Canon LTM GIII QL 40mm/1.7 for free

[venchka]

The good news: Someone gave me a Canonet QL17 Ser. # F85245 last night. Any idea when this camera was made? Were they all made in Taiwan?

The bad news: The foam & light seals have turned to goo.

I figure my repair man will charge somewhere between $50 & $100 for a complete overhaul. The rest of the camera is in good shape. The lens needs cleaning, but there aren't any major dings that I can see. Are these cameras worth fixing? Is the lens good wide open? Are there better alternatives before I spend my money?

A couple questions:

To the right of the A on the aperture ring are the numbers 28 20 14. What are these for?

What do the icons (sun cloud window) on the shutter speed ring do?

Thanks for your help.

 

[venchka]

The meter works!

The meter works!

I just put a fresh Wein cell in the Canonet and the meter works! 😀 That seems to be half the battle. Good shutter and good meter. If the lens cleans up nicely I reckon I'm good to go.

 

[Xmas]

Wayne

Steal foam from mouse (mat) GreyHM will indicate origional thickness needed.

There are only two problems
- the shutter is blocked in Auto when the needle is at either end of scale, dont force the release...
- in night sceanes the high lights in some cameras can be strange

There is a manual on line somewhere to tell you what all the other strange things are like the barbour pole, the red flag etc. all of which will worry you, you only need a 48mm screw in hood and you have a really nice camera as Dave suggests...

Dave will also tell you how to fix it...

Noel
P.S,. market price is about 40 USD in your condition, so you owe someone...

 

[venchka]

I'm encouraged

I'm encouraged

28,20,14 are for use when the factory flash is used. The symbols are a general guide to which aperture to use in those conditions.
They are nice cameras, good lens.

I also have the factory flash. The contacts are badly corroded. It may not be salvageable.

This camera was given to the lady who gave it to me. I promised here pictures when I get it working.

 

[John Bragg]

Enjoy....... (Link to manual).




http://www.butkus.org/chinon/canon/canonet_g-iii_17/canonet_g-iii_17.htm

 

[Michiel Fokkema]

Hi,

The foam can easily be replaced by your self. I bought some on Ebay for $10 and already done 4 camera's with it. Worst part is to get the old foam out without ending up in the shutter or the lenses.
Have fun these are great camera's.

Cheers,

Michiel Fokkema

 

[Mauro]

For the light seals, I would strongly recommend Mr Jon Goodman: he sells on e##y as "interslice", and its kits are simply great! They include different kind of foam + a tool + a very good instruction booklet. Moreover, he is always so kind to provide you with further explanations and help. For a few dollars, you can easily and quickly replace the light seals. I can confirm it works perfectly, as I experienced it with several SLR and RF cameras.
Hope this help.

 

[Xmas]

Michiel

Stich a card or paper shield accross the film gate is 100% protection unless the camera is a SLR.

Noel

 

[venchka]

I have a few 48mm filters & a 48mm to 55m step up ring from my Canon 135/3.5. Everything matches. I also picked up a 48mm hood at a garage sale recently. I hope it's short enough to work on this lens.

Thanks for a ll the help. Pictures soon.

 

[venchka]

The manual download isn't working at the moment.

 

[John Bragg]

The manual download isn't working at the moment.

I found the same problem after posting it, so I installed Adobe Reader 8 and it now works again.

Regards, John.

 

[40oz]

28,20,14 are for use when the factory flash is used. The symbols are a general guide to which aperture to use in those conditions.
They are nice cameras, good lens.

No, the matching Canonet flash uses the "A" setting. The blue numbers are the guide numbers for any other electronic flash. You set the ring to match your flash (if you don't have the Canonet flash) and the aperture adjusts for distance automatically. The shutter syncs at any speed. However, if you are using flashbulbs, use the blue "30" setting for shutter speed.

I'd agree it is a great camera.

 

[vrgard]

I also have the factory flash. The contacts are badly corroded. It may not be salvageable.

If the corroded contacts are those on the little slide-in battery cover/door then all you have to do is drop the cover into a glass of white vinegar and leave it there for a couple of days. Should come out almost like new. I did this on a Canonet flash battery door once and was amazed at how well it looked. Now if the corrosion you're talking about is deep inside the Canonet flash unit then you may have to use some Q-tips or something to carefully apply some white vinegar to those contacts inside. Anyway, it's definitely worth a try before trashing what is a rather nice little flash unit that is well integrated with that camera. Good luck!

-Randy

 

[venchka]

Thanks!

Thanks!

If the corroded contacts are those on the little slide-in battery cover/door then all you have to do is drop the cover into a glass of white vinegar and leave it there for a couple of days. Should come out almost like new. I did this on a Canonet flash battery door once and was amazed at how well it looked. Now if the corrosion you're talking about is deep inside the Canonet flash unit then you may have to use some Q-tips or something to carefully apply some white vinegar to those contacts inside. Anyway, it's definitely worth a try before trashing what is a rather nice little flash unit that is well integrated with that camera. Good luck!

-Randy

White vinegar it is! My Sunpak 383 Super has a touch of corrosion as well. It needs some vinegar.

Has anyone ever tried to devise a diffuser for the Canonlite D? Or would that defeat the simplicity? I guess it whoulf throw off the guide number and exposure.

 

[venchka]

Drat!

Drat!

The camera is ready. The flash is dead beyond repair. Shucks! Anybody have a favorite place to get a Canolite D flash for the GIII QL17? 🙂

 

[dmr]

The camera is ready. The flash is dead beyond repair. Shucks! Anybody have a favorite place to get a Canolite D flash for the GIII QL17? 🙂

I've used two flashes with the GIII recently, neither of them Canon, but both have worked just fine.

Vivitar Auto 2600. I got this about 10 years ago for my Pentax, but it works just fine in auto mode on the GIII. I'm sure you can get these for a song and a dance on E-pray.

(Don't laugh ...) Sunpak 120. This was a busted-up one that I resurrected and I've used for some of the Weegee experiments. This is a honker. It has to be registered as a weapon in several states. It does indeed mount and work fine on the GIII but it's bigger than the camera!

 

[venchka]

Big flash, tiny camera

Big flash, tiny camera

Thanks. I have a Sunpak 383 Super that will "git 'er done." Yes, it's about 50%-75% larger than the camera. I'll keep my eyes open for the little flash that goes with the camera. In the meantime, if I really want to, I can use the flash with the wee camera hanging off the bottom. 😀

 

[jan normandale]

DMR... how about a link to the "weegee shots" ? ;- )

 

[dmr]

DMR... how about a link to the "weegee shots" ? ;- )

Not to hijack Venchka's thread, but ... here are two of them ...


http://www.letis.com/dmr/pics/vegas/vegas10/ (about 1/2 way down in the page)

http://omababe.blogspot.com/2007_01_01_archive.html (about 2/3 down in the page)

All of these were done with the GIII. I may be trying some more in this style this weekend (a casino closing) but I'm not sure if all of the dominoes will fall in place.

 

[venchka]

I picked up the camera yesterday. Loaded it with a roll of Fuji 200 film and attached the nice 48mm Hoya hood I bought at a garage sale "just in case I ever had a need for it." I put it in my briefcase where I expect it to spend a lot of time. My "carry always" camera. It's sitting on my desk at work. It really is in very nice condition. I am looking forward to this first test roll.