Rangefinder Newbie...got a QL17 question, help please

[whatever7]

Hello,

I have used MF cameras before but this is a first time I use something older than me. I got a Canon QL17 from ebay. It's a 40mm f1.7 lens without the GIII bradge, so I take it this is a "GII" acorrding to Canon's history musesm. It's advertised in ebay as "refurbished" since the seller's father refurbished it in 2006 but the seller doesn't seem to know alot about this camera.

I received the package today. Looks pretty decent in condition. I pressed a couple clicks on the shutter and then I saw the "self timer" lever. I pulled it up. I couldn't hear the shutter sound anymore when I pressed it. And the timer didn't go back.

I looked around, and found the battery chamber is empty. Damn I am stuck. So my question is does the timer need the battery to operate? Is the only option to buy the "PX625" battery is online? I am in New York City btw. Is there anyway to move the timer back? Does anyone happen to have a link of any Canonet camera user manual online?


Thanks a million for you kind advise! I don't want to send the camera back if all I need is the battery. The condition of the camera is pretty good. 🙁

 

[micromontenegro]

As far as I recall, you don't need a battery for the self timer to work. But I could be wrong, it's been many years since I used one.

 

[btgc]

Recently here were active thread like "Using selftimer on vintage camera is fastest way to repair shop". This just happens due to gummed mechanics. If seller didn't state clearly ST works then assume it doesn't.

It can and maybe even should be fixed - either yourself or by technician.
If you don't want to fix it, you can try to negotiate with seller, using argument "refurbished means factory (father in this case) repaired/rebuilt apparatus, which clearly is sold as not brand new, though in full working order".
Do I understand it correctly?

 

[Rey]

Google "canon Ql 17, GIII, Manual" to get a look at waht the maual says about the self timer. I haven't used mine in a while (I never use the timers). otherwise, you may try to advance the film advance lever and then press the shutter button. Oh, are you also sure that the shutter speed is not on the A setting?

 

[whatever7]

Ok guys, I kind of figured it out. I put the aperture ring out of A, held the shutter down, the timer went slowly back! Weird, I guess timer is not meant to work w/o battery?

Next step, look for mercury battery replacement!

 

[camera.bear]

Glad that you got it unstuck. The Canonet will not work in the A setting without a battery. It will work in the manual mode however. It still sounds like the self timer is gunked up and could use a cleaning anywat.

 

[FallisPhoto]

Hello,

I have used MF cameras before but this is a first time I use something older than me. I got a Canon QL17 from ebay. It's a 40mm f1.7 lens without the GIII bradge, so I take it this is a "GII" acorrding to Canon's history musesm. It's advertised in ebay as "refurbished" since the seller's father refurbished it in 2006 but the seller doesn't seem to know alot about this camera.

I received the package today. Looks pretty decent in condition. I pressed a couple clicks on the shutter and then I saw the "self timer" lever. I pulled it up. I couldn't hear the shutter sound anymore when I pressed it. And the timer didn't go back.

I looked around, and found the battery chamber is empty. Damn I am stuck. So my question is does the timer need the battery to operate? Is the only option to buy the "PX625" battery is online? I am in New York City btw. Is there anyway to move the timer back? Does anyone happen to have a link of any Canonet camera user manual online?


Thanks a million for you kind advise! I don't want to send the camera back if all I need is the battery. The condition of the camera is pretty good. 🙁

The self-timer will work without a battery -- IF -- the shutter has been cleaned, lubricated, and adjusted. I have an identical camera and it works on mine. Now, listen carefully: DO NOT EVER USE THE SELF-TIMER ON A CAMERA THAT HAS NOT HAD THE SHUTTER CLEANED AND LUBRICATED!!!
NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES!!!
EVER!!!

There is a whole large escapement in there devoted just to the self-timer, and it is the most jam-prone part of nearly any type of shutter. The least bit of gunk in there can (and very often will) will cause the camera to jam solid, transforming it into a paperweight until you can somehow get the self-timer to count down. Just to put the cherry on top, Canonets are one of three cameras that I think would be the worst possible choices that an amateur could make for learning camera repair.

