Thanks to the short 29mm flange-to-film distance (about a millimeter different than LeicaвЂ™s M mount), Zeiss designers were able to construct a Planar without typical mirror-box restraints. The lens uses what Contax called a вЂњspigotвЂќ mount, similar to CanonвЂ™s breech-lock FD mount. It is on par with any lens made by Leica in terms of build and image quality. It is uncontroversial to say that the G-mount Planar 45mm is one of the best lenses ever made for 35mm photography. This lens is, of course, the Carl Zeiss 45mm T* Planar, which James thoroughly reviewed here. It is, without hyperbole, one of the best lenses ever made at a price point far lower than anything ending in вЂ“lux or вЂ“cron. That lens I referenced isnвЂ™t a bargain-basement bit of glass, either. This means that itвЂ™s possible to buy the G1 and its most impressive lens for less money than most G2 bodies sell for (without a lens). Where a G2 body will retail for around $600, the G1 can be found for about $200, or $250 for a green label version (more on this later). It costs substantially less money to buy today. Off the line, the G1 gains a step on the G2. In this way, the G1 and G2 are in their own domain. To find an autofocus rangefinder camera, one can look only to the Contax G series. In his review of the G2 last year, Casual Photophile founder James called this interchangeable-lens autofocus rangefinder вЂњa camera in a class of its own.вЂќ Some might be wont to suggest the Konica Hexar AF as a companion machine, but such a camera lacks the triangulation-focusing characteristic of a rangefinder.

This runsВ in direct opposition to what nearly everyone claims, that the G2 is the better of the two without question. But it does get a little more controversial when I specify that IвЂ™m particularly targeting its younger brother, the Contax G2. This opinion isnвЂ™t completely wild, the G1 is known to be a great camera. We just love unloved cameras, and finding value in something under-valued is one of lifeвЂ™s great pleasures.ДЄll of this points us to todayвЂ™s writing, and the opinion IвЂ™m proffering within вЂ“ that the Contax G1 is the best 35mm luxury camera one can buy on todayвЂ™s market. Or the early-days article that heralded the Minolta CLE as the best M mount body, an at-the-time controversial opinion that has become more widely accepted, or at least begrudgingly tolerated. This leads to occasional opinions that might appear intentionally contrarian.В You can see this in some of our tongue-in-cheek articles, such as when we listed our least favorite cameras and they ended up being traditional crowd favorites Leica, the Mju II, and the AE-1, to name a few. This is, for my tastes, where Contax arises as the foremost competitor to Leica.Д¬asual Photophile has always been a place where a few quiet voices issue unpopular takes that are evidence-based and hype-opposed. But also the ubiquity of Leica-appreciation makes the cameras somehow uninteresting to me. To start, I have little interest in paying the prices that M bodies and lenses demand (and even less ability to do so). But for some reason, the Leica bug has never seemed to bite me. From my first foray into modern film photography, I was confronted by the apparent supremacy of Leica and its M mount.

Contax g2 28mm