Canon G-III QL-17

[MrRanger]

Got a Canon QL-17 (actually 2) in a lot of four cameras off @-bay that included a Yashica Electro GS, a Canon Canonet 28 and the fore mentioned QL-17s. The Yashica needed a new battery and a minor clean up . The Canon 28 needed a new battery and some excercise to get it working but the QL's were another story.

Both had frozen shutters, one had a gritty aperture ring (sometimes I could hardly move it), one had a shutter speed ring that was frozen, and both had gooey light seals :bang: . After finding some helpful people here (Thanx G'man and others!) and other resources on the web, I decided to tackle one of them and see if I could make a working camera out of it.

Well, I got it apart, fixed and back together - and it WORKS! 😱 I love it, what a great little camera! Here's a sample pic. Camera was in auto mode - Kodak Max @ 800 ASA.

Mike 😀

 

[SolaresLarrave]

Hats off to you, Mike! I've never been that brave... I mean, to crack open a camera and tinker with it.

Good job! 🙂

 

[MrRanger]

...I've never been that brave... I mean, to crack open a camera and tinker with it.

Well, you don't have a lot to lose when the camera wasn't working in the first place! But I'll tell you what, I was still sweating bullets! 😛

I still can't believe it WORKS!

Mike 😀

 

[dmr]

Well, you don't have a lot to lose when the camera wasn't working in the first place! But I'll tell you what, I was still sweating bullets!

Congratulations!! And welcome to the "club", the "I actually got it back together and it works" club. 🙂

I still can't believe it WORKS!

I can! 🙂 If I can do it, you can too. All it really takes is a lot of patience and a steady hand at times.

And, I'm getting very close on #2 here! 🙂

 

[peter_n]

It works well too Mike - looks like you've got a great lens there! Congrats! 🙂

 

[Krasnaya_Zvezda]

Nothing like that feeling, you're bumbling around inside the camera's works, you have no business even trying to do what you're doing--- and you don't even know what you're doing---- you get an idea, hmm, looks like this thing ought to fit in this other thing, a little bending, a little cleaning, and then IT WORKS! Incredible!
What a rush.

 

[Pherdinand]

Congrats🙂
Yes, i had this feeling several times, Krasnaya. The biggest boost of my camera-repair related self confidence I got when the Contax IIIa was working great again. And, just six hours before that I felt the biggest fear of type "oh sh$t, this will never work again".

But then, i also busted the focusing of a folder trying to repair the shutter, lol.

 

[TPPhotog]

Congratulations Mike I've been finding out myself for the first time the pleasures of open heart surgery on a Canonet recently. Scary at first but the high of fixing the fault is amazing. Somehow I now kind of feel like a real classic RF owner 😉

 

[MrRanger]

It works well too Mike - looks like you've got a great lens there! Congrats! 🙂

Yes, I'm quite happy with the picture quality!

...What a rush

I couldn't agree more comrade!! 🙂

...But then, i also busted the focusing of a folder trying to repair the shutter, lol.

Win a few, lose a few right Pherdinand?

...Somehow I now kind of feel like a real classic RF owner

Amen brother, I couldn't have said it better myself!!

Mike 😀

 

[solane]

welcome and congrats on the repairs!

is the hazing on the left hand side of the picture a result of the scan or are my eyes going?

 

[MrRanger]

...is the hazing on the left hand side of the picture a result of the scan or are my eyes going?

Thanks! No your eyes are not going. I checked the original print and it is good. I think the hazing was caused by my cheap scanner! 😱

Mike 😀

 

[ErnestoJL]

Satisfaction gets double when you can say " Oh, it works " after saying some time before "OMG, I sc.....d it ... it won´t work anymore"
Welcome to the club, and besides IMO all Canonets deserve some hours of patience... they will duly reward your efforts!!

 

[Poptart]

So what battery did you go with?

 

[MrRanger]

So what battery did you go with?

Zinc-Air size 675. Radio Shack Part no. 23-077. You get 8 of them for $6.99.
They are 1.4V and the meter seems to be working well!

Mike 😀

 

[Russ]

So what battery did you go with?

The "Wein" zinc-airs, last much longer, and are the proper 1.35 voltage. I had mine converted to 1.5v silver oxide.

Russ

 

[MrRanger]

The "Wein" zinc-airs, last much longer, and are the proper 1.35 voltage. I had mine converted to 1.5v silver oxide.

Russ

I had thought about the "Wein" cells after I had bought the others. I have only had them in for about 3 months, so I don't know how long they will last. I know quite a few people have gone with the 1.5v conversion.

Mike 😀

 

[Russ]

I had thought about the "Wein" cells after I had bought the others. I have only had them in for about 3 months, so I don't know how long they will last. I know quite a few people have gone with the 1.5v conversion.

Mike 😀

If you're going to use Zinc-airs", then the Weins, are the way to go. They last much longer than hearing aid, zinc-airs. However, I highly recommend the silver oxide conversion. It's the best way to go.

Russ

 

[MrRanger]

Thanks Russ!

Mike 😀

 

[Russ]

Thanks Russ!

Mike 😀

Glad to be of help. Let me us know when you get the superb Oly RC & Vivitar ES.

Russ