Plus all three lenses I mentioned are much more suitable to traditional street photography. The Contax G users I know as well as the ones online usually stick with the popular and affordable G lenses such as the 45mm f/2 Planar and if they want wide they usually go for either the 28mm f/2.8 or 21mm f/2.8 Biogon. I bet most hardcore Contax G users had these same thoughts: They probably said to themselves (like I did) hmmm, I sure would love to get my hands on the Hologon! Then reason sets in and they might have said…well it’s too expensive and/or what am I going to do with a 16mm f/8 lens? Trying to master this lens I feel will help me become a better photographer! As a person used to fast lenses and low light, I found myself overexposing shots. That slow fixed aperture is not only hard on night photography but as I learned in my YouTube video, it’s also restrictive for bright daylight. That is, it’s very wide at 16mm and it has a fixed aperture of f/8. As mentioned before, it is the most expensive G lens and it’s also got a very specific and restrictive specs. And if you go online in the forums you can also decipher that not many G users there have them either. None of the Contax G users that I know personally has one. Where it is a “mystery” is the fact that while it’s a lens Contax G users know, it’s also the lens that few G users own. It’s out there and every hardcore Contax G user knows about it. The 16mm f/8 Hologon is no mystery really. It’s still low budget, don’t get me wrong, but I’m trying! ? It really seemed like a specialty lens.įor those of you who prefer a more dynamic experience here it is! As I’ve mentioned many times, I’m not a videographer but I’m trying to improve the video production as you’ll see. The 16mm Hologon was never a consideration really due to its price and rather restrictive specs. I mostly used the G1 with the 28mm f/2.8 Biogon and the 35mm f/2 Planar. Yes, the G2 has better AF but I could live with the G1 mostly adequate autofocus and its smaller size. While the main complaint about the G1 seemed to be on its autofocus performance, I never really felt it was an issue for me. I eventually got another G1 and also a G2, and I got these when the tide was low and prices were super low on film bodies. Don’t forget the mid 2000’s were an incredible time for digital camera development and I was bit hard by the digital bug then! However, as I do too often, I sold the outfit to buy other equipment. I used that combo for about a year and loved the results. As with most people, my first lens for it was the superb 45mm f/2 Planar. I lusted for the Contax G1 the first time I saw it in the photography magazines in the 1990s but I did not get my first copy till 2005. The G1’s top shutter speed is 1/2000 while the G2 is 1/6000 but the most noticeable difference between the two cameras is the improved autofocus performance of the G2. The G1 was followed up in 1996 by the Contax G2 which improvements and refinements such as a higher top shutter speed. The camera is handsomely finished in titanium and oozed appeal from nearly all camera lovers for its luxurious looks as well as for the superb line up of Carl Zeiss lenses made for it. It is a high end rangefinder-styled (not a true rangefinder) autofocus, interchangeable lens camera. The Contax G1 is the original Contax G legend introduced by Kyocera in 1994. But first a little bit of my experiences… In this posting I will give you my images and impressions on the Contax G1 and the legendary 16mm f/8 Carl Zeiss Hologon ultra-wide angle lens. Good day you awesome and war torn camera geeks! If you have seen any of my YouTube videos you will hear me often say that the reason you don’t know what the next Camera Legend will be is because I don’t know and that is no truer than today!