Hi Paul, after a few months of research I finally pulled the trigger and got my hands on a green label G1 mint condition along the 28mm lens. I shoot mainly street photography so the 28mm was the smart choice, although I expect to get the 45 soon as people say it's one of the sharpest lenses out there. This was one of the videos that helped me choose my G1 so thank you. Can't wait to get my first scans back and see how they turned out!
thanks paul, glad to find this video. have had this camera for years now and know quite a lot about it, but have never used many of the options available. it's great to see them in action in this video. thank you again. very educational and the g lenses are amazing, second to none. thanks.
Thanks for a very thorough review of the Contax G1. I have a silver label G1 and a green label G1. I also have 21, 28, 45, and 90mm lenses. Since I bought a Leica M6 with 21, 35, and 90mm lenses, I have not used my Contax cameras much. Your video showed me G1 features that I did not know and/or features I had forgotten.
@@dkstudios3998 No difference in image quality. If I remember correctly, the main difference is that the green label can handle the 21 and 35mm focal length lenses.
@@Narsuitus Thank you so much! Lucky that I bought silver one cus I only will use 28 and 45. If possible, can I see some of your photos that you took with g1?
Hi Paul very nice and complete video on this beautiful camera. I remembered I red when it went on the market the issue of the autofocus mainly for the 90 mm. I was not aware of these info on the data tables that can be changed by the user and this green new version. Very interesting indeed. Thx for that.
Hi Paul, thank you for such a great and detailed video about Contax G1! I just bought one too and now it has become my favorite. I just have one question about the flash that I saw in your video because I'm planning to buy an off-brand flash too: is Sunpak a good and compatible flash with Contax G1? As far as I have researched, there is not much info about Sunpak going with Contax so I'm kinda lost :)
The flash in the video is a Contax TLA140, the Contax flashes work in TTL flash metering mode on the G1, I did a series of videos on the Contax flashes you might care to watch them. The silver flashes designed for the Contax G series cameras (TLA 140 and TLA 200) tend to be very expensive. The Contax SLR flashes which are black, tend to be cheaper and work with the G series cameras in TTL flash metering mode. A third party flash is unlikely to support TTL flash metering but should work, you will either have to use the metering system on the flash or use manual mode on the flash, it will not automatically set the shutter speed on the flash so you will have to use X sync mode. There is a PC sync connector on the camera so you can use a flash on a bracket with that.
Fairly good I would have thought as the camera does not have a mirror to bang in to the back of the lens. I would check the electrical contacts between the lens and the camera body and make sure they are clean.
Thank you for this superbly produced video. I love my G1, I’ve been using two silver versions for years with the 28mm lens. I’ve been tempted to get a 90mm lens because they’re so cheap, but have read about the problems. I didn’t quite get what you said about the fix to this by adjusting the camera, if I understood that correctly. Would you kindly clarify that for me? Thank you!
Well you did ask. The camera has an EEPROM chip that is used to hold configuration information, The list of lenses supported is stored in this. You can by adding entries to the table of lenses add support for the 35mm and 21mm lenses to the silver label G1. I did this with mine using the the Data from the Green Label G1. I noticed that the data in the tables for the lenses already in the table of the Silver Label G1 was different to that in the corresponding entries in the Green label G1. So it looks to me like the lens data entries for the camera lenses got updated in the Green label update, i.e. it was more than just adding support for new lenses. The data in the tables contains entries in the table for backlash Compensation according to the factory service manual this is a parameter used in motor control, The changes in the lens data mainly seem to relate to values called GI there are 4 of them each 16 bits long (an 8 bit low and 8 bit high byte) they have changed between the 2 cameras. My best guess is that they are some kind of speed band or distance band parameters used to control the motor when focusing the lens, but I cannot be certain. I have seen it claimed in a review of the G1 somewhere on line that some were issued with the wrong numbers programmed in them that caused them to focus at the wrong distance, I suspect that this may be evidence of this. The fix if I am correct is to program the correct numbers into the lens data tables on the EEPROM in the camera. There are numbers around on the web for the 21mm and 35mm lens table data but they are taken from a G2 and do not match the Data got from the Green label G1 exactly as they have different GI values, you also need the modified data for the other lenses 45mm, 28mm 90mm etc from the Green label G1.
You set the distance on the main focussing dial, i.e. Change the dial setting from AF and use the appropriate distance scale on the dial for the lens that you are using. You get a focus indication in the viewfinder from the focussing system, indicating forward or back focus or correct focus. The camera is not actually focussed until you press the shutter release.
Thanks for the video I just purchased a G1 with a 28mm, great experience so far.
Hi Paul, after a few months of research I finally pulled the trigger and got my hands on a green label G1 mint condition along the 28mm lens. I shoot mainly street photography so the 28mm was the smart choice, although I expect to get the 45 soon as people say it's one of the sharpest lenses out there. This was one of the videos that helped me choose my G1 so thank you. Can't wait to get my first scans back and see how they turned out!
Concise and excellent review of one of my favorite Contax cameras!
thanks paul, glad to find this video. have had this camera for years now and know quite a lot about it, but have never used many of the options available. it's great to see them in action in this video. thank you again. very educational and the g lenses are amazing, second to none. thanks.
