Both the G1 & G2 are marvels of mechanical and electrical engineering capable of superb images. They have invigorated the rangefinder market and gave Leica a healthy wake-up call. It is important to remember from the outset that rangefinders are not an option if your into close-ups, action photography or require telephoto lenses.

I became tired of carrying around 35mm SLRs which seem to be getting bigger along with a range of prime lenses or fast zooms. Just too heavy and too bulky to carry as often as I would want. Compact cameras just don't have the range of focal lengths. Enter the rangefinder cameras. I love Leica products but the R series is just too much money. Contax looks cheap by comparison and for that money you get access to Carl Zeiss lenses. The G system is very compact, you can carry four lenses, the body and flash in a small bag. I now carry this to many more places than when I had an SLR.

I have the 21mm, 28mm, 45mm & 90mm G lenses and they are equally superb. With Velvia or Kodachrome 25 I just don't see how it is possible to get any better without changing formats. There does not seem to be any major differences between the apertures. The wide angle lenses are very addictive and I find myself using the 21mm more and more. It does show some light fall-off but really does not impact the photos as much as I thought. I regularly use a polarizer and wish there was some way of using graduated filters.

The exposure system works well but I tend to meter off what I consider to be neutral gray and/or use the exposure lock. I have not tried any action or grab shots so I cannot comment on the speed or reliability of the autofocusing. The camera does suck through batteries too quickly but that seems to be a Contax trademark! I also have the matching TLA200 flash which has been a pleasant revelation. I have heard how this expensive flash causes red-eye but not in my hands and I only use flash for casual group photos.

I have not found the autofocusing to be a major problem but most of my subjects are not moving and I have plenty of time to check the scale in the viewfinder and re-focus if necessary. What does annoy me is that the lens always resets the focus point somewhere beyond infinity. So every time it focuses there is a noisy whir as it finds the plan of focus and another whir once you take you finger of the shutter release button. It is not a quiet camera. The only time the autofocus produced out of focus results was with the 90mm, wide open at close to it's minimum focusing distance.

Manual focusing with the G1 (and G2) is an embarrassment. With a tradition autofocus SLR you focus manually using your eyes and the focusing screen. With the G cameras no such luck as the viewfinder is always sharp. You have two equally as bad options: either you "guesstimate" the distance and dial it the value or you rely on the electronic rangefinder which failed in the first place to calculate the distance! This is hardly adequate for such an otherwise sophisticated system. It becomes less of an issue with the wider angle lenses.

Otherwise it is very hard to find fault with this camera system. Sure it seems expensive but not if you want the best optical performance. Because of the inherent design of external rangefinders there are no macro lenses nor telephotos beyond 90mm. The build and finish are without reproach. Titanium finish would not have been my first choice. I do wish it had a faster X-sync, spot metering and a lockable setting for infinity.

How does it compare to the Leica M system? It is like comparing apples and oranges, my advice is try them both and see which best addresses your needs.

I have not upgraded to a G2 as I don't think it is worth the large price difference. Their list prices are quite similar but the G1 is heavily discounted. I'm waiting for the next G camera...... I'm hoping and praying this G3 will be a digital version with a full-sized chip (Foveon!), fully-loaded, TTL focusing, compatible with all the current lenses plus newer ones including macro and telephoto versions. Of course it may not be a rangefinder anymore but it would be the first in a line of compact digital cameras with interchangeable lenses.

Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 799 as a kit