QL-17 Woes

BLKRCAT

BLKRCAT

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So I just finished scanning some Efke 50 from my QL-17. The tones were beautiful, but something was missing... Focus?

This is going to sound like a highly green mistake/question, but I had to ask.
First, I've been shooting rangefinders for quite some time and this is the first time I've noticed this.

My question is. Whatever im focussing on to, i assume i should be centering it within the rangefinder. I had done the little tape mod to help brighten the rangefinder, but in bright conditions it made the center of the rangefinder hard to see so i was focussing around the edges, after all the patch is the patch right?

It seems I'm wrong. As i can focus on something lined up on the left side of the patch and get a completely different focus than if i lined up the object on the right. Sorry for writing the novel, but does this sound correct? Ive removed my tape so i can center my objects in the rangefinder but I've never experienced this left/right focus parallax before. I'm not crazy right? 😕


Untitled by nownownownow, on Flickr


Untitled by nownownownow, on Flickr
 
The QL17GIII has parallax correction, so the frame lines should move when you are focusing the lens. This means that anything within the frame lines should show the same way in your photos. When you are focusing while looking through the viewfinder, the frame lines should move diagonally from left to right, or vice versa.

Sometimes the parallax arm gets stuck, and the frame lines don't move when focusing. If this is the case, the top cover and rangefinder assembly need to be removed to clean and lubricate the pivot point. Normally the rangefinder in the Canonet has very good contrast, but in time the gold-colored mirror in the viewfinder can become dirty or deteriorated. Cleaning the mirror is not difficult, but if it it's deteriorated you will need to replace the viewfinder.
 
Looking at the full size pictures on flickr, they definitely look a little soft for a Canonet, assuming the focus was on the gas pump. OP might need the rangefinder adjusted. The close up shot is pretty close for the Canonet anyway, looks like ZF might have been pushing the 1 meter minimum distance. Close up, focus is more critical (as it is with basically any camera lens). I can't think of any reason why the focus would be different depending on the side of the patch is used. Anyway, the Canonet patch is small enough so I pretty much use the whole thing.
 
Ebolton, I think this is the issue. Pushing the limits of the lens. Last night I did do a focus test wherin I just focussed on a close object and compared the left and right edge in the rangefinder, the way id been focussing on this last roll. The differences in focus put me off about 0.5m one way or another.

Frontman, the parallax correction moved properly. Everything on this canonet is in great condition. I had great success on test rolls after adjusting the rangefinder on this camera.

Im thinking this stupid tape is causing me problems. Ill see if its possible to make a video to illustrate the situation.

Lastly, i usually shoot wearing contact lenses but latly ive been wearing glasses to shoot. Does it make sense that not having my eye right in the viewfinder would make things difficult? Maybe for framing as sevo has said but a rangefinder should be the same?
 
Sometimes the rangefinder does not agree with what the lens actually sees. You need to check the rangefinder using a piece of ground glass resting on the polished rails at the film plane. I have found that some of these cameras are quite far off in adjustment, the rangefinder split image is aligned properly, but the subject as seen through the lens is not in focus.

The only important area in the rangefinder patch is the exact center. The split image through the rangefinder moves on a curve, so to the left or right the distance will not seem the same as in the center. The rangefinder in the Canonet is quite simple, and does not offer nearly the same amount of precision or correction as one might see in a Leica M or Canon 7.

Adjusting the rangefinder to agree with the lens is not so difficult, the Canonet is one of the easier cameras to repair.
 
Do you happen to need a light seal kit??? BONUS

Do you happen to need a light seal kit??? BONUS

If you buy a light seal kit from Jon Goodman, you get very good instructions on cleaning and calibrating the rangefinder.

I just purchased this September, and installed two kits... a QL-17 and a QL-17 GIII. Easy install, with a couple of step that are a bit tricky.

My cameras were fine on the rangefinders, but I certainly appreciated the rangefinder sheet included and looked it over. Nicely done.

The instructions on the seals and the rangefinder were detailed, had pictures and very thorough.

$12.

Jon is no longer Interslice on eBay, but does operate on line through his eMail address. JGood21967@aol.com

He is in Texas.
 
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