I am glad that you enjoyed it
The best review of G1 ever
Thanks
@@contaxpaulharrison942 no problem 🙂
Thanks for a very thorough review of the Contax G1. I have a silver label G1 and a green label G1. I also have 21, 28, 45, and 90mm lenses. Since I bought a Leica M6 with 21, 35, and 90mm lenses, I have not used my Contax cameras much. Your video showed me G1 features that I did not know and/or features I had forgotten.
Glad you enjoyed it.
is there image quality difference between green and silver label for g1? Just worried I got a silver one
@@dkstudios3998
No difference in image quality. If I remember correctly, the main difference is that the green label can handle the 21 and 35mm focal length lenses.
@@Narsuitus Thank you so much! Lucky that I bought silver one cus I only will use 28 and 45. If possible, can I see some of your photos that you took with g1?
@@dkstudios3998 People always recommend the green label G1, but very few of them necessarily seek out the 21 or 35
Hi Paul very nice and complete video on this beautiful camera. I remembered I red when it went on the market the issue of the autofocus mainly for the 90 mm. I was not aware of these info on the data tables that can be changed by the user and this green new version. Very interesting indeed. Thx for that.
I am glad you enjoyed it. I did a video on updating the eeprom for the silver label version
@@contaxpaulharrison942 I will look for it :)
Very well made video… just missing a G1 now … but I am working on it :)
Excellent. Thank you.
Thank you so much , very informative
I am glad that you found it useful
Hi Paul, thank you for such a great and detailed video about Contax G1! I just bought one too and now it has become my favorite. I just have one question about the flash that I saw in your video because I'm planning to buy an off-brand flash too: is Sunpak a good and compatible flash with Contax G1? As far as I have researched, there is not much info about Sunpak going with Contax so I'm kinda lost :)
The flash in the video is a Contax TLA140, the Contax flashes work in TTL flash metering mode on the G1, I did a series of videos on the Contax flashes you might care to watch them. The silver flashes designed for the Contax G series cameras (TLA 140 and TLA 200) tend to be very expensive. The Contax SLR flashes which are black, tend to be cheaper and work with the G series cameras in TTL flash metering mode. A third party flash is unlikely to support TTL flash metering but should work, you will either have to use the metering system on the flash or use manual mode on the flash, it will not automatically set the shutter speed on the flash so you will have to use X sync mode. There is a PC sync connector on the camera so you can use a flash on a bracket with that.
Are all the issues fixed in the green label version? I'm kind of in doubt between the G1 green label or the G2..
You still get autofocus issues with the Green Label G1, the G2 is much better but a lot more expensive
Very comprehensive and honest review as always, Paul.
I had to put a lot of effort in to try and get mine to work a bit better.
If the shutter gets stuck with the 90mm what are the chances it gets stuck with the other ones
Fairly good I would have thought as the camera does not have a mirror to bang in to the back of the lens. I would check the electrical contacts between the lens and the camera body and make sure they are clean.
This can happen if the lens is not mounted correctly, try removing and re-mounting the lens.
Is there any image quality difference between silver and green label for G1?
The lenses are the same so it all comes down to whether the Green label focusses better in some scenarios, and that is not certain.
Thank you for this superbly produced video. I love my G1, I’ve been using two silver versions for years with the 28mm lens. I’ve been tempted to get a 90mm lens because they’re so cheap, but have read about the problems. I didn’t quite get what you said about the fix to this by adjusting the camera, if I understood that correctly. Would you kindly clarify that for me? Thank you!
Well you did ask. The camera has an EEPROM chip that is used to hold configuration information, The list of lenses supported is stored in this. You can by adding entries to the table of lenses add support for the 35mm and 21mm lenses to the silver label G1. I did this with mine using the the Data from the Green Label G1. I noticed that the data in the tables for the lenses already in the table of the Silver Label G1 was different to that in the corresponding entries in the Green label G1. So it looks to me like the lens data entries for the camera lenses got updated in the Green label update, i.e. it was more than just adding support for new lenses. The data in the tables contains entries in the table for backlash Compensation according to the factory service manual this is a parameter used in motor control, The changes in the lens data mainly seem to relate to values called GI there are 4 of them each 16 bits long (an 8 bit low and 8 bit high byte) they have changed between the 2 cameras. My best guess is that they are some kind of speed band or distance band parameters used to control the motor when focusing the lens, but I cannot be certain. I have seen it claimed in a review of the G1 somewhere on line that some were issued with the wrong numbers programmed in them that caused them to focus at the wrong distance, I suspect that this may be evidence of this. The fix if I am correct is to program the correct numbers into the lens data tables on the EEPROM in the camera. There are numbers around on the web for the 21mm and 35mm lens table data but they are taken from a G2 and do not match the Data got from the Green label G1 exactly as they have different GI values, you also need the modified data for the other lenses 45mm, 28mm 90mm etc from the Green label G1.
How do you manually focus the Contax G1 I just figure why put it on the camera if it sucks
You set the distance on the main focussing dial, i.e. Change the dial setting from AF and use the appropriate distance scale on the dial for the lens that you are using. You get a focus indication in the viewfinder from the focussing system, indicating forward or back focus or correct focus. The camera is not actually focussed until you press the shutter release.
You should test the G2, it is much better overall!
any ideas about who can repair an AX and an RTS3 ?
I think that you are likely to have spares issues without a donor camera.