I'm all giddy now (Canonet GIII QL17)

spacer · Jun 22, 2011

Ken Nadvornick said:
Wise words...

Ken

I agree. It ain't easy bein' cheap. I'm gonna have to ponder for a bit. The main thing keeping me from digging in right now is the condition of the camera as it sits. As I mentioned earlier, if it was a little rough, I'd gleefully dive in headfirst.

Ken Nadvornick · Jun 22, 2011

spacer said:
The main thing keeping me from digging in right now is the condition of the camera as it sits. As I mentioned earlier, if it was a little rough, I'd gleefully dive in headfirst.

In spite of a few posts here to the contrary, the Canonet QL17 G-III is reputedly one of the more difficult cameras to home service. Tolerances are very tight and the word seems to be that they are much easier to disassemble than to reassemble. There is a lot of overlapping mechanical functionality crammed into that tiny body.

The earlier suggestion to read up ahead of time over on the RFF is a good one. I have done so myself (I also own a G-III) and recall reading about the experiences of more than a few who tried a DIY shutter repair and ended up throwing in the towel and eventually purchasing another copy.

Just something to think about...

Ken

spacer · Jun 22, 2011

You guys are right. This camera's going to go to a pro for a real fix. Looking at the best examples I'm seeing for sale, I'll still be doing pretty well, cost-wise, and as I'm pretty easy on hardware, the camera will probably outlast me.

Still wanna find a cheap clunker to work on, though.

elcabezagrande · Jun 22, 2011

If you want to get a clunker to work on to get your feet wet on home camera repair, I suggest looking for a Konica Auto S2 with a sticky shutter/aperture. You can usually find such for $15 or less, and they are quite easy to put back into working order, and well worth the effort; even without working electronics, the S2 can be used in full manual mode, either with a hand-held meter or using sunny 16. That Hexanon lens is one of the best on any fixed-lens rangefinder, regardless of the cost. Minolta Hi-Matic 7S, 9, and 11 also have great lenses, and it is also pretty straightforward getting into the shutter and aperture to clean them.

Tony-S · Jun 22, 2011

While we're on the GIII 17, I just got a used one and there are a couple of things I either can't figure out, or are defective.

First, I have tried two batteries, a Wein cell and a 675 silver oxide in a MR9 adapter, but the battery check lamp will not illuminate. The batteries are good as they function in my F-1.

Second, it appears the meter isn't metering - perhaps because of the same battery issue? I point it straight at a fluorescent light while set to 'A' and the needle will not move to an aperture; it just moves slightly but remains at the top.

Third, when set to 'A' the shutter will not release. Since it's coupled to the meter, could this also be because of the battery?

Thanks for any help!

elcabezagrande · Jun 22, 2011

Tony, it seems you may have an electrical problem. When set to "A" with no battery power, that behavior is normal. Is your battery chamber free of corrosion? Even if it looks clean, a gentle swabbing of the contacts with a Q-tip moistened with white vinegar, or with a pencil eraser, may bring it back to life. If not, then some maintenance, either DIY or a professional CLA, will be in order. In the worst case, the GIII will operate in unmetered manual mode.

Ken Nadvornick · Jun 22, 2011

elcabezagrande said:
Even if it looks clean, a gentle swabbing of the contacts with a Q-tip moistened with white vinegar, or with a pencil eraser, may bring it back to life. If not, then some maintenance, either DIY or a professional CLA, will be in order.

Just for background record info, this particular DIY repair is very doable on this camera. My QL17 G-III had significant corrosion in the battery compartment when I received it, but was otherwise in very nice shape.

I removed the baseplate for a closer look. The acid had eaten away all but one strand of the thin connecting power wire. I clipped the wire, after confirming sufficient slack to reconnect it later, and popped out the black plastic compartment assembly.

I cleaned the assembly in baking soda, thoroughly rinsed it off, and reinserted it after also cleaning all evidence of leakage inside the camera but outside the compartment. The brass battery contact was buffed shiny clean. The power wire was then gently stripped down to a tiny clean section and pinpoint soldered back into place.

After reattaching the baseplate the battery assembly was essentially as good as new. The seller had already had a repairman adjust the circuit to properly meter using a PX625 form-factor silver oxide cell. The meter now agrees pretty closely with my professionally calibrated handhelds, as long as you use it in normal mid-range lighting conditions.

This silly little camera has become one of my biggest favorites. I love the thing. In fact, I used it to create (there was a url link here which no longer exists) for the Blind Print Exchange #12.

Ken

j-karr · Jun 23, 2011

I just picked up a working one for $8 at a flea market, but I bet it's a bit uglier than yours. Cheers!

M.A.Longmore · Jun 24, 2011

j-karr said:
I just picked up a working one for $8 at a flea market, but I bet it's a bit uglier than yours. Cheers!

.
No Hi, No Hello !
Just rub your friggin' $8.00 Working GIII in our face.
That's really nice ! Thanks J-Karr ! Welcome To APUG !

Ron
.

spacer · Jun 24, 2011

Oy. Ain't that something. : Now... just look the other way for a bit...

j-karr · Jun 24, 2011

^ And this is why I should never try to post so late at night. My sincerest apologies. I should have said something like, "I just got a pretty good deal on one and I'm excited too!" Again, sorry.

