The model
Contax G1
Kyocera · From 1994. Superseded by the G2 in 1996; G-system production ended in 2005
An autofocus body with interchangeable Zeiss lenses and no reflex mirror. It looks like a rangefinder but has no optical rangefinder to focus with. Six of the seven G lenses work on a green-label body; the 35–70mm zoom works on no G1.
- Format
- 35mm film
- Made by
- Kyocera
What it was
Kyocera launched it in 1994 at 2,210 dollars with the 45mm f/2 Planar, or just under 1,150 pounds for the body alone in Britain. What it offered was new: interchangeable Zeiss lenses, autofocus, and a viewfinder that changed its angle of view as you changed lenses, all in a body the shape of a rangefinder and the weight of a small SLR.
It is important to be clear about what it is not. There is no optical rangefinder in it. The finder is a real-image zoom finder and the focusing is done by a passive autofocus system with its own windows and a long baseline — the camera measures the distance, then drives the lens to it, and it never looks through the lens to see whether the image is sharp. That design decision explains most of what people love and most of what people complain about.
The G2 arrived two years later with a faster shutter, a faster motor drive and a hybrid autofocus system, and the G1 became the cheap way into the Zeiss G lenses. That is mostly what it is bought for now.
What it is good for
The Zeiss G lenses, which is the honest answer. The 45mm f/2 Planar and the 28mm f/2.8 Biogon were part of the original system, and the G1 is the cheap door into both.
Working small with good glass. No reflex mirror means no mirror slap, and a body flatter than an SLR taking the same pictures.
Anyone who wants autofocus but not an SLR. That was the original pitch and it is still a narrow field.
Manual film speed, which not every camera in this class offers — ISO 6 to 6400, so pushed and hand-rolled film is not a problem.
Where it falls short: the autofocus does not look through the lens and needs contrast to work at all, so blank walls, plain skies, horizontal lines and backlight will defeat it. The 90mm is the lens that exposes every calibration error. The 35–70mm zoom does not work on this body at any price. And a main board that fails beyond repair ends the camera, which is the risk with any electronic camera of this generation and worth pricing in.
Troubleshooting
It hunts and will not lock
Point it at a blank wall, a cloudless sky or a run of horizontal railings and it will hunt, because passive triangulation needs vertical contrast and there is none. Shooting into the light does the same. This is the design, not a defect, and the test that proves it is simply finding an edge with some contrast and watching it snap.
Everything is sharp behind the subject, especially with the 90mm
Real, and usually fixable. The autofocus measures through its own windows, not through the lens, so nothing checks the result on film. If the calibration is out, the 90mm's shallow depth of field shows the error that the 45mm hides.
The G1 has a hidden Manual Adjustment Mode with per-lens data banks. Owners have used it to load lens data, but how to correct autofocus from it on a G1 is not clearly documented, so recalibration is a job for an independent technician. It is an adjustment, not a broken camera.
It randomly rewinds mid-roll, or the advance runs with no film in it
Batteries first: owners on Photrio and Flickr have cured mid-roll rewinds with fresh CR2 cells, and a stuck manual rewind button is worth checking. If the motor runs with no film, or spins on its own, suspect the electronics. The repairer awayrepairs traces that pattern to a burnt-out motor-driver chip, which it replaces. Independent technician.
The body does nothing with a lens on it
Flat CR2 cells first. Fit two fresh ones from the same packet. Then the lens-to-body contacts, which clean up at home. Only after both is it worth talking about electronics.
The body makes focusing noises and the lens does not move
Suspect the autofocus gearbox. awayrepairs has published a G1 repair with exactly these symptoms: worn gears, a worn contact brush and oxidised contacts. Independent technician.
Streaks or fogging along one edge
Foam back-door gasket, perished. This camera genuinely has one and pre-cut kits are sold for it. Home fix.
One warning about those kits: at least one supplier's listing text mentions a mirror cushion. The G1 has no mirror. Ignore that part.
My silver-label body will not take the 21mm or the 35mm
See the green-label explanation under What goes wrong. This is the most misunderstood thing about the camera and it is not a fault.
What goes wrong, and what fixes it
The green label, explained properly
The green sticker in the film chamber does not mark a different camera, a different model, or different hardware. It marks a body whose stored lens-data memory includes the 21mm and the 35mm.
