Canon Canonet

[lunar]

Hi,from China. 🙂

I wanna buy this old rangefinder camera,
http://www.canon.com/camera-museum/camera/1955-1969/data/1961_net.html
it costs 50USD in an auction website of China,what the camera attracts my eyes is that you don't have to use any battery for it.

Meanwhile, I am interested in Minolta 7S( 50USD), I think it's a great rangefinder camera too, don't know much about this kind of rangefinder camera,only use an Olympus DC SP500UZ before.

Would you say something about Canon Canonet and Minolta 7S, which one do you prefer, thank you!

 

[flashover]

Hi you are looking at the original Canonet. The large frame one. The Minolta 7s is a good camera and has a following. As the the Canon I have not used one only handled one. I was not impressed by the size and weight. I have both the QL17 GIII and the Ql17-L and find them to be excellent cameras and a lot easyer to carry.

 

[filmgoerjuan]

Something to be wary of with the original Canonet is that it uses a selenium meter for its auto-exposure. Often these meter either stop working or else don't give proper readings after 40+ years. You can still use the original Canonet manually, but then you're going to need an external meter (or calculate the exposure otherwise).

The Minolta Hi-Matic 7s is a great camera. I'd say the lens is comparable to a Yashica GSN in terms of quality of focus and contrast; however, the Hi-Matic 7s allows for full manual exposure and even has EV markings allowing you to adjust the shutter speed/aperature combination and maintain the same exposure. If you can get a working copy, I'd highly recommend it.

Some shots with my Minolta Hi-Matic 7s

 

[Kat]

I vote for the Minolta, as well. I have the older brother, Himatic 9, and the glass is excellent, very sharp. Though I think you can pick one up for cheaper in ebay even with international shipping.

 

[narsuitus]

I use the Minolta Hi-Matic 9 and the Canonet QL17 GIII. Both are good cameras. What I like about both cameras is that except for metering, the cameras are battery independent. The built-in light meter in both cameras uses an obsolete mercury battery. A PX625 battery works fine as substitute. If the camera has not been altered to work with the PX625, all you have to do is adjust the camera’s ASA setting to compensate.

The Canonet only has manual and shutter priority metering. The Minolta has manual, shutter priority, aperture priority, and automatic metering.

The Minolta light meter works in the manual exposure mode. The Canonet light meter does not.

To turn the Minolta light meter off, you must set the ASA setting to zero. To turn the Canonet light meter off, you must set the exposure mode to manual.

The Minolta is supposed to deliver slightly better optical performance but I have not noticed much difference in the cameras I own.

I prefer the smaller size and appearance of the Canonet.