Those who can afford to pay a lot of money to be fashionable.Those who truly want, and can afford, a top notch film experience, using a robust and high quality camera.So who is buying these and why do I say you shouldn’t? I believe there are three general groups buying today: They were expensive when new, and very highly regarded. These cameras are made of titanium and glass, with excellent Zeiss optics. Contax was a high end brand in the 1990s. I should also make it clear… these are not cheap, plasticky, toss-it-in-your-beach-bag compact cameras. If you think this is insane, you are correct. A T2 goes for around the same, and a T3 for even more! The current auction price on eBay is ~€1.5k.
#CONTAX G2 REVIEW FULL#
It is hard to get historical pricing data for these cameras in the second hand market, but the King of Velvia does mention that in 2009 it was possible to buy the full G2 kit for one tenth the price of a new Leica system, so I am guessing around €500. I am adamantly not a fan of his website, however it does have archival value. Of course Ken Rockwell also claims the G2 is the best camera in the world, but I do not want to overstate his influence on the situation. The Olympus Mju-ii and various Yashica T cameras may fetch a few hundred euro, but these two Contaxes regularly exchange hands for north of €1k. These two cameras can generally be considered as “peak” compact bubble. Richard Gere and Emily Blunt have been photographed with their Contax G2’s, while Kendall Jenner, Chris Helmsworth, and Milla Jovovich prefer the more pocketable T2 or T3. Some of this is driven by analogue nostalgia, helped by filters on Instagram and VSCO, and some is driven by celebrity influence. In the last seven to ten years this has seen a steep rise in prices of some previously bargain-basket cameras. FYI, there are screenshots of eBay listings in this article, they are not ads!Ĭompact and Point-and-Shoot film cameras are experiencing what some would call a boom and some would call a bubble.