jusxusfanatic
Well-known
Ahh thanks
jazzwave
Well-known
I enjoyed Canonet QL17 GIII for couple years, now replaced by Konica Auto S2 and 3.
Canonet is good small RF camera but Konica Auto S3 has better Image quality. Hexanon lens is superb.
~ron~
Canonet is good small RF camera but Konica Auto S3 has better Image quality. Hexanon lens is superb.
~ron~
thawkins
Well-known
I have an X700 and a QL17. My X700 is a great camera when it works but it has some seemingly insolvable electrical problems. The QL17 has never given me one moments grief. It has a super sharp lens, a bright viewfinder and a better build quality than the X700. It is not an M3 but nothing else is either but it is still a superb instrument. I use it frequently while the X700 stays in the closet.
jusxusfanatic
Well-known
Thanks for sharing your experience with the x-700 and the ql17 
MikeMGB
Well-known
I have a QL17, it's a great little camera, quiet, compact and easily carried. I use mine for b/w and I find the image quality excellent. It also has the advantage that if the battery dies it will still work in full manual mode.
Mackinaw
Think Different
MikeMGB comments mirror mine exactly. The QL1.7 is a fine little camera.
Jim B.
Jim B.
Dwig
Well-known
I've used quite a number of cameras in this range and handled many many more. For me, the QL17 GIII was one of the best and was the one (actually two) that I used the most extensively. Others that I used regularly were Nikon S2 & SP, Leica IIIg & IIIa.
It has one of the best, if not the best, VF in the class, with full parallax correction. For my shooting having a manual mode was essential, which ruled out any consideration of the auto-only cameras like the Yashica G...electro models. I never found the fact that the meter switched off when in manual to be much of a concern as it served as a clear warning that it was left in manual. Having cut my teeth with a manual RF with a handheld (actually shoe mountable) meter instead of a "match-needle in the VF", the idea of switching to manual to take meter readings and then setting an f/stop manually was simple and straight forward.
The only competing model that I played with that I would consider as well suited for my use back then was the Olympus RD. The tiny Olympus RC would rank down a notch. While being easier to carry due to its size, the RC isn't as easy to use due to its cramped size and the slower f/2.8 lens limits night and indoor work, which is what I used these cameras for.
It has one of the best, if not the best, VF in the class, with full parallax correction. For my shooting having a manual mode was essential, which ruled out any consideration of the auto-only cameras like the Yashica G...electro models. I never found the fact that the meter switched off when in manual to be much of a concern as it served as a clear warning that it was left in manual. Having cut my teeth with a manual RF with a handheld (actually shoe mountable) meter instead of a "match-needle in the VF", the idea of switching to manual to take meter readings and then setting an f/stop manually was simple and straight forward.
The only competing model that I played with that I would consider as well suited for my use back then was the Olympus RD. The tiny Olympus RC would rank down a notch. While being easier to carry due to its size, the RC isn't as easy to use due to its cramped size and the slower f/2.8 lens limits night and indoor work, which is what I used these cameras for.
Fraser
Well-known
I've had a couple first one in chrome that was stolen and now I have one in black, the black ones brass really nicely as nice as any Leica. I wouldn't say the rf is as good as Leica but then what is ? There is quite a price difference as well £40-60 for a chrome £90 plus for a black compared to £400 ish for an m3/2 body only.
Great fun camera good size for a large pocket nice sharp lens.
Great fun camera good size for a large pocket nice sharp lens.
I have RCs, RDs, SPs, Auto S2, Auto S3, Hi Matic 7S II, Vivitar 35ES, and a few of the GIII.
GIII has by far the best viewfinder of any of them, the Olympus are nice but have no parallax correction; the others have lower magnification and significant VF barrel distortion. In some ways it is better than an M Leica viewfinder but that's not really relevant anyway, considering what these great little cameras sell for.
The GIII also focuses to 2.6 feet, which beats all the rest.
GIII has by far the best viewfinder of any of them, the Olympus are nice but have no parallax correction; the others have lower magnification and significant VF barrel distortion. In some ways it is better than an M Leica viewfinder but that's not really relevant anyway, considering what these great little cameras sell for.
The GIII also focuses to 2.6 feet, which beats all the rest.
