Tips for the Canonet 28

Ariston · Sep 12, 2019

I just picked up a Canonet 28 from an estate sale. I'm not very familiar with this camera. It seems extremely easy to focus, because the patch is very visible. But I'm not a rangefinder guy, so I don't really have much to compare it to.

Can someone tell me what the mechanical shutter speed is on this? It is firing, even without a battery. I googled the question and one guy in a forum said he thinks it is 1/30 second - can anyone confirm that?

Also, are LR44 batteries okay to use with it.

Finally, any tips for using it are appreciated. I will be putting it through the paces soon. It sure seems like a very budget-friendly carry-around camera.

__Brian · Sep 12, 2019

The LR44 battery (same as MS-76?) is a smaller diameter, so you may need to put a spacer in. The battery is 1.5v, slightly higher than the 1.35v battery the camera was designed for. Just set the ASA setting a bit lower, by about 1/2 a stop or so.

I'm not sure of the operation without battery, the F-Stop will probably be wide-open.

John Koehrer · Sep 12, 2019

A #9 O ring withe the 44/76 will fit the battery chamber.

MattKing · Sep 12, 2019

For some meters, response will be non-linear if the battery voltage is wrong. And if you are using an alkaline battery, its voltage will change over time, which compounds the problem.
If you are using an O-ring, and the camera doesn't depend on there being contact with the edge of the battery, then it is a much better idea to use a 1.4V zinc air battery like the ones used in hearing aids. They offer both a closer to specification voltage, and a much more consistent voltage too.
They don't last a long time, but they are cheap and are sold in volume.
Consider one of the adapters intended for using the hearing aid batteries - jon goodman sells them for a very reasonable cost.

Ariston · Sep 12, 2019

__Brian said:
The LR44 battery (same as MS-76?) is a smaller diameter, so you may need to put a spacer in. The battery is 1.5v, slightly higher than the 1.35v battery the camera was designed for. Just set the ASA setting a bit lower, by about 1/2 a stop or so.

I'm not sure of the operation without battery, the F-Stop will probably be wide-open.

Thanks you - I am always unsure which direction voltage differences affect meters.

John Koehrer said:
A #9 O ring withe the 44/76 will fit the battery chamber.

Thanks, John - I was trying to think of something exactly like this that would work.

MattKing said:
For some meters, response will be non-linear if the battery voltage is wrong. And if you are using an alkaline battery, its voltage will change over time, which compounds the problem.
If you are using an O-ring, and the camera doesn't depend on there being contact with the edge of the battery, then it is a much better idea to use a 1.4V zinc air battery like the ones used in hearing aids. They offer both a closer to specification voltage, and a much more consistent voltage too.
They don't last a long time, but they are cheap and are sold in volume.
Consider one of the adapters intended for using the hearing aid batteries - jon goodman sells them for a very reasonable cost.

In what direction is it non-linear? Does it tend to underexpose the brighter the light, or the lower the light? Or overexpose the brighter the light, etc. I assume it is non-linear in a consistent pattern...

Also, is John Goodman the same guy who sells light seals? If so, I have bought light seals from him before. I'll have to dig up his email address.

AgX · Sep 12, 2019

Ariston said:
Also, is John Goodman the same guy who sells light seals? If so, I have bought light seals from him before. I'll have to dig up his email address.

Yes! (A pity that he does not show up here any longer.)

Chan Tran · Sep 12, 2019

If you use the PX 625a which is an alkaline battery it will fit perfectly but the voltage is still high. The meter may or may not work correctly. With my Canonet 17QL it works fine. Exposure is within 1/3 stop.

MattKing · Sep 13, 2019

Ariston said:
In what direction is it non-linear? Does it tend to underexpose the brighter the light, or the lower the light? Or overexpose the brighter the light, etc. I assume it is non-linear in a consistent pattern...

Also, is John Goodman the same guy who sells light seals? If so, I have bought light seals from him before. I'll have to dig up his email address.

