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SAMPLES
SUMMARY
What a long name for such a small camera. The Canon Canonet GIII QL17…whew!, is a great little rangefinder and does live up to the long winded moniker. The Canonet line was introduced in 1960 and ran until 1982 with many models in between. The original QL17 was released in 1965. ‘QL’ stands for ‘Quick Loading,’ a reference to how easy film is loaded into the camera. It’s not necessary to wrap the film around the take-up reel. Much like today’s cameras just drop in the film cartridge, line up the film, close the back and wind. A loaded film indicator window resides below the film advance lever on the back of the camera to indicate the film was loaded correctly and is advancing normally. The ‘17’ stands for the speed of the lens, which is an f1.7 40mm coated lens on the GIII, while the original 1965 QL17 version featured a 45mm f1.7 lens. A second generation Canonet QL17 with a 40mm lens was produced in 1969. The GIII QL17 hit the shelves in 1972 and was the last of the Canonet line along with the GIII QL19 (f1.9 45mm lens). ‘G’ stands for ‘Grade Up’ referring to improvements made to the 1965 version of the camera, and the ‘III’ represents the 3rd generation Canonet QL17. The capable Copal shutter provides a speed range of ¼ second to 1/500 plus Bulb for long exposures. There is X-sync for flash, a hot shoe and PC sync socket with retractable cover. The viewfinder is bright and includes frame lines and parallax correction, over/underexposure warning indicators and a match needle aperture scale (f1.7 – 16). Film speed range is ISO 25 – 800, and manual or auto exposure is available. ‘A’ Auto metered mode indicates in the viewfinder what aperture should be selected and the camera chooses the appropriate shutter speed. The built-in CdS meter sensor is located within the lens filter ring, just like the Minolta Hi-Matic 7s, and allows for correct metering even if a filter is attached. This also helps to prevent leaving the lens cap on (a common occurrence with rangefinders,) since the meter won’t react until it is removed.
A proprietary flash unit was developed for the GIII QL17, called the Canolite D. When connected, the exposure is determined automatically be the camera for flash photography, much like TTL flash with a Single Lens Reflex camera. Flash sync at all shutter speeds is available. The flash takes two AA batteries while the camera suffers from the same battery issue that many Japanese rangefinders had from this era, it originally required the now illegal (in USA) 625 1.3v mercury battery. Equivalent 1.5v alkaline batteries are available but exposure will be off by about one-half to one stop. Also, as with the Hi-Matic 7s there is no off switch so place the camera in a camera case, bag or attach a lens cap to ensure the battery doesn’t get drained. There is also a battery life check button on the back of the camera beneath the rewind crank. The GIII QL17 is a great little camera that is a lot of fun to use and provides wonderful, sharp images.
CLEANING AND REPAIR
My repair experience is limited to basic models from Argus, Kodak, etc., when it comes to these quality rangefinders and/or SLR’s I defer to professionals for repair. When I first spotted this little gem on a thrift store shelf I noticed it was marked down to $14 from their original $40 marked price. After inspecting the camera it was obvious that they thought it was broken. Some unknowledgeable patron probably was interested and tried out the camera to find that the meter didn’t work (due to no battery in the camera) and that the shutter wouldn’t fire. So someone at the store marked it down. The shutter didn’t fire because it was set to ‘A’, the automatic setting, with no battery in place. I promptly changed the camera to manual mode, by turning the aperture ring around the lens away from the ‘A’ indicator, selected f1.7 and 1/30 and fired away. After going through all aperture and shutter settings in manual mode I determined the camera was working just fine. The meter couldn’t be validated until I got the camera home, but 14 bucks plus tax and it was sitting comfortably in the passenger seat next to me on the drive home. I popped in a 1.5v Alkaline 625 battery and the meter came to life. Automatic mode works well albeit slightly off in regard to exposure.
Luckily the previous owner chose to place a UV filter on the lens, so there was no fungus, scratches, or problems with the lens. A quick cleaning of the front and rear lens elements is usually necessary and all that was required for this camera. The finished metal body cleans up just fine with Windex, and leather cleaner brings back life to the covering. I found the Canolite D flash at Collectible Cameras (formally Ritz Collectibles) albeit with a broken battery cover which requires a piece of gaffers tape to keep it in place.
EBAY SUGGESTIONS
Even though this camera receives high praise it tends to be regulated to thrift store status, much like the Minolta Hi-Matic 7s. The GIII QL17 is much more compact than the Hi-Matic 7s, but many of the features are similar. EBay is an odd animal, the average completed auctions for the GIII QL17 seems to be around 40 – 80 dollars, while some have gone as high as 127 dollars for a recently CLA’d model, or as low as 12 bucks for ‘AS-IS’. I’ve seen a few of these in various thrift stores for around 30-40 dollars. A lot of these cameras were sold over the years so they are fairly common on the ‘bay and probably found at yard sales for a steal, if functional. If the EBay seller doesn’t have a battery for the camera, you’re taking a chance that the meter doesn’t work, but they can easily test the aperture and shutter speeds manually to validate functionality. Odds are that if the camera exterior is still in good shape, the camera hasn’t been abused (too badly) and probably functions correctly. These cameras are compact, but sturdy and made very well. Even at 40-80 bucks for a fully functional camera, they are well worth it.
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