Canon LTM Canonet repair sugestions

Canon M39 M39 screw mount bodies/lenses

sbug

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My Canonet QL17 G-III has developed some issues over the past few months. I’m wondering from those that have worked on their own, if I can pull off all of these repairs or if I should find someone to do them.

1. On occasion, I will wind the camera and the shutter will not cock so I will wind again to take a shot, ending up with a blank frame. I had this happen 4-5 times on one roll but it has not happened on the most recent rolls. I think I need to bend a small piece inthe linkage to fix this but I'm not sure.

2. The lever used to change the film speed is no longer moving the metal piece that controls how much light hits the metering cell. Somehow that linkage is broken, bent or disconnected. I have not seen this issue addressed on RFF before.

Those are the two major ones. At the same time, I’d like to get the rangefinder/viewfinder cleaned up, put new light seals in and put on new leather.

I’m comfortable with the light seals and the leather. I’d probably be willing to give the rf/vf cleaning a shot too. The film speed lever issue and the winding issue make me a bit nervous. I know I can always get another Canonet if I hose the repairs on this one but I do have a bit of a sentimental attachment to this one that I got from my grandfather. Thoughts? If I want to send it out for this work, who is recommended? Stephen @ Cameraquest? Is Greyhound Man still doing repairs? Anyone else?

Thanks!
 
Greyhoundman resurrected my GIII QL17, which suffered from a stuck shutter and the same advance mechanism problem as yours. It's working beautifully. He's a genius.

I did make an attempt to fix these problems myself (well, mostly my boyfriend did and I watched) but in the end I thought it safer to send the camera to the master.

Here's one of my favorite shots from the first roll through it after getting it back. The composition blows but I remain impressed by what this camera can do. This is a scan of a print; the print looks better.
 

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Melanie,
Actually, I think the composition is quite fine. Your dog being in the corner adds weight there, which is a different feel than if you had him/her in the middle of the frame. Also, the shallow DOF is quite pleasing, in my opinion.

allan
 
Hi,
Hopefully the G'man (when his head shrinks back to it's normal size) will correct me if I am wrong but I think the wind problem is covered in this thread http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=23367

The ASA setting problem is usually caused by dirt inside the ring. You need to take the front off as though you were going to clean the shutter and take out the ASA setting ring. Give this a good clean and the housing and it should solve the problem.

Lifting the top is covered in other threads. Seals are best done with one of Jon Goodman's kits (he is a member here). The skin is possibly one of the wort to take off because of the glue but they can look nice when they are done. http://pentax-manuals.com/camgallery/gallery10.htm

Kim

sbug said:
1. On occasion, I will wind the camera and the shutter will not cock so I will wind again to take a shot, ending up with a blank frame. I had this happen 4-5 times on one roll but it has not happened on the most recent rolls. I think I need to bend a small piece inthe linkage to fix this but I'm not sure.

2. The lever used to change the film speed is no longer moving the metal piece that controls how much light hits the metering cell. Somehow that linkage is broken, bent or disconnected. I have not seen this issue addressed on RFF before.

Those are the two major ones. At the same time, I’d like to get the rangefinder/viewfinder cleaned up, put new light seals in and put on new leather.

I’m comfortable with the light seals and the leather. I’d probably be willing to give the rf/vf cleaning a shot too. The film speed lever issue and the winding issue make me a bit nervous. I know I can always get another Canonet if I hose the repairs on this one but I do have a bit of a sentimental attachment to this one that I got from my grandfather. Thoughts? If I want to send it out for this work, who is recommended? Stephen @ Cameraquest? Is Greyhound Man still doing repairs? Anyone else?

Thanks!
 
kaiyen said:
Melanie,
Actually, I think the composition is quite fine. Your dog being in the corner adds weight there, which is a different feel than if you had him/her in the middle of the frame. Also, the shallow DOF is quite pleasing, in my opinion.

allan

Thanks man. I wish I'd put her in the lower left corner instead and had the shadow going across the frame. But, this is the dog I almost never photograph because she's almost never still, so I'll take what I can get.
 
greyhoundman said:
Genius!? Wow that is pretty strong stuff.
Calls for a drink or two with a cigar. :)

Now where did I put that pocket protector and my glasses.

So how does one contact Greyhoundman for a canonet repair?

Mark
 
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