1) I don't think that you can count on your assumption being correct - particularly in light of the fact that the voltage of the alkaline version of the LR44 varies as it is discharged.
2) Yes, it is the same Mr. Goodman, although his first name is spelled "Jon".
Try: jon_goodman at yahoo.com or JGood21967 at aol.com (making the usual substitution of @ for " at ")

Alan Gales · Sep 13, 2019

A little trivia here. John Goodman is the television and movie actor. He graduated from Affton high school in I believe 1974. Affton is in south St. Louis county. I know this because I graduated from the same high school in 1980. I never met John though.

I have purchased from Jon Goodman. Great transaction.

Ariston · Sep 13, 2019

The camera I picked up won't go into "A". I can't imagine that is because I don't have a battery yet.

The manual is not very clear to me. Does this mean I am stuck with 1/30 shutter speed, or will the camera pick the correct shutter speed for whatever aperture I pick?

M-88 · Sep 14, 2019

Never had one, but as far as I know you can't set the shutter manually - only the aperture. And manual is rather vague on the subject of matter. Not what I'd expect from Canon.

As for the batteries, Alkalines have a steep discharge curve so initially 1 stop shift in ISO will help but it will have to be changed even more on later stages. I'd suggest Zinc-Air batteries for hearing aid device, they have 1.4 volt (pretty close to required 1.35) and discharge curve is also straight. Downside - they drain within 2 months after removing the tape from them.

twelvetone12 · Sep 14, 2019

I have one of these, it is one of my favorite cameras, I basically always have it with me in my bag or as a spare. It is small, light, relatively rugged and the rangefinder very clear. There is no exposure control, in automatic mode it tells you what speed it using but that's it. Apertures can be varied but the shutter speed is fixed (I think 1/60? I never used it). The lenses are quite sharp and I love the results.
I use a PX625A battery and give it 1/3 stop more exposure (i.e. I set the film speed to 80 for 100iso, and so on). I shot many films with it and got very good negatives and very good slides too. A very nice camera to always have around.

Ariston · Sep 14, 2019

twelvetone12 said:
I have one of these, it is one of my favorite cameras, I basically always have it with me in my bag or as a spare. It is small, light, relatively rugged and the rangefinder very clear. There is no exposure control, in automatic mode it tells you what speed it using but that's it. Apertures can be varied but the shutter speed is fixed (I think 1/60? I never used it). The lenses are quite sharp and I love the results.
I use a PX625A battery and give it 1/3 stop more exposure (i.e. I set the film speed to 80 for 100iso, and so on). I shot many films with it and got very good negatives and very good slides too. A very nice camera to always have around.

Hi twelvetone, I've actually ordered some PX625A batteries. In the meantime, I noticed the aperture ring won't go over to the "A" setting. Have you ever encountered that?

Ariston · Sep 18, 2019

I got my battery in. The meter sometimes doesn't move at ISO400, then I move the ISO selector around, amd it starts working. I guess I have a short. I'll try running a roll through it, but it may not work.

AgX · Sep 19, 2019

Likely not a short but the contrary: build up of an isolating layer at the selector switch.
If stays erratic, disassemble that switch and clean contacts.
With this photo in mind
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/7...yqUA_S7bXAATFz7qO1emEoL6qjLvsC7VxplDWDFA=s412
you might even without disassambling let a bit of contact cleaner sip via most tiny brush or needle-tip into the respective slit (just a wild assumption).

Kodachromeguy · Sep 19, 2019

Ariston said:
I got my battery in. The meter sometimes doesn't move at ISO400, then I move the ISO selector around, amd it starts working. I guess I have a short. I'll try running a roll through it, but it may not work.

Also consider: you have at least two camera functions to test:
1. Is the light meter working properly?
2. Is the shutter timing correct? Many older compact Canons have sticky shutter blades.
do you have another meter, possibly a hand held unit?

Tips for the Canonet 28

Ariston

__Brian

John Koehrer

MattKing

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Ariston

AgX

Chan Tran

MattKing

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Alan Gales

Ariston

M-88

twelvetone12

Ariston

Ariston

AgX

Kodachromeguy

Tips for the Canonet 28

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