Ebay Canonet GIII 1.7

[mtnbkr]

After a year of getting outbidded on Canonets, I finally got one for a good price. I paid $33 after shipping. Honestly, I expected it to have problems, but was still hopeful. What I got was a nearly perfect specimen. Other than needing a normal cleaning and new light seals, it's perfect. The leatherette is perfect, the case is in excellent shape, the lens is mark-free, etc. I wish I had time to work on it...

Chris

 

[jjstafford]

Chris, may I ask what is so special about the Canonet? I've only recently become aware of people seeking them. I ask because a fellow I work with gave his Canonet to his daughter for a photography 101 class and they asked her to use one of the loaner SLRs instead. Call me silly. I don't mind. Just curious!

It is much like the Petri 7S, isn't it? (The Petri was my first camera. I still have it and like it very much.)

 

[joeyk49]

Congrats, Chris! That's a pretty good deal!

I picked up a Minolta rangefinder on Ebay for $25.00, but it came with a couple of small spots on the lens. Still haven't tested it out yet. I'm hoping they're not going to effect the images from it.

 

[mtnbkr]

Chris, may I ask what is so special about the Canonet? I've only recently become aware of people seeking them. I ask because a fellow I work with gave his Canonet to his daughter for a photography 101 class and they asked her to use one of the loaner SLRs instead. Call me silly. I don't mind. Just curious!
It is much like the Petri 7S, isn't it? (The Petri was my first camera. I still have it and like it very much.)

Honestly, I don't find it to be as "special" as others do. To me, it's a good way to try "rangefinder" photography and have something smaller than my SLRs. It seems to be very well made and it's certainly compact. It'll probably end up as my "walking around" camera if it delivers good images.

The only reason I can see for not letting the girl use the Canonet is *maybe* they require full exposure control. The Canonet is shutter priority only unless you use an external meter. Otherwise, I don't understand what their problem is. Even in "auto", it's more manual than my Nikon and only slightly less so than my OM-1.

I don't know much about the Petri 7S, but based on what little I've read, I'd say they're not too far apart.

joeyk49, Thanks. I've been eyeballing rangefinder auctions and just couldn't bring myself to pay some of the prices. Hopefully, yours will work out. They seem to be neat little cameras.

Chris

 

[df cardwell]

Back in the day, the Canonet was going out of the shops and making pictures, and not coming back for repair. It earned a reputation as a great camera.

It was a well known bargain.

As a camera seller way back then, it was a no brainer camera to sell. EVERYBODY could use it, it never failed, and everybody loved it. It was just the right size. And if a customer couldn't afford it, or didn't like its complexity, or just wanted a smaller camera, there was the Canonet 28 ! Both used the flash that coupled to the focusing. Worked great.

Remember these things didn't start out as desirable: they earned their reputation.

It has an accurate rangefinder, reliable shutter, good metering and an excellent lens. The quickload system worked very well. In communities where B&W photography was done, it became a proven, inexpensive camera. And as films improved, the camera just got better.

 

[mtnbkr]

The quickload system worked very well

How could I forget! I became familiar with the QL system when I started using my dad's old TL-QL. Considering how many rolls of film I didn't shoot through my K1000 (I was an impatient kid, ok) due to misloading, the QL system was a godsend.

Chris

 

[gnashings]

I don't think that the teacher asking her to use a SLR was really a reflection on the QL17 - rather on the fact that in a intro class, the fewer variables you have with people who have little or no knowledge of the subject - the better. I believe any rangefinder would meet similar fate.
Is it special? My wife and I love ours - its solid, has a very sharp, fast lens. Perfect for street type photography (40mm focal), it has a coupled rangefinder and fast flash synch.
I think the allure is that it offers most of the adventages of the RF's in general while not costing nearly as much as some, and being very close rival in quality to most and better than many. That's all, really. I would not trade mine for twice as much as I paid for it! Having said that, its an RF with one lens and all the inherent limitations of that set up, so I don't know that I would go as far as saying its the best all around camera - an SLR is much more flexible in many ways, obviously. But if you want a small, wellmade, fast focusing, whisper quiet 35mm camera with a slightly wider angle lens I can't think of more bang for your buck. And the meter oly works in Auto mode - you can switch to auto, meter and then go full manual if you wish. The meter is... well, its a bit of guideline, really - but its useable.

PS - isn't the petri a half frame camera? or is it just some models? the Canonets are full frame 35mm, and the 17 especially is about as compact as you get this side of a Rollei 35mm - and its a more capable camera from what I can see.

 

[Jon Goodman]

The Canonet is a fine camera, and so is the Petri 7s. In fact, I'm glad to hear somebody mention the Petri. I think it does work which is very much on a par with the Canonet, and while it has no Auto function, I find its match needle metering easy and pleasant to use. Two other fixed lens rangefinders I'll give high marks to are the Konica Auto S2 and the Yashica Lynx 14 (not the 14E, however).

For $6 I'll gladly send you a nice seal kit which contains what you'll need to do a proper job. I'll even e:mail specific instructions telling you exactly how to re-seal it with numerous images...including directions on removing the pressure plate and the film door, if you wish to do this.

That is an excellent price for a good one. I think you'll like it.

Jon

 

[MattCarey]

For $6 I'll gladly send you a nice seal kit which contains what you'll need to do a proper job. I'll even e:mail specific instructions telling you exactly how to re-seal it with numerous images...including directions on removing the pressure plate and the film door, if you wish to do this.