CMur12
Veteran
As can be gleaned from other posts, the battery powers the meter in the shutter-priority automated mode. This is a very convenient way to work, as it shows you the corresponding aperture in the finder and you can lock the meter reading by pressing half-way down on the shutter button. There is no metering in manual mode, but you can set the aperture and shutter speed manually, and fire the shutter (take a picture), without a battery.
By the way, for my shooting style, automation (shutter-priority or aperture-priority) without AEL (auto exposure lock) is useless. In the Canonet, pressing half-way down on the shutter button provides your AEL. You would use this, for example to aim the camera downward away from the sky, to prevent the sky - normally much lighter than the ground - from causing underexposure. You would point the camera downward, lock the exposure by pressing half-way down on the shutter button and trapping the metering needle in the finder, then you would raise the camera, recompose the image, and shoot.
I normally scan a scene with the camera and watch the range of meter readings, I choose the representative reading that I want, and I lock that reading. Then I recompose and shoot.
You could do the same thing with the X-700 in aperture-priority or program mode, except that you use an AEL button to lock exposure.
This surprises me. I have a couple of X570s (basically X-700s with no program mode, but with enhanced metered manual and TTL flash), they have never failed me, and I consider them better made and more rugged than the Canonet.
- Murray
skucera
Well-known
I have a "New Canonet QL17L," which is almost identical to a GIII. Think of it as a GII that Canon offered briefly before rolling a couple more changes into the GIII. I like it, but it is a very different beast from a Leica. It has a very good viewfinder, better than my M3. The annoyance for me comes with the very quick 45° focus throw from close-up to infinity... it's just too quick for me, and I find myself sawing at it, overrunning my desired point of focus first one way and then the other. The Leica's 270° focus throw is much more precise, and since I use the Leica more, it feels more natural to me. I suppose with more use I'd get used to the Canonet's focusing, though.
I really like the integrated light meter in the Canonet. Clearly, the M3 doesn't have that, although I have a Leica-meter MC that still works, but it is nowhere near as convenient as having a built-in light meter.
I also like the Canonet's flash system. A week after finding my New Canonet at a thrift store I found the Canolite D flash at the same thrift store, with good batteries in it, and still ready to flash. I imagine whoever donated the camera also donated the flash at the same time, but they didn't get put out for sale together. The Canolite D doesn't use a thyrister; instead it adjusts power and exposure based on focus distance, and it works really well as a system. Although, I rebuilt the flash gun that came with my Leica, and it is fun to take pictures with flash bulbs in the manner of our grandfathers. There's nothing like a big flash bulb going off to get people asking, "What was that?!?"
I've never had an X700 or the other Minolta film SLR's, so I don't have any basis for comparison. If you get one, let us know how you like it.
Scott
I really like the integrated light meter in the Canonet. Clearly, the M3 doesn't have that, although I have a Leica-meter MC that still works, but it is nowhere near as convenient as having a built-in light meter.
I also like the Canonet's flash system. A week after finding my New Canonet at a thrift store I found the Canolite D flash at the same thrift store, with good batteries in it, and still ready to flash. I imagine whoever donated the camera also donated the flash at the same time, but they didn't get put out for sale together. The Canolite D doesn't use a thyrister; instead it adjusts power and exposure based on focus distance, and it works really well as a system. Although, I rebuilt the flash gun that came with my Leica, and it is fun to take pictures with flash bulbs in the manner of our grandfathers. There's nothing like a big flash bulb going off to get people asking, "What was that?!?"
I've never had an X700 or the other Minolta film SLR's, so I don't have any basis for comparison. If you get one, let us know how you like it.
Scott
Dwig
Well-known
I had one of those as well as a "real" G-III. The differences were minor (battery check, lack of a safety switch over the PC outlet).
The Canolite D is, in an of itself, purely manual. It in no way alters its brightness. It is the camera (Canonet QL17L & G-III or Canon EX) that senses that the flash is a Canolite D via a signal on the extra contact and adjusts its f/stop based on the camera's focus and ISO settings. It's really a conventional guide number system that auto-engages when the special flash is sensed. The QL17s also have a manually set GN mode for use with other manual flashes.