My new (old) Canonet came today.

The Canonet QL-17 G3 I bought on eBay arrived today, I had not expected it to come so quickly. Out of the box it looked knacked, covered in dirt, and it didn't work.
Then I pit it into manual mode and it started to click when I wound it on, looked at the battery and it was obviously dead. My hearing aid battery didn't work straight away like it did in the Ql-19 so 10 minutes of fiddling with tin foil later it coughed into life. Then I got the Mr sheen to it and like magic it now looks new, as well as working 100%, the light seals are a mess though, thats an excuse for me to use my kit. Can I use White Spirit to remove the old seals or do I have to use Lighter Fluid?

If it's in good physical condition, perhaps it's worth it to have it professionally serviced. If not, go back to ebay.

I think I should be able to replace light seals, it seems otherwise in good order.

Good for you, getting the Canonet cleaned up. You can use almost any type of solvent that takes up old glue... even rubbing alcohol. You might not really need a solvent. A toothpick will work for scraping up the goo. The remaining "stick-um" shouldn't bother your glue when you install the new light seals.

You probably know this already, but keep track of the goo you scrape up. Small bits are prone to getting into other parts of the camera and messing them up. I was given an old Ricoh SLR recently with gummy seals. Small pieces migrated to the shutter, causing a much more extensive cleaning experience than was desired.

Jon Goodman.. "Interslice" on Ebay, sells foam seal kits with the instructions for most cameras. They are quite reasonable in cost and you usually get enough for several cameras.

I did 3 Yashica Electro with the kit and had no problems.

--John

I think that is the kit I have.

Check with KEH. They have been offering a deal. For $45 they will clean camera and replace light seals.

I have replaced severlaalight seals on Canonets, using Jon Goodmans kits. When removing the old seals, I find it much easier to do after taking out the pressure plate. It just "snaps" in and out. Look at the little flat springs and gromets that hold it in. Easy out, and almost as easy back in. I use Isopropyl alchohol to get the old ones out.

It's a gem isn't it. I've had once since they came out and use it a lot despite now having a Leica MP. I'm probably telling you something you already know, but people sometimes think they are faulty because the meter won't work in manual. It's not supposed to.

David.

A feature- not a flaw... If you are not going to use a Canonet for a while, turn it to Manual mode to save the battery.

I've been wanting to get a Canonette QL-17 GIII for quite a while. I tried getting one from eBay, but what I received had fogged optics, beach sand inside every non-obvious crevice (like it was washed up on a beach from a far-flung port, not like it was just left on the beach overnight) and the rangefinder was inoperative.

I was on the fence between getting an Olympus XA (I still might) and trying to use the Canonette anyway as a zone-focusing camera when an old friend of mine who was my middle- and high-school orchestra teacher in the seventies E-Mailed me and told me he had a Canonette, of which he was the original and sole owner, that he wasn't doing anything with and shall he sent it to me to do something with? Boy howdy! Don't have to ask me twice.

Due to spectacular United Parcel Service performance, I had the package the day after he sent it, and two or three hours before my son and wife had their second karate lesson, so I shot a couple of test rolls at their lesson:

For a couple of reasons, I got some Kodak bw400 (which I believe is t400cn) and got drug store scans of the images.

Here's the rest of the keepers from those two rolls. I got a lot of out of focus shots. I still need to get used to using a rangefinder on a quickly-moving subject.

I've run a couple of rolls Tri-X through it since and the last of those is drying now, and it's loaded with HP5 now. The camera is definitely a keeper. Now, I've just got to figure out the easiest way to carry it around everywhere I go. When I hang it off my shoulder, I seem to wack stuff when I change directions. It's a wee bit too large to stick in my pocket (the main reason why I'm considering an Olympus XA).

I'll figure out something. I'm quite pleased with the lens and the ease of use of the camera, and I'll be danged if it ain't the quietest camera I've ever used.

I'll be using this camera for quite a while. I highly recommend it.

-KwM-

"My Method" to get in-focus shots of fast moving subjects (kids) is to prefocus on a spot and wait for them to move into it. It works for me. It helps if the motion is repetitive, or predictable. Swingsets, carousels, etc are repetitive. Monkey bars, etc, are predictable.

I just got my new (old) Canonette today, courtesy of an APUG member trading for a print. The meter doesn't work (I haven't taken it apart yet) as stated but everything else is perfect. I really don't think I'll need a meter anyway. I just loaded it with Tmax100 and it has been really fun so far. If things go well I'm afraid I'm going to do something crazy, like buy a Bessa R2a that I can't afford...