This is an article I wrote for the Contax G website. I'm not sure if it is still online somewhere, so here it is again. I wrote this as a "guide" for Leica M6 users who are considering switching to the G2. Note that I wrote "users" and not "collectors". I don't believe in collecting Leicas, since they are designed to be used.

There are several “quirks” inherent in the G2 that require some acclimatization for photographers who have used an M series camera. First, I’ll list the obvious improvements then I’ll discuss the aspects that require some practice and personal adjustment. I won’t address the highly personal question as to which camera is better.

From the first use, the G2 is a blessing in many respects. The film loading is as easy as it gets in 35mm.; pop in the canister, pull the leader over to the other side, and shut the door. The film rewind is also easy and effortless. The custom functions can be set to leave the leader in or out after rewinding. The auto-wind is also a pleasure since many times the best moments occur a split second after firing the shutter or while you’re winding the M6 (unless you have an M4-2 winder, Leicavit or Rapidwinder weighing down the bottom).

Aperture priority, combined with the AE compensation dial is great, and is even something that many M users have been quietly hoping for. Auto bracketing combined with auto-wind eliminates these mindless chores.

I won’t get into the hot debate about which lenses are better. Suffice it to say that both Leitz and Carl
Zeiss lenses are superb. Besides, both of these cameras are designed to be hand-held, so microscopic
analyses usually become academic. It should be noted, however, that Leica lenses’ closest focus is 0.7m,
while most G lenses focus to 0.5m. The Contax lens hoods are easier to find than Leica’s hoods, but
should be included with the lenses, as should the metal hood caps. All standard G2 bodies are titanium
clad, and the body is about half the price of the M6.

Now for the quirks. First and foremost is the auto-focus. At first it is a bit disconcerting not to have the
direct feedback of an image-coupling rangefinder. The G2 does have a distance display in the viewfinder
and auto-parallax correction also is a guide to what the lens sees. The best answer to this is to read the
instruction manual, and practice. Although most of my photos were in focus from the first roll, it took me
about 8-10 rolls to begin to feel really confident. Besides, all photographers, regardless of the camera
used, will have a certain percentage of photographs that are not in focus. “Shutter lag” is not a problem- I
simply pre-focus, just as I used to do with the M6.

Some people like the idea of having a mechanical camera, so that if the battery dies they can still trudge on
and photograph. Yes, if the battery dies, the G2 is dead. So I carry two spare CR2 batteries all the time
(about half the size of a film canister). As far as anything else malfunctioning other than dead batteries,
there's just as much chance of something breaking down with a mechanical camera like the M6. For a
really important assignment or exotic trip- get a second body. This is more easily accomplished with the
G2 ($900) than with the M6 ($1800). In the meantime, the G2 offers a more accurate, versatile
(1/6000s-16s) almost step-less shutter, auto-wind, aperture priority etc. Also, a second body permits the
photographer to mount a second lens and use a different film.

Leica M users are accustomed to seeing outside the frame and are sometimes uncomfortable with the G2
viewfinder. This is a personal preference. I prefer the G2 finder since I find the extraneous information in
the M finder to be distracting. When I want to see outside the finder’s view, I open my other eye. The G2
viewfinder is smaller than the M6- for wide-angle lenses only. At normal and short telephoto range, the
frame of the M6 finder is either the same size or smaller than on the G2 since it is not a zoom finder.
Also, it is easier to see the full frame in the G2 finder while wearing glasses (much like the Nikon F3HP).
The G2 finder also has +/-2 diopter correction built-in to the eyepiece surround.

The focusing and winding sounds are noticeable at first. However, I have now realized that they are only
obvious to the person holding the camera and not to the subject. I have photographed people from only a
few feet away. After making several exposures, the subjects who were aware of my actions repeatedly
asked if I had taken the picture yet. The candid shots went unnoticed, even for several exposures. Unless
you’re Super Invisible Person, your subjects usually know what you’re doing anyway. You either get the
shot or you don’t, regardless of the sounds you make.

All said, a great degree of practice and patience is necessary whenever a new kind of camera is being used, whether it is the M6 or the G2.


Recommended: Yes