A little story about snoozing...

[Jon Goodman]

Or, put another way, opportunity is often not a lengthy visitor. Sorry, Josh. I didn't see your note before I decided to go ahead and fix the Canonet...but I do have others, and I will let you know what those are.

Feeling a little disappointed that nobody bought the Canonet, I decided to take the time (which I really don't have nearly enough of) and see just what the problems were here. I'm going to show you some photos so you can see what I saw. This is not uncommon with cameras that are not working. My experience has been that they normally have some minor problem that common sense will allow you to repair. Ok...first frame below, you can see I've taken a common rubber hose piece to grip the trim ring around the cocking handle to unscrew it. Second frame, you see I'll unscrew three trim screws--one on the center back and one on each side. Third frame, after unscrewing the rewind knob, I lift off the top plate and....hoo, boy. There is the first problem, just glaring at me. You can't see it too well, so I'll show you a close-up in frame four. The little pin has slipped out of the slot on the register linkage. How? Can't unscramble that egg for you, but in the final frame, you see I've slipped it back in, and not surprisingly, the meter is "repaired."

In a minute, I'll show you what else I noticed....

 

[Jon Goodman]

While I had the patient opened, I removed the rangefinder cover (first image below) and cleaned the inside and outsides of the outer lenses (second image). Do not clean the semi-silvered glass. It is too easy to degrade it and this will weaken your "patch". Then, I went outside and adjusted for infinity and horizontal alignment...took all of 5 minutes. After replacing the rangefinder cover, I noticed another problem. The film frame counter lever (third image) was not being struck by the film door. This means the camera would never have counted a single picture. I bent that lever slightly, closed the door and assured myself it would work correctly again. In the fourth image, you can see I placed a dot of black paint to keep the horizontal adjustment of the rangefinder from losing its place. In the fifth image, I noticed the strap lug had become loose, so I tightened the screw holding it, and once all that was done, I cleaned the glass in the top plate and replaced it by reversing the steps I followed to remove it.

In a minute, more stuff....

 

[Jon Goodman]

You remember I told you the aperture wasn't working, don't you? Ok, I decided this could be an easy fix if luck was smiling at me, so I removed the rear element. How? Well, in the first frame, you will see the element and its collar. In the second frame, you will see the highly sophisticated tool I have made using specialized artisan talents. Basically a cheap pair of needle-nosed pliers I filed the tips down on. In the next frame, you'll see I've unscrewed that rear element slickly and set it aside. In the final frame, you will see the "tool" I've made to swab a little naphtha onto the aperture blades and free them up. It is a common cotton Q-Tip over which I have wrapped a bit of paper napkin and taped that to the shaft. Once this was done, the camera was revived and now seems to be working 100%. The aperture is working on manual and automatic, the shutter speeds seem fine, and the lens itself is clear and clean...no fungus at all. Overall, the hour I spent doing this and taking the images for you produced a fine little camera which I think somebody will enjoy. All that remains is to replace the light seals.
Jon

And guess what? There was no boss, no home office, no dress code...just like I told you it would be. Now I'm going down to the supermarket to see if Nymphia Scooterpie is working tonight.

 

[Sonnar Brian]

Aren't you glad that camera didn't sell! I have a QL17 (original) with pretty much the same problem. That and it uses a PX1 battery.

Ms Scooterpie will be very impressed.

 

[aad]

Do you have a picture of Nymphia Scooterpie?

 

[bmattock]

Jon, I wanted to let you know that I took your advice and (just now) removed the top from my own Canonet QL17 GIII. A tad bit different inside, but mostly the same.

Some observations and cautions for newbies like myself:

1) I just got a set of Wiha jeweler's screwdrivers from Micro-Tools. Worth it.
2) Same for a tiny little spanner with removable prongs. Works a treat.
3) You know how you take the rewind knob off, by holding the bit below and then reverse-spinning it? Well, don't close the back of the camera after that. No way to open it again unless you're able to carefully thread that knob back on. Fortunately, I was able to.
4) Which is the semi-silvered mirror I'm not to touch? The angled one? I just cleaned the front and back, afraid to do any of the others. And there are a lot of 'em.

I've had the tops off a few other cameras, didn't know how to remove the winding lever on this one, so thanks for that. I didn't have a hose, used a vice-grips very gently and didn't bugger it too badly. The rangefinder mechanism in the Canonet is head and shoulders more 'high-end' than any of the other rangefinders I've had the top off of. Very well-built, a jewel really. I'm impressed.

I did this all in maybe ten minutes. Folks, I am not mechanical. If I can do this, anyone can. I did my first top-off with G-Man guiding me, but that was a Lynx 14, this is much easier. Cool!

Mine just needed the viewfinder cleaned up a bit - it is VERY nice now. I'll have to give it a look in broad daylight and see how it does.

Thanks very much!

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks

PS - Oh yes, on Olymus rangefinders (RC, RD). the self-timer screw is reverse-threaded. That was fun. Bent the prongs on my new spanner. OK, that's it.

