Canonet 28

[fishtek]

The aperture ring moves, but the leaves of the aperture don't. Dunno if something became disconnected, or what. I've tried letting it get cold...sitting overnight on a cold (enclosed) porch. Haven't baked it yet, but maybe down the road....

I'll keep the forum posted...
Don

 

[Harlee]

Yesterday, I took my Canonet 28, along with my distored pictures to a camera repairman to get his diagnosis of the camera's problem. I actually didn't get a chance to talk with him personally, but I explained the problem to the "counter girl," and she relayed it to the camera tech. I shared with her some of the input I received, i.e., pressure plate, lens hood, etc. After looking at the pics, the technician said he thought it could the shutter! Therefore, I'm not sure in which direction I should go, but here's a thought I had. Looking through the back of the camera, the shutter looks OK, and I've been shooting with a zinc air 1.4V battery. I don't know if or how that would affect the shutter, but today I switched to a regular 1.5V battery and ISO 400 film. So, back to the firing line to see what results, if any, there will be. So, keep tuned, same time, same station [as they used to say decades ago]!

 

[Harlee]

Well, here's a couple of my last shots taken on my Canonet 28, with a 1.5V battery and ISO 400 film. The first picture is still a little fuzzy around the edges, but I think the second one came out just fine. I'm still not sure if I can say that it's fixed, so I may shoot a few more shots with ISO 200 and compare the prints.

 

[Roger Vadim]

maybe you should sell it to somebody (here) who loves the effect. I find it quite lovely.

 

[Harlee]

I agree with both of the last 2 posts. Since I presently have around 10 rangefinders, I really don't need the 28. The first $15 plus $5.00 shipping gets it!!!!! Continental US that is! Let me know!

 

[kuzano]

It's broke.... harvest for parts....

It's broke.... harvest for parts....

Hey, I like (no, love) canonets. Even 28's. I've had 4 or 5 28, not to mention a bunch of GIII's. They are what Steve Gandy says they are, in my book.

I have never gotten pictures like that, but I hope it's your search for knowledge that has you so involved with the camera, and not the value of the camera. It may be worth dollars to know what's causing this problem, but right now there are an even dozen Canonet 28's on eBay, and looking at the completed listings, almost twice that many sold in the last 60 days. The highest sold for $32 and most sold for $10-15.

A sharp image across the frame is the first thing I would expect from either a 1.7 or 2.8 canonet lens.

I don't have anything to offer on the problem. It is not a rangefinder problem. If the center is in focus, the rangefinder is on the mark. It is either curvature of the film inside the camera, or a lens problem.

BUT, barring that, don't blow any more film on this one. It's a bad camera. The good news is that most of them are not. They are one of the best built camera products of the era they came from.... I think Steve Gandy says that Canon built 10,000,000 of the GIII, and I don't think that includes many thousands more canonets in various models.

The price is a function of the glut of surviving camera's on the market.

Sorry, but I don't want you to be deluded about what this camera is worth in terms of real dollars.

 

[kuzano]

My apology... 1.2 million GIII's built

My apology... 1.2 million GIII's built

we're certainly not going to run out of these for a while. They just keep surfacing out of closets, like replicators.