CONTAX GI KIT ON TEST

The Contax G1 is difficult to test objectively, writes David Kilpatrick, as there is no similar camera to judge it against. It competes with the Leica M6 but handles more like a Konica Hexar. Some early comments from colleagues were on focusing problems in strong contre-jour or low contrast targets. Close-up tests on 3D objects, like a magazine page sloping away from the camera, showed apparent errors.

The first problem, of poor into the light and low contrast performance, is being tackled by Contax. It is not unique to the G1, it's just that users have expected it to outperform other AF viewfinder models and match the tolerance and accuracy of SLRs. Perhaps, at the price, it should.

The second one is not a fault but a result of parallax. The viewfinder is parallax-correcting via top and left masking, as a guide to avoid cropping errors, but the finder and AF sensors do not tilt down as you focus closer; at minimum focus, the sensors are not aimed at the centre of the frame. Close-ups with the 28mm and 45mm lenses taken at 50cm have their point of focus slightly high and to the left in the frame (landscape format). To use the G1 well you need to be aware of this. This problem has never been found in traditional rangefinder cameras as they don't focus to 50cm!

General reaction

No-one we have passed the camera to has failed to be impressed. It feels just as it should. The practical results I have obtained are excellent - beyond reproach in terms of metering and focusing accuracy and the luminous delight of colour and tone through the Zeiss optics.

The Contax G1 is so different in use from any SLR or existing rangefinder that it takes several weeks to begin to know it well. When you do, it becomes swifter than any Leica. It can be used single-handedly, and once you learn the exact location of the viewfinder eyepiece your problems end. The new user often fails to 'hit' the eyepiece when raising the camera, and has to hunt for the correct position. A week with the G1 as a constant companion, and you start to hit the spot first time.

I have now been using the G1 for almost five months - the worst five months of the year for weather and not a single vacation to make it an ideal companion - and feel comfortable with the system.

However, when buying the G1 you must be aware of its idiosyncrasies. Otherwise, you may feel frustrated or disappointed.

Manual focusing

Manual focusing using the camera-top dial does not adjust the lens directly or fix the focus permanently. It replaces AF with a pre-set distance. When first pressure is taken on the shutter, the AF motor sets the lens; after the shot it returns to infinity. Each single shot repeats this noisy, lag-inducing sequence. Only in continuous motordrive mode is the focus held for the duration.

A better manual mode would adjust the lens via the AF motor only as the distance dial was turned, leaving it locked (this is how the Konica Hexar behaves). This would then enable quiet, real-time shooting with less battery drain. As configured there is no advantage in MF over AF, and I have ended using AF all the time.

Balance

Worn on the comfortable webbing and leather neck-strap, the G1 has a tendency to tilt backwards. The viewfinder bulge rubs you as the camera swings. After a day of walking, this persistent presence was annoying. If the strap lugs were slightly above and behind their position this would not happen.

My own solution has been to hold the Contax in my hand most of the time. I never feel comfortable with a valuable camera on my shoulder, as it's so easy for someone to grab it and slip it off, which is much harder with the camera round your neck. The Contax G1 is definitely a very nickable camera.

Film loading

While film loading is very positive and quick in the G1, take due care in closing the back firmly. It clicks shut but can spring open again unless positive pressure is used. After publishing this review in PHOTOpro I also found that if you load non-DX film, and set a custom ISO speed, the camera does not cancel this setting even when a DX-coded film is then loaded. You must return the setting to DX using the push-buttons.

The interior track of the Contax is one of the best-designed and machined you can find in a 'compact' camera. The pressure-plate is built to Kyocera's usual standard and everything fits and works precisely.

Shutter dial

Although the manual shutter speeds are locked out using a central release button, the over-ride settings are just a gentle click-stop away. The central detent needs to be a little stronger. It is easy to leave the camera set on a fixed over-ride as well, given its discreet markings. When the central button is depressed, the shutter speeds themselves are very distinctly clicked despite a cramped scale to fit such a wide range on one half of the dial only. They are positive and don't shift once set. All the other controls - auto bracketing (0.5 and 1 stop) on a lever below the shutter dial, on/off and AE lock, manual focus and the shutter speeds themselves - have just the right feel.

Lens changing

One-handed lens changing is hampered by the flat, flush release button and the breech-lock fit in which the rear of the lens does not rotate, only a barrel collar in front of this.

Most people we tested could not change a lens safely without using two hands; some had to use their little finger or a long fingernail and place the camera on a table. I found that pressing the button in as far as I could often failed to release the lens. After five months of use I still do not find this easy and intend to fit a rubber pad, or something similar, to the front of the release button to make it more positive.

The 28mm needs a deep rear lens-cap. Obtain one extra one of these for working with a three-lens kit. Then the three-lens juggle of wanting to use the 90mm after the 28mm, but finding the deep cap is living on your 45mm, is eliminated. I have only one deep cap and frequently find myself trying to cap off the 28mm with a shallow one which won't fit - very frustrating!

Aperture Setting

Apertures are set mechanically on the lens and not electronically on the body; this appears to rule out a future program or shutter-priority variant - a pity. Most AF SLR mounts retain your chosen aperture across lens changes; when changing the Contax G1 lens, you must check the stop. The scale does not match the index mark when the lens is off the body, so you can't tell at a glance beforehand.
Half-stop settings should have been provided to go with the half-stop auto bracketing, and the 45mm could have done with going down to f22 just like the 28mm and 90mm.
The 28 or 45 set to a wide aperture before removal will be set to f11(ish) when re-fitted, unless you take special care not to grip the aperture ring along with the barrel collar when mounting. The 90mm is less prone to this.