 

[Jon Goodman]

I have a few pictures of Nymphia, but she doesn't like me to post them on the internet. She likes men who ride horses, you know...cowboys. In fact, the other day I went for a ride. I was trotting along pretty nicely for a while, just enjoying the nice warm day. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a couple of young ladies, and when I tipped my hat, I noticed one of them sort of winked at me. So, I decided to do my double avalon move. You horse riders out there may have heard about my double avalon...where I stand up on the saddle with the reins between my teeth, arms outstretched like an eagle, hair blowing in the wind. I used to do this a lot in my younger days. So, I went for it, but just as I got my arms out, the horse must have gotten spooked and he started going faster. When this happened, I lost my balance and fell, getting my leg tangled up in the stirrup. The horse kept going and going, with me banging up and down, sort of seeing my life flashing before my eyes and I was yelling and hollering and trying to make him stop and finally the assistant manager at the K-Mart had to leave his post and come out and unplug him. He really doesn't like it when that happens.
Jon

 

[Jon Goodman]

Yes, the semi-silvered mirror is the angled one...avoid it, please. You can also use a rubber washer to grip these to unscrew them. Get the kind that goes in a garden hose. It fits nicely.
Glad to hear it worked well for you! See? Camera repair isn't too difficult, is it?
Jon

 

[Jon Goodman]

I have one of those QL17s in a box of parts cameras, however I believe it has already been somewhat cannibalized. I think this little QL25 might do some nice work, actually. I'm sort of glad nobody bought it, but the effort here was to encourage more folks to get interested in camera repair (as a hobby, of course), so that part is a bit disappointing.
Jon

 

[bmattock]

I have one of those QL17s in a box of parts cameras, however I believe it has already been somewhat cannibalized. I think this little QL25 might do some nice work, actually. I'm sort of glad nobody bought it, but the effort here was to encourage more folks to get interested in camera repair (as a hobby, of course), so that part is a bit disappointing.
Jon

Well, maybe you can help me with another one. I have two of these, but one has stayed in the drawer because it winds and winds and winds. Any ideas?

Thanks,

Bill

 

[Jon Goodman]

If it is doing that, it isn't completing the cocking cycle. It is hard to say why without looking at it, but it is very likely something in the linkage has either broken or become un-hooked.
Jon

 

[bmattock]

If it is doing that, it isn't completing the cocking cycle. It is hard to say why without looking at it, but it is very likely something in the linkage has either broken or become un-hooked.
Jon

Well, nothing jumps out at me, but I'll keep poking at it. Thanks anyway!

Best,

Bill

 

[Jon Goodman]

Sometimes the best way to figure this problem out is to watch the linkage (bottom of camera) carefully through its cocking motion several times. Often I will have to sleep on it before the answer comes to me. This can be a little uncomfortable, too.
Jon

 

[bmattock]

Sometimes the best way to figure this problem out is to watch the linkage (bottom of camera) carefully through its cocking motion several times. Often I will have to sleep on it before the answer comes to me. This can be a little uncomfortable, too.
Jon

I can well imagine. "Is that your rangefinder or are you happy to see me?"

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks

 

[Jon Goodman]

If you need a QL17 parts camera, please let me know. I looked last night, and the one I have has been cannibalized to the point the shutter/lens assembly is gone, however the cocking gear train might still be there. Needless to say, I don't think I can put it back together as a working camera, but the parts in it might fix yours just fine. If you'll pay the cost of mailing, I'm happy to send it along for you.
Jon

 

[bmattock]

If you need a QL17 parts camera, please let me know. I looked last night, and the one I have has been cannibalized to the point the shutter/lens assembly is gone, however the cocking gear train might still be there. Needless to say, I don't think I can put it back together as a working camera, but the parts in it might fix yours just fine. If you'll pay the cost of mailing, I'm happy to send it along for you.
Jon

Jon, I'd be happy to accept, but at this point, would not know what I was doing. I looked and looked last night, but could not see anything obviously broken or wrong about the gears that the winder drives. It cocks on winding, you can wind once and immediately hit the shutter release and it goes off, but if you don't and keep winding, it just lets you. You can go through the whole roll that way without firing a shot. But the shutter *does* get cocked each time.

I noticed that on my 'good' QL17, when you close the back of the camera, it does that for about four winds - presumably trying to be clever so that you don't have to take a shot on a blank frame as you advance through the leader. Never saw a mechanical camera do that before - never noticed that the Canonet had that feature! So I was wondering if some mechanism is tripped or hung up that thinks the camera back has just been closed - perpetually. But the frame counter works just fine and resets when the back is opened/closed. Weird.

I'd love to have some parts if I knew what to do with them, but until I noodle this out, I'll wait if you don't mind. Someone who knows what they're doing might need the parts more!

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks

 

[bmattock]

Bill,
Check out this page.
http://rick_oleson.tripod.com/index-30.html

Well ain't you clever! I was searching for something like that just last night, didn't see a thing in my Googling. I will bookmark it, thanks! Jon, if I can fix this by bending, then no need for parts, I'd say. But ya know, G-Man does a lot of repairs for the RFF folks, maybe he can use it!

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks

 

[zuikologist]

Nice work gentlemen. Old school RF repair, just like the old days 🙂

 

[Jon Goodman]

By all means, like the old days...chewing gum, baling wire, bobby pins. Sounds like a 1960s song, doesn't it? Oh, wait. That was Sunshine, Lollipops and something else...what was the other thing? Sardines? Nah, wasn't sardines. Roses? Nah, that was the Days of Wine and Roses...or was it the Daze of Wine and Roses? That's ok...I like that second one...brain isn't dead yet. Good sign, haven't breathed too much naphtha so far. Sunshine, Lollipops and Moonbeams? Was it Moonbeams? Moonbeams sounds too...sappy. Rainbows? That was it! I'm almost positive...Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows. Riddle solved. Just be glad I didn't get that song by Oliver in my mind. We'd have been here all afternoon. How did it go? Gliddy glip glippy, Nooby ooby dooby, la, la, la, lo, lo. And people say the Welsh language is dead. Dim, adfyw! And us Welsh know exactly what I mean. Just ask Tom Jones about it. Here...let me get him on the line. Hey, Tom. What's new, pussycat?
Jon

 

[zuikologist]

The Welsh language should be dead with a song like that.

As for Tom Jones - now you're talking!