Contax G series lenses

The 21mm, 28mm and 45mm lenses are supremely sharp lenses and will never disappoint.  If you opt for the 21mm, make sure you buy its dedicated viewfinder!  The 35mm is great for street photography though it is the softest of the G-series lenses but even so, it's arguably slightly sharper then the ML 35mm and Zeiss 35 f2.8.  I don't have any experience with the 16mm so can't comment on it.  The 90mm is another sharp offering and is arguably the sharpest of them all.  The 35-70 is not a lens I'd recommend as its slow and fiddly to zoom.

If you plan to use a G1 instead of a G2, you must make sure it is the green-labelled (inside the film chamber) version as you can't use the 21mm or 35mm lenses on the original, sliver-labelled G1 (the 35-70 is only compatible with the G2).  A further benefit of the green-labelled G1 is that it's either a later factory version or went back to Kyocera for modification to accommodate the later lenses (except the zoom); that should give the camera a slightly longer lease-of life.  I have had to junk both of my silver label G1s but the later version and G2 are still working well, so far.  I have noticed wear to the AF link on all the lenses which may eventually become an issue; it may also compromise the use of manual adapters for use with digital cameras.  

The cameras are among the easiest (and speediest) rangefinders to use but it's the quality of glass that's exceptional, even outdoing Leica's offerings for image quality.  You won't be disappointed with the colour, contrast and sharpness of your piccies though on a digital camera you will need a form of 'focus assist' to ensure correct focus and sharpness as the sharpness of all the lenses is very unforgiving.

This may be one of those times where I'll be going about it backwards, and maybe even going into it with an idea that I won't have the film component of the digital/film dual role I've tried to shoot for on the hardware side. It may end up that I'll haunt places like Roberts or KEH so that if I do end up with a body at some point, it will be purchased to include at least a 180 day warranty to get some assurances it will be working gear and not shelf candy. I knew the basics about the body label color designations, and over the past year or so I've passed on several price tempting G1's bodies or body and single lens setups, because they weren't green label. I wasn't fully aware of the G1 to G2 differences, but it doesn't sound like I'd be pushed to get a 2nd gen body for the sake of what updates that would offer. I can't see using a zoom on a RF camera as a necessity... and certainly not desirable for me to own one anyway.

When it comes to the ultra wide end of the spectrum, I've got every nook and cranny covered as it is with the 15/18/21/24 range with either/both Contax and Yashica lenses in C/Y, and I'd prefer to have the extra control offered in SLR or mirrorless bodies anyway, so I'd likely end up with only the 28, the 45, and the 90 on a G1, and possibly a 35mm later on if the price was reasonable. I want absolute control over through-the-lens focus, and can magnify if needed, so a rangefinder wouldn't offer anything close to that. I'd be better off staying within the available viewfinder framing options already in the camera.

The G adapter I ended up with is a Metabones model, so hopefully it's of better construction and won't suffer most of the issues I've seen mentioned about the 'generic' adapters for fit or finish or the trouble they seem to have with mount lockups or 'chewing up' the focus screws on lenses. There's a Biogon 28,2.8 on the way, and I'm guessing it may be one of the last off the line, with a 784xxxx serial number. It certainly looks new, so time will tell if it performs as good as it looks. If it all goes whacky while I try out this path, I'm fairly sure I won't loose money if I sold off what I'd have into it, so at the very least, I can try to stay above the red line for now on the lens side of the equation.

I do wish that someone had stepped in to do for the Contax G1/G2 models, what Cosina did for Leica screw mounts (then, M-Mount too) by introducing the Voigtländer Bessa line for film bodies, or even what Epson's R-D1/R-D1s/R-D1x did as alternatives for digital Leica models. The Zeiss Ikon zipped right past the G-Mount and decided on M-Mount Leica glass, so that was a bust from day one as a way to save their own, then-current, lens line. That, to me, seemed like a massively missed opportunity. If Sigma stepped in (during the Yashica/Tomioka years, no less) to produce the N-Mount glass for the N/NX/N1 cameras, then obviously there were avenues to follow beyond Kyocera to continue manufacturing Zeiss glass to their particular specs for another manufacturer to take over for a newly designed G-Mount body. Too may non-functional bodies and zero replacement electrical or electronics parts at reasonable cost doesn't give me loads of 'warm fuzzies'.

Yep... I came across that one too, and it's one of those that seems to be plagued with the lockup and 'chew up' issues. There's a thread on DPreview that has several posters who commented on it happening, and varying success on fixes. Other than the cost of the Biogon, I've got less than $50 into the adapter, and this is one time I don't mind doing a baby-steps approach when the TechArt is considerably more expensive IF you can find one new. There's only one review on Amazon, and at 2 stars, it doesn't look like it was well liked - plus, it's not currently available through them on the site. B&H or Adorama don't even list it anymore. I'll chance a used Metabones or Novoflex, but I'm hesitant on any other brands unless they're new.

I seem to be at a stand-still. The Biogon lens has arrived and looks to be in perfect working order, but the used Metabones adapter will not lock the lens into it, and there's not any conceivable way I'm going to attempt a rudimentary test with the wobbling pair of them on an actual camera. I'd have to have 3 or 4 hands to hold things in place and still be able to adjust focus, so now I'm stuck at the warranty return stage, and need to find a replacement adapter.

I may end doing what I really didn't want to, just to get a fair idea of what I'm getting into - and buy a cheap substitute until I can assess what I'd use for a permanent adapter. Trying to stay out of the path of a giant rolling bolder isn't always as simple as a well calculated side-step.