A silver-label body can be given the same data by hand, through the camera's own hidden Manual Adjustment Mode, by entering values into two lens banks. The procedure is documented, it is reversible, and nothing is saved until you confirm. Kyocera stopped servicing G cameras when it left the camera business, so this is the route that remains.
Two things people get wrong about it. The green label does not unlock the 16mm Hologon — that lens has no autofocus and was one of the four lenses the original G1 accepted, although at least one widely read review says otherwise. And it does not unlock the 35–70mm zoom, which works on no G1 at all: the zoom needs seven electrical contacts and the G1 has five, green label or not.
Autofocus inaccuracy, especially with the 90mm
The autofocus never checks focus through the lens, so any calibration error goes straight onto the film. Recalibration is technician work. Not a fault to walk away from, but a reason to test with the lens you actually intend to use.
Autofocus gearbox failure
The body makes the noise, the lens does not rack. awayrepairs documents one such repair, with worn gears and contacts. Technician.
Erratic winder
Random mid-roll rewind, advance running with no film, the motor spinning on its own. Try fresh cells first, since owners report weak batteries causing mid-roll rewinds. If that does not cure it, awayrepairs describes a failed motor-driver chip behind this set of symptoms. Independent technician.
Lens fitted, nothing happens
On a G1 the first suspect is the pair of CR2 cells. They are still sold everywhere. Fit two fresh cells from the same packet. A CR123A is a different, larger cell and is no substitute. After the cells, wipe the contacts on the lens and in the mount. Neither needs a technician.
A leak along the edge of the frame
The door gasket on a G1 is foam, and after thirty years it may well have gone to crumbs or to tar. Pre-cut replacements are sold and fitting them is a job for the kitchen table.
Repair, and where it stops
A G1 is not unrepairable. Independent technicians who know the G system repair winders, gearboxes and focus calibration, and awayrepairs has even replaced a failed motor-driver chip. The electronics are the hard limit: Kyocera no longer services the camera, parts are scarce, and a main board or processor that cannot be repaired ends the camera. And because the G1 is the cheaper of the two G bodies, a full overhaul can cost more than buying another one.
Figures that do not belong to the G1
A 1/6000 shutter, two CR123A cells, contrast-detection autofocus, focus motors in the lenses and 1/120 flash sync are all wrong for this camera. The G1 tops out at 1/2000, runs on two CR2 cells, uses passive external autofocus driven from the body and syncs at 1/100. A specification that says otherwise is not reliable.
Every one of these we list has been through the checks on this page first, and what we found is written on the listing.
Written once and kept up to date. It applies to every example of this model, not only to the one in the photograph. The facts were last checked on 23 September 2026, against the maker’s own published figures where they exist; where sources disagree, the page says so.
More like this: 35mm film cameras, or every model we have written up.
Specification
Mount — Contax G bayonet, electromechanical. Lenses have no focus motor; the body drives them
Lenses — 16mm f/8 Hologon (no autofocus), 21mm f/2.8 Biogon, 28mm f/2.8 Biogon, 35mm f/2 Planar, 45mm f/2 Planar, 90mm f/2.8 Sonnar. The 21mm and 35mm need a green-label body. The 35–70mm Vario-Sonnar does NOT work on any G1, green label or not: the zoom needs seven electrical contacts and the G1 mount has five
Shutter — electronically controlled vertical-travel focal plane. Aperture priority 16 s to 1/2000; manual 1 s to 1/2000 plus B. Flash sync 1/100
Aperture — set on the lens; the range depends on the lens (f/2 to f/16 on the 45mm)
Film speed — DX 25–5000, with manual override ISO 6–6400
Focus — passive, with a long baseline and its own windows, single or continuous, with a low-light assist beam. Not through the lens
Viewfinder — real-image zoom finder that changes angle with the lens fitted. 0.57x magnification and about 90 per cent coverage with the 45mm. Automatic parallax correction
Flash — hot shoe, dedicated TLA 140. Guide number 14 at ISO 100. The flash takes one CR123A of its own. No flash built in
Power — two CR2 3 V lithium cells. Not CR123A
Weight — about 460 g body without batteries. Sources disagree slightly: 460 g in one published review, 450 g on Wikipedia
Dimensions — 133 x 77 x 42 mm
Here now
None here at the moment. They come through a few times a year, and this page stays up so you can find it when one does.