M.A.Longmore · Jun 24, 2011

j-karr said:
^ And this is why I should never try to post so late at night. My sincerest apologies. I should have said something like, "I just got a pretty good deal on one and I'm excited too!" Again, sorry.

.
If I found a Working GIII for $8.00, I'd be very excited too !

Welcome To APUG J-Karr !

Ron
.

guitstik · Jun 24, 2011

I have two of these cameras. One I bought from a friend that had the same sticking shutter and a little bit of fungus but a good cleaning and disassembly of the lens got everything working again. My ten year old son found the second one in an abandoned house and carried it around pretending to take pictures for about a week. I plan on getting that one working as well and we are going to recover it with snake skin from www.cameraleather.com. That camera will be just for my son who is showing signs of wanting to be a photographer. They are not that hard to work on if you just use a little common sense and have some patience.

upnorthcyclist · Jun 24, 2011

I picked up a couple of non-functional GIIIs over time, and found much the same problem that Ken mentioned above - corrosion that went past the battery compartment. With one of them, the fix went just as Ken described - resoldered the wire to the (cleaned up) battery contacts. After replacing the seals (Interslice kit) and some cosmetic TLC, this camera became a dependable user and my favorite rangefinder - I use it regularly. The other one - not so much. The corrosion had followed the wire deep into the electronics of the camera. I corresponded with Jon Goodman, the Interslice guy, who has repaired a zillion of these cameras - he said what I have is a "donor" camera, at least as far as one that meters.

I know that there are a lot of folks that don't use the metering function of ther GIIIs, but I find that for the type of photography that I use '70s rangefinders for, mainly snapshots, a cycling camera and "street photography" (getting to think that description is way overused) the meter is very useful and, in the case of the GIII, quite accurate - even for E-6. Compose, focus and shoot.

The first thing I would do with a recently acquired GIII with a non-functional meter is check and clean the battery compartment. If that doesn't work, take the bottom off the camera and see the extent of any corrosion - if it's limited to the end of the wire, clean it up good and resolder. If the corrosion goes deep into the camera, I wouldn't spend a lot of time or effort into trying to fix it. Sunny 16 time!

I like the GIII so much, I bought the rather spendy (around $30 w/shipping) C.R.I.S. adapter for it, and get very long and stable service from the silver-oxide cell.

brucemuir · Jun 24, 2011

Anyone popped the "collar" off of a spent wein cell and used the hearing aid batteries inside the collar as an adapter.

I have a few and am looking at trying this.
The collar looks like it may deform if you try to center punch out the cell...

spacer · Oct 12, 2011

I punched the cell out of the collar with the battery the camera had when I bought it. There was no deformation at all. I still have it in a box somewhere, but as I was in the process of moving in to the new house, I went ahead and sent the Canonet to Mark Hama.
Got it back very quickly, and it seems to be functioning perfectly, including the meter. Still kinda busy, but I can hardly wait to get some film through it. I'll probably just load it up and take it with me into town, as this camera is supposed to be my street glass anyway.

Pumalite · Oct 13, 2011

You don't need meter for this camera.

spacer · Oct 14, 2011

Yeah, I know, for manual use. But, the CLA from Hama fixed it, and I'm glad the "A" setting is functional. It'd especially help if I decide to sell the camera later.

sangetsu · Oct 15, 2011

The meters on these cameras are all over the ballpark, try a 1.5 volt battery, likely as not, the meter may read correctly. The meters are not terribly useful anyway, as the camera has to be set to A for the meter to work. The shutter priority automatic system sometimes confuses new users, and more than once I have heard complaints that a Canonet's shutter won't fire, the problem being that the camera was set to A and the light was not sufficiently in the shutter speed range. I have also bought Canonets with "jammed" shutters, but the shutters were jammed because tye camera was on A, and the batteries were dead.

Last year I was lucky enough to find a black QL17 GIII still new in it's original box. Looking in my closet I am surprised that I have more than 20 of these cameras now, perhaps they are breeding...

Canonets are fun cameras, I have a couple of them in my backpack. Perhaps by tomorrow thwrw will be three?

spacer · Oct 25, 2011

Mine seems to be working great now. I've shot about half a roll so far, and to be honest, the quietness of this thing is something I am *not* used to. I've been sick for a few days, but I'm gonna finish this roll and drop it off at a 1-hour to see what develops.
Having gotten so used to slapping that mirror around, that quiet little 'click' is definitely something that takes a little time for me.

I haven't checked to see what solution Hama used on my meter/battery, but the meter seems to be agreeing with a couple of my other cameras, for the most part. I guess the proof will be in the prints, though.

spacer · Nov 1, 2011

I just got my first roll back (took it to Walmart for send-out)

The exposure values are fine, and the photos are in focus, but the test roll I put through the camera spent about 13 or 14 years
in various environments, often "stored" in vehicles through all the seasons. Fujicolor 800, all of it shot on the "A" setting. It came out muddy and grainy. One or two of the shots actually look pretty good with that effect, but I'm really going to need to run some fresh film through.
I guess I also need to find a better film lab to work with until I get my darkroom set up. We have a LOT to do in the basement before I can even start on that project. Gonna work on getting a hybrid setup working sometime in the near future.
When I get scans, I'll post a couple.

I have a few rolls of other film that have followed me around through the last few years. I'll probably just segregate it and either toss it, or give it away to someone.

I'm all giddy now (Canonet GIII QL17)

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