contax g2 35mm rangefinder w/carl ziess 90f2.8 &45f2.0 Start Price USD 1,249.00 Current Price USD 1,249.00 Time Left - Bid Count 0 Buy It Now Price USD 1,399.00 Reserve Price - Start Time Friday, August 29, 2008 End Time Monday, September 08, 2008 Location brooklyn, NY See more about 'contax g2 35mm rangefinder w/carl ziess 90f2.8 &45f2.0' Description mint condition!!!Contax G2 are interchangeable-lens rangefinder cameras sold by Kyocera under the Contax brand in competition with the Leica M7, Voigtlander Bessa R, and Konica Hexar RF. The G1 was introduced in 1994 with the G2 replacing it in 1996. In 2005, Kyocera announced it would cease all activity related to the manufacture of Contax cameras at the end of the year, effectively spelling the end of the G system. The titanium-bodied G-series cameras do not use the traditional Leica M mount seen on many rangefinder cameras, but the "G"-mount, an electronic autofocus mount. Critics were quick to accuse the camera of not being a "true" (mechanical) rangefinder, since it used autofocus and electronically-linked mechanisms.[citation needed] But the AF mechanism in the G-series does indeed use a twin-window system much like that of the older mechanical rangefinders — only in electronic form. The lenses made by Zeiss for the G-series quickly established it as a camera of worth: the original 45mm f/2 Planar was joined by a 28mm f/2.8 Biogon and a 90mm f/2.8 Sonnar; a 21 f/2.8 Biogon, 16mm f/8 Hologon, 35mm f/2 Planar and 35-70mm f/3.5-5.6 Vario-Sonnar were added later. The 45mm Zeiss Planar in particular gained renown as the second-sharpest 35mm camera lens ever tested by the Swedish test site Photodo — outclassing even the illustrious Leica 50mm Summicron-M. Compared with the original G1, the G2 has improved autofocus performance and higher top shutter speeds of 1/4000 sec in manual mode and 1/6000 sec in aperture priority mode. The manual focus wheel was moved from the top deck to the front, to about the same position as where the focusing wheel was located on classic Dresden and Stuttgart Contax rangefinders. The G2 auto-focus also has two focusing modes: continuous, which constantly adjusts focus as the camera is moved; and single, which is a safety mode, focussing as the focus button is pressed (or shutter release half-pressed), and maintaining this reading until the shutter is released. If the camera fails to find focus in this mode, the shutter cannot be released. [edit] Place a Bid!