one.
If you want to change the lens, you should always put the lens cap on first. Otherwise, you’ll have to rewind the new film manually.
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Conclusion
The Contax G2 rangefinder camera is one of the most outstanding devices on the market. It works like every other rangefinder camera but differs in design and quality.
We hope that this article was helpful. If you own a Contax G2 do tell us about your experience in the comments section below.
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