This is a good idea. Mine had bad seals. While there wasn't any light leakage, the back door was prone to opening when bumped. Not a happy thing mid-roll! The light-seal replacement was quick.

Consider also taking the top off the camera and cleaning the rangfinder mirrors/windows. This will brighten things considerably. Also, there was a trick posted about putting a small piece of tape on the viewfinder window--in the same place as the rangefinder patch. This really helps make the rangefinder clear.

Matt

 

[mtnbkr]

For $6 I'll gladly send you a nice seal kit which contains what you'll need to do a proper job. I'll even e:mail specific instructions telling you exactly how to re-seal it with numerous images...including directions on removing the pressure plate and the film door, if you wish to do this.
Jon

Sounds good. Do you take paypal?

Consider also taking the top off the camera and cleaning the rangfinder mirrors/windows. This will brighten things considerably. Also, there was a trick posted about putting a small piece of tape on the viewfinder window--in the same place as the rangefinder patch. This really helps make the rangefinder clear.

Once I get around to cleaning the camera, I plan to do that. I've also heard about the rangefinder modification. I'll probably give it a try just to see if it helps me or not. The rangefinder patch looks pretty good in regular indoor light.

Thanks,
Chris

 

[Jon Goodman]

Yes, Chris. PayPal is fine. You can send the payment to me at Jon_Goodman@yahoo.com. If you'll send an e:mail to me at that address with "Canonet Instructions" in the title, I'll reply with a pdf file for you (or anyone here).
Best regards,
Jon

 

[JHannon]

Jon's light seal kits are excellent. I did several Yashica Electros with them.

 

[gnashings]

My QL17 had seals that looked almost new - which is strange... What is that trick for the viewfinder? I have not heard of this.
I also checked out these light seals, and can only say this - wish I saw these first... The ones I got for my AE1 are...well, they work - but I am a bit dissappointed with the fact that they look nothing like the original equipment and make my film door stick - they do not have any of the "springiness" of the originals... Besides, the fact that Jon's kit has strips in it alone is worhtthe money. Its a huge pain to cut that stuff at home into the really anrrow strips. Having used something else, I can say for sure that these kits here are a better deal and a better product.

 

[Jon Goodman]

Hi, Gnashings.
I wouldn't think it would be too late to re-do your Canon...I actually have written re-sealing instructions for the AE-1 and many other popular models. They give a step by step walk-through of the process with images. In some (Nikons, for example) I also show how to safely remove/replace the focus screen for cleaning & re-sealing, and in some rangefinders (like Petri Racer), I also mention how to adjust the rangefinder with images. There are tips and hints in many of the instructions, actually. Of the models I remember off the top of my head:
Nikon FM series (FM, FM2, FM2n)
Nikon EM
Minolta SRT series
Canonet second series
Canon AE-1 style
Olympus OM-2s & similar (includes OM-1, but I'm still working on the databack supplement for the OM series)
Minolta Hi-Matics
Yashica FRII
Yashica Electro 35 series
Petri Racer
Olympus OM-10
Fujica AX-3 & similar
Yashica Lynx 5000
Olympus XA series (all)
A couple have been translated into other languages (Italian, mainly. Working on some in Spanish, one in French + a friend in France has written some similar articles in French--medium format mainly & I have his site.)

I'm happy to send these to those here who want them. I wrote them to be shared, and I'm writing more as time allows. Several are in progress now, but it takes a while to do it right. Contact me at Jon_Goodman@yahoo.com to request them, and please put light seal or something like that in the message line.

Also...big news...Rick Oleson and I have decided to combine the large light seal kit with his amazing and entertaining 20+ year compilation of tech/repair drawings on a CD, and that will be offered very soon. So, things are still happening to keep it interesting.
Jon

 

[magic823]

I'm happy to send these to those here who want them. I wrote them to be shared, and I'm writing more as time allows. Several are in progress now, but it takes a while to do it right. Contact me at Jon_Goodman@yahoo.com to request them, and please put light seal or something like that in the message line.

Also...big news...Rick Oleson and I have decided to combine the large light seal kit with his amazing and entertaining 20+ year compilation of tech/repair drawings on a CD, and that will be offered very soon. So, things are still happening to keep it interesting.
Jon

Always interested! Still haven't ran out of my first kit, but I've been thinking of ordering his CD.

Steve

 

[Jon Goodman]

It is a pretty amazing CD...I was fortunate enough to be one of the "beta testers" of it, and I can tell you for anybody who enjoys tinkering with cameras...and anybody who thinks they'd like to learn about tinkering with cameras, or anybody who has a curious mind, it is well worth the price. You can buy it on Rick's website, and I think he and I've agreed to offer it as a solo item on E-Bay, too. If I remember correctly, there were about 1,000 scanned pages which went into the making of it.
Jon

 

[gnashings]

First off, thanks for the generous offer. I think the AE1 is going to become a paperweight, though. It fires blank frames at an increasing and unpredictable rate and I just got too fed up with it - and fixing it costs more than to buy another one. I may still do it down the road - but for now I am anxiously awaitng its replacement - a Canon EF ! Of course, any of these purchases are a crap shoot - and I will most likely need to do the seals on it... With the stuff I got, it was not much of a job - and by the look of your kit, it will be a pleasure.
As soon as my "allowence" recharges, I will be looking at that CD!