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Contax G2

I wonder if anyone can offer any suggestions to deal with the following:

Suppose you're taking low-light indoor pictures with your G2 on a tripod, and suppose you've elected to use a fairly wide aperture to reduce depth of field. This means that you have to be careful about where you focus your camera, and most rangefinder users know that what you want to do is lock focus on the part of the shot you want to be sharpest, recompose and shoot. The problem is trying to do this when your camera is attached to a tripod. I simply can't loosen the ball head, lock focus, recompose and tighten the ball head all while keeping the shutter release (or focus lock button) half-depressed. This is one circumstance where I wish the focusing didn't reset to infinity every time you let your finger off, or there were a real "lock focus" feature kind of like the AEL switch, so that the lens could be locked in position without one having to keep one's finger on the trigger. (There probably is and I just don't know about it.) Short of getting out a tape measure and using the manual focus function, are there any simple solutions to this situation? ("Buy an M6" is not a simple solution for me . . )

Thanks.

Kirk
 
Kirk, rather than trying to do a four-handed job with only two hands, I thinks that's the time to use the <i>manual focus</i> and <i>self-timer</i> controls on your G2 to get a sharp focus and eliminate any shake in the shutter release process.
 
I have a similar question, regarding focusing with the cable release. I noticed that it's not possible to depress the button on the cable release halfway, or should I just assume it will have focused enough?
 
You're right: operations like this can be fussy and frustrating. I've read some other replies to your query, and think the suggestions are good, manual focus in particular, although at near distances I'm not sure how precise you can expect the G2 manual focus to be: It seems a little crude to me on my G1. I can understand that getting an M6 is not a viable option (you still may have to focus and recompose anyway, as you have focussing only in the center spot, although you'd be spared the half-depress hassles). Slr's really shine in such applications, especially (but not excusively)ones whose mirrors will lock up. It's amazing how cheaply a very good functioning SLR can be obtained with an excellent 50mm lens. You don't get the elegance of a G camera, but you sure get function in situations like I think you're talking about. Some manual ones are nice and cheap but, of course, you can focus on antyhing in the frame you want, *after* composing, and check your depth of field visually, rather than guessing or consulting tables; you can observe effects of different points of focus within the same composition, too, and do all this without messing with the ball head, cursing and starting over, etc. The whole operation is more precise and user friendly, IMO, for this type of work. So you don't really have to dump thousands into a Leica system, I don't think. I'm not arguing for slr's over rangefinders in general, but distinguishing between tools best for a given job. I love my G1, too.
 
Kirk, there's a "lock focus" feature" : whilst you depress the focus lock button in SAF mode you turn the ring CCW to MF mode, then the manual focus keeps the focus distance in memory as long as you need it ; then you have all the time to recompose your picture and shoot.
 
Frédéric, I'll have to try that. I must confess to never having used the "manual" focus feature on the G2, but your suggestion sounds perfect. Many thanks for all the responses.

Kirk
 
Can someone explain to me why the G2 fires unfocused in SAF when I holdtherear AF button in?
 
Can someone explain to me why the G2 fires unfocused in SAF when I hold the rear AF button in?
 
I have got some small scratches on the glass/plastic ? in the eyepiece of my G2 - very irriteting. Does anyone know how to get rid of them or is it possible to change the glass ?

Jesper Denmark
 
The Owner's Manual has some clear directions for servicing the plastic viewfinder lens. Basically, you use the little nib on the strap buckle inserted into the small groove on the side of the black viewfinder body to snap it open. Then you can clean or replace the lens itself and snap the viewfinder body back on. I'd guess that new viewfinder lenses are available for a couple of bucks from Contax Parts at (800) 526-0266 Extension 4361 or 4475 in New Jersey in the U.S.
 
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