The lens mount does have a whole array of contacts, which presumably convey focus position data, veiwfinder masking and aperture setting, and a mechanical linkage almost identical to Minolta's AF drive. Would these contacts allow a zoom lens? Do they also communicate (I am sure they do) with the larger Contax TTL zoom flash units for the SLR system which also fit the G1? Would they allow a lens with auto aperture for full program on a future body?

The AF 'rangefinder'

The G1 claims an 'extended base', but the focusing windows are only 28mm apart compared to the 50-60mm desirable in a 35mm rangefinder accepting a 90mm f2.8. Leica CL and Minolta CLE owners know well why these only accept a 90mm f4. Higher magnification is only a partial solution (see a reader's letter on this subject for a further opinion of some value).

A superior arrangement could be AF windows falling either side of the viewfinder front window, with a 45mm base. The viewfinder optical path could then be 'flipped' to place the ocular to the left, making it easier to lift to the eye without hunting. The optical path of the AF system would cross the viewfinder�s. Part of the lens or hood would be seen through the finder, not uncommon even with Leicas. The G1 as designed avoids this entirely.

A 135mm lens fitted with 'spectacles' could extend the existing AF and finder optics - and we gather such a lens may be planned - but a G2 with a longer AF base would be even better.

Having said all this, I have found the AF accuracy to as good as any equivalent set of manually focused images I have taken in similar conditions.

Hoods and filters

The 28, 45 and 90mm all accept 46mm screw filters, a reasonable, useful size - but a bayonet fit would not have alienated new owners. The lenses are not supplied with hoods. When buying the system, hoods for all lenses should be specified - as indeed should plain UV protective filters. The 16mm f8 Hologon has a centre filter and built-in hood.

Five months on, I still don't have any filters or hoods. I bought a nice old BDB combination hood and UV glass for �2.75 ($4) in my local camera shop, but it rather spoils the look of the G1 - it is REAL 1950s, not retro-style 1990s! (Since writing this I have seen the real Contax hood for the 90mm. It's a bummer - too short, ugly in shape, and actually looks much worse than my nice deep black plastic BDB). German firm B+W have launched a big publicity drive for their hard coated filters and introduced a 46mm size to the UK, specifically mentioning the G1 system as needing these filters.

The late arrival - and very high price - of items which should have been included with the system (most notably the hoods) is a pity. I could have done without the bulky leather drawstring bags for the lenses, but can't survive without decent lens hoods all round.

Cases

The ever-ready case and long-snout front alternative suggested by Contax are both anachronistic, and the fitted leather kit case looks like a satchel. We found the Billingham System 3, above, launched at photokina 1994 in Cologne and intended for Leica outfits, far neater.

Interfaces - connecting flash, releases

The G1 has a threaded cable-release socket under your right thumb, protected by a plastic push-in cover. A traditional release may damage it, unlike the electromechanical Compur sockets used by Minolta and others. The only warning is in the instruction book.

The flash PC socket is on the left-hand end, to the rear of the strap lug position, and is threaded, with a plastic cover destined to get lost. The provision of full PC-cable flash synchronisation is one of the G1's strongest points, though most users will probably opt for a dedicated hot-shoe flash.

Depth of field

There is no depth of field indication on the G1, though the manual assisted-focus display can provide some idea of how close you are to perfect focus for subjects either side of 'in'. Press colleagues have made much of this omission. I think it doesn't matter. The G1 is a fast camera for the experienced user. If you really have no idea of the difference between working at f22 with the 28mm and f2.8 with the 90mm, the G1 will be so thoroughly wasted on you that you deserve all the bad pictures you get. I had no problem selecting appropriate apertures to balance my need for depth of field against risks of camera shake.

Metering

Using Fuji Provia and various other films, I found the TTL metering extremely accurate and not prone to the overexposure common in off-the-film systems.

The 18% grey shutter blinds, right, work well. The TTL meter cells read off these before the exposure is made. Landscapes with minimal sky area like the view of Abbey St Bathans kirk in Scotland, right, taken on the 90mm (conditions which call for -1 stop on most SLRs) needed only -0.5 correction. The same applied to close-ups.

Given this, underexposure of backlit scenes or those with bright skies might have been expected, but this didn't happen. The meter seems to read a central area of the frame likely to produce perfect results in most conditions.

Conclusions - Contax G1 test

The G1 provides many functions, including a self-timer, viewfinder dioptric correction, DX film speed override, AF illuminator, and full synchronisation with Contax system flashguns including second curtain sync. All these work well in terms of ergonomic design, clear functional displays and conforming to common sense.

It also has a further lens which most will never buy in the �2,000 16mm �8 Hologon, though I can see this influencing many editorial pictures next year. The UK price of a kit is under �2,500 ($4,000) including the small flashgun, which I only checked to see if it worked, as flash goes against the way I like to use a camera like this. It works.

The optical quality of the three Carl Zeiss T-star lenses - 28mm Biogon f2.8, 45mm Planar f2 and 90mm Sonnar f2.8 - certainly rivals Leica equivalents and is superior to most 35mm SLR designs. The lack of lens-changing ease, however, meant that I switched less often than good pictures demanded. Any unsharpness is likely to be caused by focusing error at closer distances (the parallax problem) or camera shake. Exposure problems can be caused by including the sun in the frame, with a top speed of 1/2,000 setting few limits on brevity.

My experience is, however, that the success-rate of a Contax G1 used sensibly on appropriate subjects will near 100%. Don't let the close focusing fool you; rangefinders were never equal to SLRs for close-up work, and this new 'AF rangefinder' is no different.

Criticisms of the G1 in general terms are likely to be the result of failure to trust the camera, to become familiar with it, to use it appropriately and understand its strengths and weaknesses. Criticisms of fine detail, which I have had to make, only come to light when you start using the camera properly. These criticisms do not alter the unique innovation of the G1, its performance, or its value for money.