Just after I bought my Canonet 28, I scored the Canonet QL17 G-III I wanted. Yee hah! I’d been looking for one for over a year. It’s not like I had any trouble finding one – Canon made 1.2 million QL17 G-IIIs between 1972 and 1982, and I swear half of them are available on eBay at any given time. But either the price was too high or the seller couldn’t represent the camera’s condition. I hate buying a camera and finding out it’s broken! A tip for all you eBay sellers: Know something about your camera before you list it. If you want me to bid, don’t write “I don’t know anything about cameras and so I don’t know if it works” in your description!
According to the code stamped inside, my QL17 G-III was made in 1977. It’s dented in one corner and the rangefinder glass has a small crack in it, so this one’s clearly seen a bit of rough usage.
Every part of this camera’s long name means something:
QL stands for Quick Loading, a clever system that made loading film fast and foolproof (though I must be a sufficiently talented fool, because I managed to goober it up; more on that later)
- 17 refers to the six-element 4omm f/1.7 lens, highly praised for its “Leica-like” sharpness and ability to focus as close as 2.6 feet
- G means “grade up” and recognizes quality improvements over an earlier Canonet QL17
- III represents the third (and final) generation of Canonets; see them all at Canon’s online museum
The QL17 G-III overflows with goodies. Its very quiet leaf shutter fires from 1/4 to 1/500 second (though mine seems to stick at the slowest speeds). If you plug Canon’s Canolite D flash into its hot shoe, it syncs at all shutter speeds. Its viewfinder compensates for parallax. It has a self timer. And, most enjoyably, when you set the aperture dial to A and choose a shutter speed, it selects the aperture for you – shutter-priority autoexposure. Its CdS light meter is designed to use the banned PX625 mercury battery, but a size 625 Wein cell zinc-air battery will do, despite the slight voltage difference. To see if the battery has any juice left, press the red button next to the viewfinder. If the blue dot lights, the battery’s good to go.
I itched mightily to shoot a roll of film with my Canonet and see what kind of results I could get from the highly regarded lens. So I stopped at a nearby camera store for a size 625 Wein cell (for $8, gack), dropped in a roll of Fujicolor 200, and went shooting.
But for one flaw, this Canonet was a pleasure to use. It was fairly lightweight and fit into my jacket pocket. The winding lever worked easily and quickly. Inside the viewfinder, the yellow rangefinder spot was bright and easy to see. To focus, you move the focus ring until the yellow rangefinder image lines up with the viewfinder image. I especially liked how the focus ring has a little tab that falls right between your left index and middle finger as you shoot; it made focusing almost effortless. I found myself focusing without even realizing I was doing it, as if the camera was part of me. But I was jarred back to reality every time I pressed the shutter button. It had more travel than I expected, and I was constantly pressing down to no result. I kept having to reposition my finger at a steeper angle and press again. I expect that if I run another couple rolls through, I’ll get the hang of it.
I also managed to screw up loading the film. I was shooting happily away when I noticed that the counter said 29 – on a 24-exposure roll. I hadn’t stuck the film’s leader into the quick-loading mechanism far enough, the film failed to wind, and I had exposed the leader 29 times. After I reloaded, I snapped this shot. I turned on autoexposure and then fiddled with the shutter speed until I got a wide aperture. An f stop guide is inside the viewfinder; a needle points to the f stop the autoexposure system has chosen. I was deliberately trying to get some depth of field. I got it, but the subject could be more interesting.
I brought my dog outside (she’s a favorite subject) and kept experimenting with depth of field. Of all the shots of Gracie I made that afternoon, I like this one’s composition best, but it reveals that the camera has a light leak. A few other shots show it too. I knew this was a risk, as one of the camera’s light seals has disintegrated and the other is gooey. I wonder why light leaked on some shots but not on others.
