mstevenson
Member
Howdy,
I've been lurking here for what seems like ages, and just decided to join after purchasing and getting my first roll of film from my new to me QL17 GIII!
I have been ineterested in RF's for a while now, but purchasing from ebay turned me off. I "played" with different cameras every chance that I got at various camera stores, thrift stores, and pawn shops. I found an Olympus SP that I just fell in love with, but the shop was asking $200 (!), I found a Leica III, but considering the condition the shop was asking wayyyy too much at $325, I "played" with a QL17 about a month ago at a pawn shop and almost bought it, except for the bad seals and a rangefinder that seemed to be off by quite a bit.. and at $100 I'm glad I let that "deal" go..
I was sure I was going to order a nice FSU camera (had my eye on Zorki 1, Kiev 4, and Zorki 6) from Fedka. Come to think of it I'm sure I will still order a Zorki 1 and/or Kiev 4 from Fedka, but in the mean time I found a really nice Ricoh 500G at a local camera shop. The salesperson was even kind enough to throw in a lense cap and a 1.4v zinc air battery.. that was until I spotted the Canonet in the SLR display case.
This particular QL17 GIII had just come back from an outsourced CLA (according to the salesman) and had the price tag with CLA written on it to prove it! The camera felt really good in my hands, and I asked him to give me a 1.55v 625 replacement to test it. It worked, so I rolled the dice and took it home for $69 including the new battery, strap, and an ill fitting 49mm lens cap.
I played with the camera w/o film quite a bit last night. It is beautiful with very few bright marks, and some extremely light superficial scratches. It feels great in my hands, and even my wife remarked that it felt "solid" (she is NOT a camera buff). It seemed that the RF was out of alignment since the RF spot did not move between 2.6 and 5', but the parralax lines did. I went about my business for a while, and when I came back to the camera it was fine.. maybe I'm just nuts.
I tested the meter (using the 1.55v battery) against my SLR today, and in medium to dark conditions it was right on. In bright light it seemed to be over by about 1 stop. I tested it with a roll of XP2 Super anyway. The results are fantastic!! Sharp, nice bokeh, and I can get nicely exposed shots indoors that I could never have gotten before. Of course, XP2 is very tolerant film, so....
Anyway, I can definetely say that I am ecstatic with the camera, and thoroughly addicted to RF's. I love the quality of the images that I got from this test roll. Please take a look!!!
Keep in mind that the pics are scanned with a cheap all in one scanner/print/fax of suspect quality. I am in the process of selling internal organs so I can get a nice film scanner.
Michael
I've been lurking here for what seems like ages, and just decided to join after purchasing and getting my first roll of film from my new to me QL17 GIII!
I have been ineterested in RF's for a while now, but purchasing from ebay turned me off. I "played" with different cameras every chance that I got at various camera stores, thrift stores, and pawn shops. I found an Olympus SP that I just fell in love with, but the shop was asking $200 (!), I found a Leica III, but considering the condition the shop was asking wayyyy too much at $325, I "played" with a QL17 about a month ago at a pawn shop and almost bought it, except for the bad seals and a rangefinder that seemed to be off by quite a bit.. and at $100 I'm glad I let that "deal" go..
I was sure I was going to order a nice FSU camera (had my eye on Zorki 1, Kiev 4, and Zorki 6) from Fedka. Come to think of it I'm sure I will still order a Zorki 1 and/or Kiev 4 from Fedka, but in the mean time I found a really nice Ricoh 500G at a local camera shop. The salesperson was even kind enough to throw in a lense cap and a 1.4v zinc air battery.. that was until I spotted the Canonet in the SLR display case.
This particular QL17 GIII had just come back from an outsourced CLA (according to the salesman) and had the price tag with CLA written on it to prove it! The camera felt really good in my hands, and I asked him to give me a 1.55v 625 replacement to test it. It worked, so I rolled the dice and took it home for $69 including the new battery, strap, and an ill fitting 49mm lens cap.
I played with the camera w/o film quite a bit last night. It is beautiful with very few bright marks, and some extremely light superficial scratches. It feels great in my hands, and even my wife remarked that it felt "solid" (she is NOT a camera buff). It seemed that the RF was out of alignment since the RF spot did not move between 2.6 and 5', but the parralax lines did. I went about my business for a while, and when I came back to the camera it was fine.. maybe I'm just nuts.
I tested the meter (using the 1.55v battery) against my SLR today, and in medium to dark conditions it was right on. In bright light it seemed to be over by about 1 stop. I tested it with a roll of XP2 Super anyway. The results are fantastic!! Sharp, nice bokeh, and I can get nicely exposed shots indoors that I could never have gotten before. Of course, XP2 is very tolerant film, so....
Anyway, I can definetely say that I am ecstatic with the camera, and thoroughly addicted to RF's. I love the quality of the images that I got from this test roll. Please take a look!!!
