Canonet GIII QL17 film advance

[Just Me]

I've recently purchased a Canonet from an online establishment. (not the- bay) I downloaded the instruction book and followed the directions to load a roll of film. The book says 3-4 strokes of the advance lever and it should stop, indicating you are at frame #1. I got up to frame # 8 with no stopping. I rewound the cartridge thinking I possibly did something wrong and tried loading another roll of film. Same result. Hopefully this is operator error, or an easy fix. Thank you for your help.......Thad

 

[RicardoD]

Mine behaved that way at first then it disappeared after a few tries but that's when I figured out my frame counter wasn't working. I have a detailed post about it. Click here for link

Not sure if I got the problem fixed just by getting all the gears working again or wheter it was related to my frame counter problem.

 

[Just Me]

So would you advise me to take off the top and just see if that could be the fix, ( I'm decent with my hands). I guess the obvios answer is yes, I'm just a wee bit nervous about it. Is there anything that is going to come flying out at me when/if I actually do get the top off? I'd rather not get into a " o I forgot to mention" situation! Thanks for the help.......Thad

 

[RicardoD]

Nothing should come flying off. Just be patient and make sure you have the right size screwdriver first, so that you don't cosmetically damage your screws.

With the top off you will be able to re-attach the film winder and study what is happening mechanically when you load the film.

When you have the top off you can study the repair manual to get a sense of the assembly.

 

[Just Me]

Might you direct me to a link for the repair manual? Thanks for the vote of confidence! Excuse me if I've overlooked the link in a previous post........Thad

 

[RicardoD]

The links you need are here in that thread click here

 

[Just Me]

Thank you so very much for staying with me on this matter. I will see what I can do with it in the morning. I will keep you posted. Thanks again Ricardo..........Thad

 

[Just Me]

UPDATE... I took the camera apart and I just couldn't see anything wrong. Keep in mind this is the first time I've ever seen the inside of ANY camera. I studied all the links provided and all the diagrams that I was directed to, but again, I'm just not seeing anything obvious. Sooooo, I put everything back together ( I didn't even have any extra pieces) and decided to give it a try. I was carefully watching the counter window and stopped winding on when #1 came around. I shot the roll as normal, and took the pics to a 1 hour place. Everything was fine. Now I'm faced with a dilemma. Do I keep trying to tinker with it, or just use it as is being carefull when loading a roll? ( note that this is the ONLY issue with this otherwise great camera.)
G-Man.... I understand what you are referring to, but I don't know what kind of adjustment to make. Thanks for the interest and the help..........Thad

 

[Just Me]

1 more quick question before I dismantle her again, Do I need to remove the piece to bend it, or will I be able to do this with it in place? Thanks again........Thad

 

[Just Me]

Yes, I left the leather 'loose' in case I got this great instruction! Thank you so much for helping me with this. I will try this tonight and see what I can do. I'll definitely keep you posted......Thad

 

[Spyderman]

Yup, had the same problem, followed Rick Oleson's drawings, the camera is fine now... but I actually removed the piece from the camera to bend it... do as you prefer.

 

[Just Me]

UPDATE..... I took her apart again and adjusted the lever in question. Everything seems to be just fine. Just like G-man said, four strokes and she's ready at #1. However, and this may very well be my ignorance of manual cameras, I don't get a positive stop at #1. I have a Mamiya C220 TLR and when I'm winding on and come to frame #1 the winder actually stops. Then you have to depress the shutter release to be able to advance to the next frame. Not so with this camera. I can wind the entire roll without ever depressing the shutter release. Is this my ignorance of the subject or do I still have a problem? (mechanically) haha .......Thad

 

[BrianShaw]

Unfortunately it sounds like you still have the problem. Like your Yashica, the film should stop at 1, and aat every successive frame number after the shutter is released.

 

[Just Me]

I've been using the camera "sucessfully" with the advance "problem". I'd really rather not do anything else myself. The camera functions as it should other than the advance issue. To me I guess there really isn't an issue any more. As long as I know not to wind on any more than four strokes, evreything else is normal.I'm ok with that. I've really been having a ball with this little guy. Yeah I've got a fancy DSLR, but this simple device really makes me excited about being part of photography. I'm finally starting to understand that it really isn't about the equipment is it?!!! Thad

 

[centipod]

I didn't even know this function existed. I tried it now and my cameras got it to! 😀
I have always fired the shutter between each film advance. But two advances usually gets me to the first usable frame on the film.

 

[ampguy]

me neither, I always like to squeeze an extra few frames off a roll, some of my best shots have been in the -0 to -1 territory. If it doesn't crank, take a picture, then crank again.

 

[dmr]

Mine has kind of the opposite "problem" in that it always lets you advance once and will not let you advance again until the shutter is fired. I know that TFM says you should be able to advance a new roll without firing, but I don't see this as a big enough problem that I want to try tearing it apart again. It behaves the same as the Pentax and the Mamiya, so I really can live without the feature.

 

[ftw1952]

:bang:

I've recently purchased a Canonet from an online establishment. (not the- bay) I downloaded the instruction book and followed the directions to load a roll of film. The book says 3-4 strokes of the advance lever and it should stop, indicating you are at frame #1. I got up to frame # 8 with no stopping. I rewound the cartridge thinking I possibly did something wrong and tried loading another roll of film. Same result. Hopefully this is operator error, or an easy fix. Thank you for your help.......Thad

I had serviced many with the problem such as yours. Under the counter wheel which would have to be removed you can bend a tang which will make this run as it should. The tang is part of a spring loaded arm that moves when the film door is opened and moves after each advance of the film. The tang to bend is the one that hits the black arm that the film door hits upon closing. Most likely before bending the tang the spring only will move the arm one way. After bending towards the black arm about a sixteenth of an inch or more the arm will spring both ways which is the correct way working

 

[ftw1952]

I've recently purchased a Canonet from an online establishment. (not the- bay) I downloaded the instruction book and followed the directions to load a roll of film. The book says 3-4 strokes of the advance lever and it should stop, indicating you are at frame #1. I got up to frame # 8 with no stopping. I rewound the cartridge thinking I possibly did something wrong and tried loading another roll of film. Same result. Hopefully this is operator error, or an easy fix. Thank you for your help.......Thad

I had serviced many with the problem such as yours. Under the counter wheel which would have to be removed you can bend a tang which will make this run as it should. The tang is part of a spring loaded arm that moves when the film door is opened and moves after each advance of the film. The tang to bend is the one that hits the black arm that the film door hits upon closing. Most likely before bending the tang the spring only will move the arm one way. After bending towards the black arm about a sixteenth of an inch or more the arm will spring both ways which is the correct way working