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What Olympus and Panasonic could learn from old cameras: Contax G2

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[shoplink 24194 ebay][/shoplink]

Something I really do not like that much is how often Panasonic and Olympus keep reiterating the same camera design. I guess they need some suggestions from us what you think? :)
Of course mirrorless is a new world and you don’t have to copy the past to develop the new cameras. But there are a couple of interesting technologies that could still be intriguing in modern cameras. One of them is the [shoplink 24194 ebay]Contax G2 (Click here to see that camera on eBay)[/shoplink]. I already mentioned the camera here and there in these last three years. But today I will give you a greater idea of the camera.  The camera was really advanced at the time. It had autofocus(!) which is really something you didn’t see in rangefinder cameras before.  Top silent shutter, few and very useful buttons and superb lenses.

But there is one single feature that Olympus and Panasonic can learn from. The optical viewfinder changes magnification depending on what lens you use!  Ken Rockwell made that table:

Lens
Finder
Magnification
90mm
114%
45mm
57%
35mm
44%
28mm
35%

Electronic viewfinders are the future but you still can find extremely appealing solution if you want a camera with optical viewfinders. Now dream with me. Imagine a pro Olympus m43 camera with optical hybrid viewfinder a là [shoplink 19929]Fuji X100[/shoplink] but that can change the magnification depending on the prime lens you use. The question to you know is:

How much would you like an Olympus/Panasonic camera with a hybrid viewfinder and switchable magnification for prime lenses?

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One more nice thing about the G camera are these top quality and nice lenses (there is even a zoom!):
[shoplink 26610 ebay]Contax G 18mm lens (Click here to see it on eBay)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 26612 ebay]Contax G 21mm lens (Click here to see it on eBay)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 26613 ebay]Contax G 28mm lens (Click here to see it on eBay)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 26614 ebay]Contax G 35mm lens (Click here to see it on eBay)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 26615 ebay]Contax G 35-70mm zoom lens (Click here to see it on eBay)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 26616 ebay]Contax G 45mm lens (Click here to see it on eBay)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 26617 ebay]Contax G 90mm lens (Click here to see it on eBay)[/shoplink].

And of course her eis the link to the [shoplink 24194 ebay]Contax G2 (eBay)[/shoplink]. P.S.: The Contax brand is dead. Hey Zeiss, why not bring it back to live?

Contax G2 Reviews: Ken Rockwell, ePhotozine, Steve Huff and Photo.net.

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