Keep in mind that the pics are scanned with a cheap all in one scanner/print/fax of suspect quality. I am in the process of selling internal organs so I can get a nice film scanner.
Michael
mstevenson
Member
Some more pics from the test roll.
Last edited:
mstevenson
Member
And finally.. the obligatory "shooting oneself in the mirror: shot 
back alley
IMAGES
welcome to our little corner of the net.
if you like the canonet, you'll love a russian camera. a good one has a high fun factor and the quality of the pics is high also.
keep posting!
joe
if you like the canonet, you'll love a russian camera. a good one has a high fun factor and the quality of the pics is high also.
keep posting!
joe
Last edited:
mstevenson
Member
Thanks Joe! I do plan on getting my hands on a FSU cam.. all manual preferably. I really like the feel of early Leicas so something similar would be great. I will of course need a meter.. I am not good enough or patient enough with sunny 16.
I originally got interested in RF's for the ability to be a bit less obtrusive. My SLR is certainly noticible wherever I go. Now I am starting to think that these are some of the best pics I have taken..!
Michael
I originally got interested in RF's for the ability to be a bit less obtrusive. My SLR is certainly noticible wherever I go. Now I am starting to think that these are some of the best pics I have taken..!
Michael
Jon Goodman
Well-known
Hi, Michael.
Welcome! FSU cameras are fun. I see glasses perched atop your head...the Zorki 4 is nice, as it includes a diopter adj in the viewfinder. It makes things easier for those of us with aging peepers. I'd look for one built either in the first few years of production (56,57,58) or close to that. Hope you enjoy the Canonet!
Jon
Welcome! FSU cameras are fun. I see glasses perched atop your head...the Zorki 4 is nice, as it includes a diopter adj in the viewfinder. It makes things easier for those of us with aging peepers. I'd look for one built either in the first few years of production (56,57,58) or close to that. Hope you enjoy the Canonet!
Jon
peter_n
Veteran
Hi Michael,
Welcome to the forum and thanks for posting your first pics. I particularly like the sideways-on one of the boy (your son? ) - very sharp in the plane of focus. That is a good lens you have there!
Welcome to the forum and thanks for posting your first pics. I particularly like the sideways-on one of the boy (your son?
) - very sharp in the plane of focus. That is a good lens you have there!
W
wlewisiii
Guest
Welcome and enjoy!
Irregardless of what you buy, Fedka is an excellent vendor. I have nothing but praise for him. His cameras will cost more but they will work out of the box and his customer service is second to none.
The Kiev 4a is a very nice camera; solid, easier to load than the bottom loaders and has some utterly glorious lenses available to fit it from Zeiss to FSU to even current manufactured Cosina. Take a peek at my gallery for some of shots with a Kiev. There's some good info about them at Mr. Gandy's website too: http://www.cameraquest.com/classics.htm
Hope this helps,
William
Irregardless of what you buy, Fedka is an excellent vendor. I have nothing but praise for him. His cameras will cost more but they will work out of the box and his customer service is second to none.
The Kiev 4a is a very nice camera; solid, easier to load than the bottom loaders and has some utterly glorious lenses available to fit it from Zeiss to FSU to even current manufactured Cosina. Take a peek at my gallery for some of shots with a Kiev. There's some good info about them at Mr. Gandy's website too: http://www.cameraquest.com/classics.htm
Hope this helps,
William
mstevenson
Member
Thanks everyone! I will definitely be looking into FSU cameras. I actually really want a Kiev 4, a Zorki 4K, a Zorki 6, and one of the early Leica copies. All in time I suppose.
William: I have already corresponded with Yuri a couple of times, he is very responsive and has an unparalleled reputation.
Peter: That photo really does show off the lense. The print that I scanned it from shows amazing detail in the focused part of the moulding behind my son.
Jon: Thanks for the tip on the diopter adjustment on the Zorki. Sometimes I keep my glasses on when I shoot and sometimes I have an easier time focusing if I just take them off and pressing my eye as far as it will go into the VF window.. even w/o diopter adjustment. I'm actually looking into contact lenses now.
Michael
William: I have already corresponded with Yuri a couple of times, he is very responsive and has an unparalleled reputation.
Peter: That photo really does show off the lense. The print that I scanned it from shows amazing detail in the focused part of the moulding behind my son.
Jon: Thanks for the tip on the diopter adjustment on the Zorki. Sometimes I keep my glasses on when I shoot and sometimes I have an easier time focusing if I just take them off and pressing my eye as far as it will go into the VF window.. even w/o diopter adjustment. I'm actually looking into contact lenses now.
Michael
Welcome, Michael, and glad to see you're having fun with the Canonet! In the pics, it appears you have an eye for depth, and often choose to have prominant items nearby to emphasize that. Looking good!
mstevenson
Member
Thanks a lot Doug! I appreciate the comments. I see what you mean about creating depth and I wish I could claim to do it artistically, but I can assure you that its just a matter of chance and luck
Michael
Michael