chinon cg-5 - worth buying?

wrote:


Hi! thanks for answer. Well, it would be about 100 USD, and the whole
kit is:

CHINON CG-5 (excellent condition, at least that's what they say :-))
AUTO CHINON MULTI-COATED 1:1,7 50mm
EXAKTA WW-MACRO 1:2,8 28mm
CHINON AUTO Flash S-280
BAG (reasonable looking)

Hm, I must think it over again :-) To tell the truth I wanted to buy
Minolta X-700 or XG-M or Pentax ME Super, however, maybe this camera
is just as good as those, and I guess it is cheaper...


Just as good as ... probably not. However, if it *IS* in excellent
condition, it's probably worth what they're asking.

The only real value is if you'll be able to take the photos you want to
take with it.

wrote:


Well, I purchased it. Hope it was a good decision.

http://allegro.pl/show_item.php?item=219112148

Thanks a lot for help, take care :-)
Martin


If you're happy using it, it's a good decision.

110% of the value of any camera is the eye the photographer holds up to
the viewfinder.

On 2007-07-25 03:06:23 -0400, said:

Hi, I'm considering a purchase of Chinon CG-5 camera with lenses and
flash - does anyone use this model and could advise me if it is worth
buying? I would be grateful for help!
Martin

I see you bought the Chinon.... I hope it lives up to your
expectations. If its in good shape it should be able to take some fine
photographs.

I sold them. It was a good cheap camera but even back then really
didnt' hold up well to the big 4 Asian cameras (Nikon, Canon, Minolta
and Pentax). it was an improvment over the current Konica cameras.
Personally compared to the Minolta X700 which I thought at the time was
the bargain camera of the century, I don't think the Chinon held up
very well. The Minolta X700 was lLight years ahead of the Canon AE-1P
in features, usability and flash system. Nikon was still producing the
best Pro cameras, the F2 and F3. Canon was pushing the consumer AE1
and AE1-P through heavy advertising and consumer placement. They were
not the best cameras of the era though, but they were solid and sold by
the thousands.. I thought the ME Super packed a huge amount of
features (including TTL Flash and full manual mode) into a small
package, but I was shootimg with a Nikon F and Nikon FM back then and
was used to dials.. the buttons on the ME didn't seem intuitive enough
They still didn't on my N90s. I am glad the D70s went back to more
dials. From this point the Chinon was perhaps more useable, but the
shutter and mirror were clunky at best and the viewfinder was dull and
lacked precision as I remember. But, I never had a customer bring one
back or complain about the camera... which is more than I can say about
the Canon's or Pentax's.

Good luck and enjoy your "new" camera.

--
Jim

Well, I should get in my hands the kit in the following week, I'm
going to test it and let you know if I like it. Of course I know that
the photos are taken by the person holds the camera, the camera itself
is just a tool - however it is nice if the tool is good :-) Happy to
hear that there were no complaints about Chinon equipment, hope my
CG-5 will be reliable and will serve me for a long time. I was looking
for second kit (my first is Minolta 7000i) for over a half year, and I
would like to start taking photos at last. I heard a rather positive
opinions concernig Chinon (what's mo I have never heard anything
negative) so I think that it would be it!

Jim wrote:
On 2007-07-25 03:06:23 -0400, said:


I thought the ME Super packed a huge amount of features
(including TTL Flash and full manual mode) into a small package, but I
was shootimg with a Nikon F and Nikon FM back then and was used to
dials.. the buttons on the ME didn't seem intuitive enough They still
didn't on my N90s. I am glad the D70s went back to more dials. From
this point the Chinon was perhaps more useable, but the shutter and
mirror were clunky at best and the viewfinder was dull and lacked
precision as I remember. But, I never had a customer bring one back or
complain about the camera... which is more than I can say about the
Canon's or Pentax's.


The Pentax is a nice camera - I've had several - but does not have TTL flash
by any stretch of the imagination.

Manual, Aperture Priority AE, Flash Sync and Bulb being the only exposure
modes. There is a second pin on the flash shoe for Pentax system flashes which
gives you the great benefit of a viewfinder indicator for flash ready and
nothing else.

Bad points: there's no judas window to see the current aperture setting,
there's no DOF preview, the metering is basic and the buttons for shutter
speed aren't very pleasant to use.

Plus points: it's small, light, easy to use and has some stunning glassware
available for it.

Richard Polhill wrote:
Jim wrote:
On 2007-07-25 03:06:23 -0400, said:


I thought the ME Super packed a huge amount of features (including
TTL Flash and full manual mode) into a small package, but I was
shootimg with a Nikon F and Nikon FM back then and was used to dials..
the buttons on the ME didn't seem intuitive enough They still didn't
on my N90s. I am glad the D70s went back to more dials. From this
point the Chinon was perhaps more useable, but the shutter and mirror
were clunky at best and the viewfinder was dull and lacked precision
as I remember. But, I never had a customer bring one back or complain
about the camera... which is more than I can say about the Canon's or
Pentax's.


The Pentax is a nice camera - I've had several - but does not have TTL
flash by any stretch of the imagination.

I think sometimes people confuse the ME Super with the Super A (Super
Program) which did have TTL.

Same camera - Super A worldwide and Super Program in the U.S.

Pudentame wrote:
Richard Polhill wrote:
Jim wrote:
On 2007-07-25 03:06:23 -0400, said:


I thought the ME Super packed a huge amount of features (including
TTL Flash and full manual mode) into a small package, but I was
shootimg with a Nikon F and Nikon FM back then and was used to
dials.. the buttons on the ME didn't seem intuitive enough They still
didn't on my N90s. I am glad the D70s went back to more dials. From
this point the Chinon was perhaps more useable, but the shutter and
mirror were clunky at best and the viewfinder was dull and lacked
precision as I remember. But, I never had a customer bring one back
or complain about the camera... which is more than I can say about
the Canon's or Pentax's.


The Pentax is a nice camera - I've had several - but does not have TTL
flash by any stretch of the imagination.

I think sometimes people confuse the ME Super with the Super A (Super
Program) which did have TTL.

Same camera - Super A worldwide and Super Program in the U.S.

Ah that might do it. Cheers.

I tested the kit - and I must say that I'm really happy with it - it;s
a really fine, friendly and well-designed camera. Working with it is a
pleasure :-)

Chinon CG-5 is definetely worth buying :-)

wrote:
I tested the kit - and I must say that I'm really happy with it - it;s
a really fine, friendly and well-designed camera. Working with it is a
pleasure :-)

Chinon CG-5 is definetely worth buying :-)


Very good. I'm, pleased you found it a pleasure.

Have fun.

Rich