Edit: Now about the battery. My advice would be to buy a Wein Cell battery. These can be had fairly inexpensively on ebay. Use it until it is drained and don't ever buy another one. Instead, take a close look at it. You will see that a Wein Cell is actually a smaller battery press-fitted into a shell. Get the small button battery out of it any way you can and save the shell. If you look at the shell, you will see two small holes in the bottom of it. With a rotary tool, make that into one bigger hole. Now ream the plastic lining the inside of the cavity in the shell where the old small battery was force-fit into it, just a little. Congratulations! You have just made an adapter for cheap-as-dirt #675 zinc/air hearing aid batteries! They cost about a dollar each, will last about a month and a half each, and supply the correct 1.35 volt voltage. The big hole you made out of the two little holes is what you will use to punch the new #675 cell out when it gets drained.

 

[whatever7]

Thanks, I am not touching that self timer with a 5 foot pole then.

Is it my camera or the ISO level get moved easily when you change the shutter ring?

I also stuck in a cheap 1.5v battery with a piece of alumimun foil. The meter needle doesn't seem to more beyond the f1.7-5.6 range. I check it with my SLR's meter, somethngs its has 2-3 stops of difference, or more. I guess I will order a Zinc Air 1.35 v PX625 battery replacement and see if the metering will improve.

I still need to read up on the manual, thanks guys.

 

[FallisPhoto]

Is it my camera or the ISO level get moved easily when you change the shutter ring?

It doesn't on mine. That may just be happening because your camera needs cleaning. You'd be surprised at the amount of crud that comes out of most of them, and the effects it can have on them. I once dug 7 grains of rice out of a shutter. Apparently it had been used for wedding photography.

 

[40oz]

The Canonet QL17 GIII needs a battery for the "A" operation. I use Wein cells, a zinc-air replacement for the mercury cell it was designed for. I paid US$5.99 for one the other day at my local photo dealer. Lasts me a year or two, not an issue.

If you have the lens cap on, the meter is off. The cell that drives it need light to conduct electricity, so with no light, no battery drain. This also means the shutter won't fire with the cap on or in any situation where the shutter speed won't allow what it considers a proper exposure.

So the self-timer won't work with the cap on and the aperture set to "A". Take off the cap in the right light, or move the aperture dial, and the shutter will trip the timer.

The nice thing about the Canonet is it works fine without a battery, it only needs it for the meter. It's ergonomics as an all-manual camera kind of suck, but as a camera it takes very nice pictures and is a good size.

The Canonet is infamous for a bad self-timer locking the shutter. That doesn't seem to be a problem in your case. I bought the same camera three years ago with new light seals. It looks and functions like a new camera. The self-timer is very handy for low-light shots. I just set it on a garbage can or something with the self-timer, press the shutter and step back. f/1.7 and 1/4 second shutter at 800 ISO can take some amazing pictures at night. If it won't take it at 1/4 shutter just set it to f/1.7, set the timer, take it yourself, and push the film.

Enjoy the camera. I wouldn't put the lens in a sharpness competition, but would have no issues in an actual image contest.

 

[FallisPhoto]

The Canonet is infamous for a bad self-timer locking the shutter.

The only cameras I can think of with a worse reputation for that are the Minolta Hi-Matic 7S and Hi-Matic 9. If the self timer jams on a Canonet (or a Hi-Matic for that matter) the whole front of the camera pretty much has to be disassembled to get at the problem and fix it. It isn't something a beginner with a set of screwdrivers from K-Mart can fix.

 

[FallisPhoto]

I also stuck in a cheap 1.5v battery with a piece of alumimun foil. The meter needle doesn't seem to more beyond the f1.7-5.6 range. I check it with my SLR's meter, somethngs its has 2-3 stops of difference, or more. I guess I will order a Zinc Air 1.35 v PX625 battery replacement and see if the metering will improve.

That sounds like a corroded battery connection to me.