In my effort to downsize everything I own, I decided to sell my Contax G1 camera and two Carl Zeiss lenses designed for the G System, the Carl Zeiss Biogon 2,8/28 and the Contax Carl Zeiss Planar T 45mm. This rangefinder and its lenses are still considered among the best in terms of providing crisp images taken on analog film. (One reviewer who loves the G System, Ken Rockwell, disses the G1, but I found it to be a tough workhorse.) They also have a cult following, and for good reason. I used my Contax system around the world, from Vietnam to Egypt to the Northwest. I loved how it could spontaneously capture people I met. Its unassuming size and its autofocus feature made it invaluable to my street photography projects.
The good news is, I am going to sell the entire set and buy a Fuji X-Pro 1 (did I say downsize?). This digital and beautifully crafted tool mimics the world-renowned and religiously revered Leica M6, a camera I also own and will carry to the grave. These two are frequently compared, and the critics tend to agree that the Fuji, which can take M6-series Leica lenses with an adapter, is a perfectly designed camera body that caters to the desires and needs of photographers who want manual control. The Fuji X-Pro 1 also holds its own with the Leica M9, according to some. Cameras truly can be like children, but sometimes it is best to let them leave the nest and try new things.
What Beautiful Light 
The deed is done. I have sold my Contax “children” down the river to the store where I first bought them. I am now the proud owner of an X-Pro 1 (though I was nearly talked into buying, and convinced in person, the newer and better designed X series for Fuji rangefinders). Enough consumerism. Time to just take pictures with my old M-series lenses for my Leica and this new tool.
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