Canonet QL17 GIII - Worth a CLA?

[Avispartner]

Hi forum,

When shooting analogue, I usually have one of my Olympus OM's or one of my Zeiss Ikon medium format cameras with me (various Nettars, Ikontas or Super Ikontas).

I'm quite new to rangefinders (have a Zorki 4K, a FED 5B, and a Yashica 35 GSN, though) and have recently fell over quite a nice QL17 GIII. Well, I got it at close to nothing at a camera flea market here in Switzerland and didn't really check it due to the very low price. Could have thought it before, but of course, shutter and self-timer are stuck. I'm not quite sure if I'll manage to clean the shutter as I am not so sure if I correctly understand the repair information that one can find on the web. Entry from the front or rear or both and so on, but well, I might give it a try.

Besides the shutter and the self timer, there seems to be something locked when trying to select "B"... There is that little lever to press, but it would simply not move anywhere...

What do you think, would it be worth sending it somewhere for having a CLA and if so, does anybody know some reliable source in Switzerland, Germany or elsewhere in Europe?

The camera looks very nice so I would feel sorry to just have it displayed rather than actually using it.

Thanks for your opinions.

Cheers from Switzerland,
Rob

 

[Sonnar Brian]

If the lens is good: no etched glass, no hazing, no scratches, fungus, etc- It is worth it.

Here are my instructions, if you want to try it yourself:

http://rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=90468

Flood cleaning works about 75% of the time, sometimes something gets broken. I ended up spending 8 hours making a working Canonet out of two broken ones, including transplanting the RF unit. SO- I can tell you that a professional repairman is well worth what they ask!

 

[Gumby]

Rob, I suspect that you need to get into the shutter... which Brian Sweeney's material doesn't really address. I suspect your camera needs much more attention than spritzing lighter fluid on the shutter blades.

Taking apart a Canonet is not for wimps. I had one with severe shutter problems and took it apart yesterday. At some point one would need to take more of the front apart and remove the rear lens and the shutter retaining ring to get to the shutter itself. I was surprised by how complex and fiddly the Canonet is.

I did this "just for the heck of it" and never intended to put the camera back into service. I doubt that I would have been able to be reassembled in a serviceable manner after going deeper into it than Brian's material depicts. There are many, many small screws, springs, insulators, washers to keep track of.

 

[micromoogman]

It has the same shutter as Konica Auto S3. I did a service reference page on the Auto S3 http://www.novellen.nu/S3/

 

[f16sunshine]

If you get it going you will find a nice sharp lens in a small package. I used to love these cameras but, grew tired of the play in the shutter button (all seem to have it). Now I much prefer a Yashica GX or Konica S3. Still the answer to your question is Yes, it is worth the CLA.

Cheers!

 

[Sonnar Brian]

Like I stated in the thread on flood cleaning, I've worked on about 20 or so Canonets- about 15 came back to life after flood cleaning. Some are down in the parts bins that did not. I have two that I did several years ago, work fine now. I even flood cleaned a Voigtlander Prominent which has two sets of shutter blades. Sometimes flood cleaning works, sometimes something is broken. The Voigtlander works fine.

$80 or so for a good repairman is well worth it. An RFFmember sent me a box of 8 fixed-lens RF's last week. 5 of them are now workig after flood cleaning the shutter. Your results may vary. Transplanting the RF module into the Canonet- that was a learning experience. The hard part was getting the Battery Lamp to work properly after getting it back together. Hint- insulate it!

 

[FrankS]

Brian, or anyone, can you talk about the spring that is meant to open the aperture blades when adjusting the lens aperture ring from a small aperture to a larger one? What would cause this operation to be sluggish?

 

[Gumby]

anyone, can you talk about the spring that is meant to open the aperture blades when adjusting the lens aperture ring from a small aperture to a larger one? What would cause this operation to be sluggish?

I explored that, and other springs, in my recent exploits into the inner workings of the Canonet. IO was surpised how small and thin that spring is, yet what strong "springiness" it has.

The unqualified answer to your question is likely to be, "goo".

 

[Avispartner]

Hi all,

Sorry for late reply, was too busy with other things...

Anyway, thank you all for the valuable info. Have ordered a set of spanner wrenches and will give it a try with the flood cleaning first.

Interesting to see if I'll manage to get the beauty into working mood again.

Cheers from Switzerland,
Rob