When the camera didn’t leak light, however, I was very pleased with the colors, detail, and clarity. I took some fall shots in my neighborhood a week before with my Kodak EasyShare Z730 and I liked how they turned out, but I had to punch the shots up in Paint Shop Pro to get the depth of color I got straight out of the QL17 G-III. Also, it seems to me that the individual leaves in this photo have more definition than those on a similar shot from my Z730, and that it captured greater texture in the tree, created by the shadows the leaves cast on each other.
I visited South Bend while I still had a few shots left on the roll. I strolled through downtown in the late afternoon and shot these flags.
I just love the St. Joseph River bridge on old US 31 at Leeper Park. South Bend is fortunate to have several lovely bridges in the City Beautiful style in its downtown. By this time, I had gone beyond just trying out an old camera and had moved to just enjoying shooting with a nice piece of equipment.
I’ll load up the Canonet QL17 G-III again and again, there’s no doubt. After I replace the light seals, that is.
If you like classic cameras, check out my entire collection.
Nice camera. I’d like have it.
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Seriously — go to eBay and search on “canonet ql17.” You’ll find dozens of these for sale.
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great review of a nice camera with sharp photos. I’ve just bought one of these and can’t wait to shoot my first roll with it.
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I really enjoy mine and I hope you enjoy yours as well!
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This is a great camera, high on my wish list. Light seal kits should be available on eBay as well.
P
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Yes, light seal kits should be available on eBay. And I’ll buy a set and get this camera back into fighting shape, because I’d like to take it along this summer as I make some road trips.
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I wanted my first car to be a toyota matrix, I am still working on that dream :)…I love the photo of the camera…I am a vivid canon user. ;)
Richardo
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I’ve owned two Matrixes. The blue one has the more powerful engine and is more fun to drive!
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Thanks for the comment Jim! I have one of these too but sadly it broke … but I imagine it wouldn’t cost much to replace!
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I still see these go on eBay for $30-50. This is my favorite camera to shoot in my collection.
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+Started collecting a few years ago, Based on what I had read about the Canon QL 17 I picked one up on ebay. It isnow a great paper weight because for two years I have been unable to find a battery to replace the orig mercury.
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Use one of these. This is the best price I’ve ever seen. http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/96457-REG/Wein_W9901201_MRB625_Cell_1_35v_Zinc_Air.html
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Jim, I own 3 of these cameras.
1) Purchased a re-furbished one for $120 two summers ago.
2) Purchased one at a garage sale for $10 one summer ago. Light meter works, just needs new light seals.
3) Purchased one on eBay for 42 cents (honest to goodness).
My write-up on my Canon QL 17 is at http://whatisafilmcamera.com/canon-ql17-review-my-camera-from-saigon/ . Hope it’s OK to link to it on your website.
These cameras have a dazzling lens.
Richard
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They’re so pleasant to use, too. I have film in mine right now!
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I briefly had one of these, but didn’t use it much because it wasn’t as pocketable as my Olympus XA or as versatile as my Minolta X-700.
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Yeah, the XA is hard to beat because you can carry it anywhere. I love my QL17 but I’m more likely to get out my XA.
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Where can I get light seal kits for Canon Canonet G III QL17 35mm Rangefinder Film Camera
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I don’t know. However, a friend of mine bought some sticky foam stuff and cut it to fit his Canonet. So you might try that.
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Thank you Jim.
Rich
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Just found a GIII QL17 in excellent shape except the light seals for $30 at a swap meet. Got a light seal kit from Jon Goodman (found on the internet) and this camera works wonderfully. A fun camera to use. I did buy some black felt at Michaels’ but I decided to use Jon’s kit for this camera. Jon has kits for many cameras. Jon Goodman
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A buddy of mine who has one of these QL17s gave me new seals to install in mine. I’ve had them for eight months, but haven’t gotten around to doing the job yet. I really need to!
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My first serious camera in Junior High was the QL19, Same as this one, but with a 45mm F1.9 lens. This brings back memories.
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No wonder: these are really good cameras. I’ve always wondered what the point was with the QL19 — not that different from the QL17, really.
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Good!!
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