self-timer very slow on Canonet QL17

[aladab]

hello everyone,

I've just bought a Canonet GIII QL17 and realized that the self-timer doesn't work: it seems to initially work - after clicking - but then it gets stuck half a way. The only way out is to gently push it till the shutter goes off.

What do you think the solution might be? The Canonet works otherwise fine, and it's a shame that the shutter doesn't....

Thanks!

 

[40oz]

you might just run the self timer a couple times a day to see if it "loosens up." I'm sure it was a rarely used feature on your camera, so it might just need exercising to redistribute the lubricant/get the crap out.

Or it could be hosed. I use the self timer on my cameras enough to like the ability, but not enough to really miss it on an otherwise good body.

 

[Rprice]

Dried up lubricant is most likely the cause of the stickness in the selftimer, should be an easy fix if you are handy.

 

[FallisPhoto]

Are you out of your mind? Unless you are capable of taking it apart and reassembling it, you NEVER use the self timer on a vintage camera until you have had it CLAd. If you do, you are pretty much asking for your camera to lock up solid forever. The cure for your camera's ills is to get the self-timer (and all the rest of it) professionally cleaned and then it will need to be very lightly lubricated. For a Canonet, I'd suggest Essex Camera Services, in New Jersey.

 

[Rprice]

Are you out of your mind? Unless you are capable of taking it apart and reassembling it, you NEVER use the self timer on a vintage camera until you have had it CLAd. If you do, you are pretty much asking for your camera to lock up solid forever. The cure for your camera's ills is to get the self-timer (and all the rest of it) professionally cleaned and then it will need to be very lightly lubricated. For a Canonet, I'd suggest Essex Camera Services, in New Jersey.

Actually I must be, as I have always fixed all of my old cameras. Practice makes perfect you know. 🙂

 

[FallisPhoto]

Actually I must be, as I have always fixed all of my old cameras. Practice makes perfect you know. 🙂

I was talking to the OP.

 

[dmr]

In my not so humble opinion, the self-timer is a value-subtracted feature. 🙂

A wee bit of Ronsonol will probably restore it to functionality if you really want it.

Otherwise, the self timer mechanism removes very easily from the Copal shutter assembly and the shutter will work quite well (some may say better?) without it. 🙂

 

[aladab]

Thanks everyone!
Two questions, if you don't mind:
- do I just put a couple of drops of Ronsonol through the self-timer slot - from the top of the lens? (terrifying thought)
- how to I remove the self-timer mechanism from the Copal shutter assembly?
Thanks!

 

[literiter]

Thanks everyone!
Two questions, if you don't mind:
- do I just put a couple of drops of Ronsonol through the self-timer slot - from the top of the lens? (terrifying thought)
- how to I remove the self-timer mechanism from the Copal shutter assembly?
Thanks!

Please, don't! It may get into places you don't want it.... like the lens.

 

[btgc]

- do I just put a couple of drops of Ronsonol through the self-timer slot - from the top of the lens? (terrifying thought)
- how to I remove the self-timer mechanism from the Copal shutter assembly?
Thanks!

1. under extreme circumstances (need operation of ST right here and now otherwise my carrier/life/karma :angel: would be harmed) I'd do that. THOUGH not spill directly from bottle but pick a little drop on end of needle or wire and let it land on ST mechanism.

And there's a little hope ST will work after this+several dry runs - just because in opening only small part of ST is visible, but ST extends to about of 1/3 of space there.
So my choice would be to proceed with step 2.

But as I don't have Canonet, I can't help with anything more specific as Copals are similar each to other, so I'll guess that few (two?) screws are keeping it in place. After bathing ST assembly in film canister filled with naphtha it should work reliably.

And once you are inside, check rest, like blades and slow speed escapement (if slow speeds drag it also should be removed and bathed).

Good luck! After some work on it camera will respond to you with great service and special glow 🙂

 

[caperunner]

I have to agree with Fallisphoto. Don't let the temptation to operate the self timer on a 'vintage' camera get the better of you. It can indeed lock up and render the camera useless (or less extreme - send it to the repair basket)
Self timers seem to be a separate mechanism and can be removed if you want to go to that trouble. Ronsonol may help apply carefully and sparingly.

 

[40oz]

I have to agree with Fallisphoto. Don't let the temptation to operate the self timer on a 'vintage' camera get the better of you. It can indeed lock up and render the camera useless (or less extreme - send it to the repair basket)
Self timers seem to be a separate mechanism and can be removed if you want to go to that trouble. Ronsonol may help apply carefully and sparingly.

realistically, on some cameras the self-timer function can freeze the shutter if it malfunctions. On others, it is not an issue and will not interfere with normal use of the shutter. AFAIK, the Canonet is in the group where self-timer malfunction locks the sutter. But in the OP's case, the self-timer is merely slow, not non-functioning.

If the rest of the camera works fine, and the only issue is the self-timer, then the camera needs a CLA. If the self-timer freezes the shutter, get it fixed. It's cheaper than another camera if that's all that's wrong with it. It doesn't make sense to me to avoid using the self-timer on an old camera purely out of superstition. If it's broke, don't use it or get it fixed. If it works, use it.

 

[FallisPhoto]

... But in the OP's case, the self-timer is merely slow, not non-functioning.

It's slow today. Tomorrow it can freeze up entirely, and it is well on its way to doing just that. The shutter is going to have to be cleaned anyway. If the self timer is slow, it is a cinch that the shutter speed escapement is also gummed up. I'd bet $5 that the 1 second shutter speed is a lot closer to 2 seconds than 1 second. Since the shutter is going to need cleaning anyway, doesn't it make sense to clean something that can lock it solid at the same time -- and not to use the self timer until then?

If the rest of the camera works fine, and the only issue is the self-timer, then the camera needs a CLA. If the self-timer freezes the shutter, get it fixed. It's cheaper than another camera if that's all that's wrong with it.

1. The way you find out the self timer on a Canonet doesn't work is: you use it and it locks up your camera. This can be pretty dissappointing when it happens before you ever get to take a photo.
2. Most of the people here repair their own. It can get pretty darned expensive collecting rangefinders if you have to buy a bunch of them and then have to send them out to be repaired.
3. By the nature of the question, and the commonness of the camera it is pretty evident that the OP is not an expert camera repairman.
4. The Canonet would have to be one of the very worst possible choices for an amateur to start learning camera repair with (the Hi-Matics and Moskva/Super Ikontas are just about the only ones that occur to me that might be a little tougher).

It doesn't make sense to me to avoid using the self-timer on an old camera purely out of superstition. If it's broke, don't use it or get it fixed. If it works, use it.

Superstition? Remember that we are talking about someone who has likely never worked on a Canonet here (beyond maybe flushing the blades). I propose this as a general rule of thumb: If there is something you won't really need to use, on a camera that has not been cleaned, and if you don't know if using it will turn your camera into a paperweight, then until you do get the camera cleaned -- don't use it!