The Contax G1 was one of the earliest cameras that I fell in love with, and I ended up falling out of love with it shortly afterwards. I remember I was doing extensive research about it before actually bought one. I read about how easy the camera was to operate thanks to its auto focus. I read reviews saying how sharp the G45 Planar 45mm F2 lens was. I ended up pulling the trigger for one online. I got the silver label version as it's cheaper.
It turned out that though it was beautiful to look at, it was horrible to operate. A camera that I ended up selling and not looking back.
This is not going to be a long review as I didn't own this camera for long and I only used it for a short period of time. However, I believe that it was more than enough. Thanks to the G1, I developed an even more distrust in auto-focusing. I don't intend to be disrespectful to the camera but it was just not for me. Just my opinion and no offense to the G1 owners who love the camera.
What I like about the G1:
It would be no brainer. The G1 is a pretty camera. Its luxurious titanium finish is just gorgeous. It was nicknamed "the rich person's vacation camera". The subtle champagne color is just beautiful. The camera body also feels smooth and nice to hold. The body line is simply beautiful with all those smooth curves.
Earlier I mentioned how I dislike auto-focus. However, I feel that the auto film loading is quite a lovely feature. Loading film in a G1 is super easy. Just place the film inside and just extend the film lead to the other side until the you reach the orange mark. Then just close the film door and you are good to go. The camera will advance the film to the first shot. Easy peasy. Rewinding of the film is just as easy. The camera will do all the work for you so you don't have to turn the rewind knob yourself. It's super convenient when you are in a rush. For me, I take my time when I take film pictures so it's not an essential feature for me personally. I also treasure loading and rewinding of film as I feel they are part of analogue photography.
The body is also very sleek and small. With a lens attached it is still very light weight. It should be a great camera for travelling. Bringing a heavy pro SLR while travelling can be cumbersome. It's a pros for the G1 in the form factor department.
The G Lens:
Carl Zeiss made the G lens for Contax in Japan and they are considered to be the sharpest lens in the world. I can't really comment too much on them as I only had the G1 for a short period of time. However, I would say the G28 Biogon lens I used was sharp. The compact size of it also made it enjoyable to use. The pictures taken from it were pretty decent. The Planar G45 lens though I had it but I never used it. But Carl Zeiss is a reputable lens producer so the G lens should be very good.
What I don't like about the G1?
The biggest thing I do not like about the G1 is its slow, sloppy, and untrustworthy auto-focus. Every time you half-press the shutter button the lens would need to take a second to extend out. Then to take a picture (that is you have found the correct composition) you need to fully press down the shutter again. It feels very slow and unproductive. With auto-focus you also can't confirm 100% that your subject is in focus. The G1 uses a rangefinder like system but in reality it is not a rangefinder. The only possible way you can kind of know that you have locked in focus is by reading the distance scale. Which is my question that why bother? Shouldn't auto-focus help you to achieve perfect focus every time. With the slow focus on the G1, it is difficult to complete the task. There is also a manual control but I can say that it is hard to use and not really worth it at all. The G1 was designed to do fully auto focusing. Unfortunately, when both auto and manual focuses are not good then the camera is pointless.
I also don't like the electronic sound that the camera makes. Every time you half press the shutter button the lens makes a robotic sound that I personally not too fond of. It's a bit distracting and people around you can definitely hear it. And the shutter sound is also similar. The sounds are too artificial. I much prefer the mechanical sound.
The viewfinder is also horrible. It's hazy, dark and small. I felt that I was looking through a blackhole with a little light at the end. It's not too comfortable looking through it. A viewfinder for me is one of the most defining features on a camera. It's hard to compose with a poorly designed viewfinder. This is one of the biggest reasons why I decided to just move on from the G1. The only good thing about it is that inside you can see the shutter speed and distance scale which might be useful.
Another concern is as the entire camera is electronic. Contax is no longer in business. Without anymore spare parts should it break down it might not be repairable at all. The left over would be a titanium brick for display on the cabinet. These cameras are getting older now so it could be a concern.
I am a old school traditionalist. Some might find the fully automatic camera such as the G1 their eye candy. For me, I prefer all manual control so the G1 is not my cup of tea. Its slow auto focus is its biggest flaws which inhibit the effectiveness of the camera and it defeats the purpose of a fast shooting point and shoot.
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