Canonet QL17 - Meter oddness

[CliveC]

I managed to find a "fully working" QL17 GIII on the 'Bay and while the aperture and shutter seem to work fine, the meter seems a bit odd, at least based on what I'm used to.

Battery light turns on when battery check button is pressed. Camera came with the PX625A, which I understand is too much power for the camera.

When I put the camera to my eye, the needle does not move to changing light conditions. The Olympus 35 RD is the same way (it meters on half press). When I half press, the meter seems to want to move, but sometimes it takes several half presses to change the reading. Other times, the meter reading does not change, even though it's very evidently incorrect.

Although a half press on the Canonet actuates the aperture, it doesn't seem to go to the right one. Going down from 1/500 to 1/8 I can change the shutter speed and keep half pressing the shutter but the aperture doesn't change. As soon as I hit 1/4, the aperture stops down to what looks like f16 (which is correct).

To sum up:
- Meter in viewfinder is "sticky"
- Aperture response is tempermental

I think it would be fine to shoot manually, but anybody have any ideas about the meter? All the testing was done indoors using interior lights. No film in camera.

 

[jultou]

These QL17 are nice cameras but your lucky when you have one without problem.

I had one copy with accurate metering but all the gaskets were completely flat so I had to replace them. I had a bit of fungus inside the lens but it did not affect the image quality that much.

The best thing is to test metering is without film as you did. You can compare with a camera that as a good metering or use Iphone app 'pocket light meter'.

 

[CliveC]

These QL17 are nice cameras but your lucky when you have one without problem.

I had one copy with accurate metering but all the gaskets were completely flat so I had to replace them. I had a bit of fungus inside the lens but it did not affect the image quality that much.

The best thing is to test metering is without film as you did. You can compare with a camera that as a good metering or use Iphone app 'pocket light meter'.

This camera looks perfect other than this problem. While I don't always use a meter while testing, I know that the camera should not be letting me shoot at 1/500 with ASA set to 100 indoors at night (the aperture was not completely open either).

 

[gb hill]

Pressing the shutter 1/2 way down has no effect on the meter. There is a CDS cell (I think that's what it's called) on the lens that reads the light. As you change the shutter speed the meter will change aperture readings. The meter will only work when the lens is set on A.

 

[airds]

but all the gaskets were completely flat so I had to replace them..

What do you expect, the GIIIs were introduced in 1972 ie can be up to 41 years old ....

 

[CliveC]

Pressing the shutter 1/2 way down has no effect on the meter. There is a CDS cell (I think that's what it's called) on the lens that reads the light. As you change the shutter speed the meter will change aperture readings. The meter will only work when the lens is set on A.

I just tried it on mine. Simply changing the shutter speed (aperture ring on A) does not change the meter at all. If I do a half press a bunch of times, it seems to move the needle, but still not to the correct position. ASA400 should not be able to shoot indoors at 1/500 (the aperture isn't even wide open at f/1.7!). On a regular camera, it's 1/60 at f/2.8 or 1/125 at f/1.7.

It seems I bought a dud.

 

[Frontman]

The meter in the Canonet works only in the A mode, and sometimes the contacts in the switch become dirty, causing the meter to be erratic. This can also be caused by dirty battery contacts. Even when the meter is working well, it is generally not very accurate, and the auto system seems to be addd to the camera as an afterthought.

 

[jultou]

What do you expect, the GIIIs were introduced in 1972 ie can be up to 41 years old ....

Well that is exacly my point, these are nice little cameras but you should expect that something will not be working well when you get one.

And because the camera is very common and the price low, it is rare to find one that have a recent CLA.

 

[mortalenema]

I just picked one up today and it initially had the same issue. I pulled the px625a out and put in a 1.35v hearing aide battery. Works perfectly now.

 

[CliveC]

I just picked one up today and it initially had the same issue. I pulled the px625a out and put in a 1.35v hearing aide battery. Works perfectly now.

I tried the battery and it seems to have helped a little. The needle now sometimes moves to light changes, but it's sporatic. Could be a sticky needle. Another issue seems to be that it does not correspond with the aperture. The needle would indicate f/2.8 and the opening of the aperture looks closer to f/5.6.

I wonder if it's a combination of sticky needle and sticky aperture.

 

[kuzano]

Alkalines bogus in these camera's

Alkalines bogus in these camera's

I have a couple of OM-1 camera's that are good in the metering department. But when I use Alkalines.... pure crap. Same with a number of QL17 and GIII's I have owned.

It's a fallacy to say that Alkalines have too much power. In fact, the Alkalines have a very fast discharge curve...They drop to 1.35 volts within a couple of weeks, and fall fast below that afterward.

I have had good luck with the MBR625 Wein cells, until they started putting a foil pad with a small hump on the negative side. Now... not so good.

the batteries that work for me are the 1.4 (right voltage) 675 batteries with a rubber O ring (hardware store-faucet parts). They are also Zinc Air, and not a very long life span, but they cost about $5 for a packet of 8 at the walmart pharmacy area. Accurate, short life, steady discharge curve, and cheap throwaway price.

Frankly, I've been buying and selling GIII's constantly for 15 years now and very rarely run into a bad meter. The first thing I do, if necessary, is put in a light seal kit.

Jon Goodman is still selling his light seal kits for the Canonets, AND he includes a written page on cleaning and calibrating the rangefinder. $12 per kit with the RF and proper self-adhesive seals and superb install instructions.

In the most expensive solution, and worth it if you are going to keep and USE the camera, is a CRIS adaptor, using contemporary batteries.

 

[ftw1952]

I managed to find a "fully working" QL17 GIII on the 'Bay and while the aperture and shutter seem to work fine, the meter seems a bit odd, at least based on what I'm used to.

Battery light turns on when battery check button is pressed. Camera came with the PX625A, which I understand is too much power for the camera.

When I put the camera to my eye, the needle does not move to changing light conditions. The Olympus 35 RD is the same way (it meters on half press). When I half press, the meter seems to want to move, but sometimes it takes several half presses to change the reading. Other times, the meter reading does not change, even though it's very evidently incorrect.

Although a half press on the Canonet actuates the aperture, it doesn't seem to go to the right one. Going down from 1/500 to 1/8 I can change the shutter speed and keep half pressing the shutter but the aperture doesn't change. As soon as I hit 1/4, the aperture stops down to what looks like f16 (which is correct).

To sum up:
- Meter in viewfinder is "sticky"
- Aperture response is tempermental

I think it would be fine to shoot manually, but anybody have any ideas about the meter? All the testing was done indoors using interior lights. No film in camera.

Sounds like a loose battery terminal in yours. Sometimes it will make good contact 10 percent of the time. Remove the bottom plate then the battery holder to see. The terminal is heat staked to plastic to the metal which shears off in time. I use alligator clips after gluing the terminal back in. Sanding the raised contact is a good idea before gluing too.