QL-17 GIII Lens Queustion

[pcfranchina]

My lens barrel has some play in it and its starting to bother me for some reason. Is it worth trying to fix it? How much would something like this cost of i took it somewhere? Any place in NYC?

 

[flashover]

I hear the sound of a Greyhound barking in the distance. I had a couple with play and it did not have any effect on the photos.

 

[dostacos]

PM GREYHOUNDMAN on this site, he works on these cameras, is good, fast and inexpensive. I have sent him a Canonet 28, my [owned from new] Canonet QL-17 GIII and he has my just won on evilbay never been shot, never even lubed QL-17 GIII

he also tweaks them so regular 675 hearing aid batteries work in them

ah did I say he does good work? 😀

 

[dostacos]

I type too slow 😀

 

[dmr]

Mine has just a wee bit of play too, and others have reported that theirs does as well. It's not getting worse and it doesn't seem to affect the photos.

The focus mechanism on mine is definitely not as smooth or as "silky" as the others are, but it's really not rough and definitely not loose.

 

[Kim Coxon]

Hey, that must be the reason the camera was never finished. It was an experimental model never put into production - The QL27 🙄

Kim

PM GREYHOUNDMAN on this site, he works on these cameras, is good, fast and inexpensive. I have sent him a Canonet 28, my [owned from new] Canonet QL-17 GIII and he has my just won on evilbay never been shot, never even lubed QL-27 GIII

he also tweaks them so regular 675 hearing aid batteries work in them

ah did I say he does good work? 😀

 

[Luf]

Canonet

Canonet

Hi

I have also a QL17 GIII and the lens barrel has also some play. I don't notice any effect on the photos, so don't worry about yours if it has no visible effect in the photos. 🙂

 

[BrianShaw]

me too

me too

Mine has a little bit of wiggle in it also.

I've heard so many people comment on this looseness in the lens that I'm starting to wonder if it is supposed to be that way. 😉

 

[dmr]

Here's something I once stumbled onto regarding this. It came from the Classic Camera Repair Forum a long time ago. Maybe Greyhoundman or somebody who's torn these down farther than I have would like to comment on this ...

The lens assembly is attached to the body using four screws. Most (actually every) G-III that I've come across exhibit a loose or rocking lens because these four screws were not lacquer set and eventually work themselves loose.

On one camera, the top right screw had come loose and was floating in the camera body. It lodged itself in a position that made moving to close focusing more and more difficult, or binding. It also prevented the operation of the parallax correction movement in the viewfinder.

You can get to this screw by removing the top plate. To get to the other screws, you'll have to remove the front leatherette and the two filler plates on either side of the lens.

 

[dmr]

cause the whole lens plate to have movement.

Thanks, Gman! 🙂 From what you say here, I think what the guy on the Classic Camera Forum is talking about is something different from what we're seeing here.

If these came loose, I assume then that everything forward of the camera body would be loose, which it isn't in my case. It's the stuff forward of the focusing ring that has a very slight play to it.

Removing the leatherette is a tough job. But if one takes their time it will come off in one piece. I always apply nail polish when reinstalling the screws.

I've pulled the leatherette back on the Mamiya but not on the GIII (yet, and I hope to never) 🙂 and it was kind of a pain. I very carefully coaxed it back with a scalpel and a jewelers screwdriver. (But not as much of a pain as getting the old light seals out of the GIII -- that was a nasty messy job!)

 

[Roger S.]

I have the same issue. The lens is a little loose now- what are the chances it will become a problem? Would it affect the performance of the lens (be out of alignment and affect sharpness)?

 

[dostacos]

Hey, that must be the reason the camera was never finished. It was an experimental model never put into production - The QL27 🙄

Kim

:bang: close enough for government work 😀