new user. my rangefinder patch on QL17

[chronoguy]

Hi guys, I am hooked on RF cameras. New here.

I have a Canon QL17 adn the patch seems to be very faint compared to a NOS (New old stock) Minolta Hi-Matic 9 that I have.
Is it just the Canon? I've googled the hacks you can do with black tape but I don't think that is very elegant.

Does my camera need to be cleaned. Can I take apart myself? I'm sure I can but I'm worried if I knock something out of alignment or something like that.

What steps are needed to make thew RF brighter and what are the gotchas if i DIY repair?

I'll do a search for local repairs but if anyone knows of a repair place in the San Francisco area, that would be great.

 

[ItsReallyDarren]

I've cleaned out the viewfinders of QL17's before. Taking the top plate off isn't very difficult. Fixing the rest I'm not so sure about.

This site has a lot of information about touching up canonets.
http://www.kyphoto.com/classics/

Three repair shops in the SF area come to mind, Adolph Gassers in SF, Keeble and Shuchat in Palo Alto, and International Camera Tech in Mountain View. There are a few I've heard of in Oakland as well but I dont know much about them. There is another well known camera tech, Eddy Smolov who does great work but is located in New York.

The cost of repairing a canonet could get a bit pricey. It will probably cost more than what the camera is worth or how much you paid for it. Unless you got it really cheap of free.

 

[Sonnar Brian]

You have a NEW OLD STOCK Hi-Matic 9!

WOW. My first 35mm camera, bought 40 years ago from a Summer of mowing lawns.

And the viewfinder patch on it is still crystal clear.

On the Canonet: probably could do with a VF cleaning. Do not use any cleaning fluid on the beamsplitter. At most, breate on it and swab extremely gently. Probably the viewfinder glass is hazed up, making the patch look dim. Easy to pop the top and clean. I use a rubber cork to get the screw above the wind lever off.

The lens on the HM-9 is very sharp. It took 10 Canonets to find one as sharp as the Minolta.