Canon Canonet QL 17 GIII
Description
The Canonet QL 17 GIII is the final, high-end version of the famous Canonet compact rangefinder series of the 60s and 70s. It provides shutter-priority auto-exposure and parallax compensation with its 40mm f/1.7 lens. The lens is actually sharpest when wide-open, a rarity in photography that makes this an excellent camera for use in low-light.
It was designed to use the PX625 mercury battery, no longer available in the US. The circuitry in the camera holds up well against slightly higher voltages, so you can use a PX625A alkaline battery as a drop-in replacement, but you will find your exposures tend to be slightly off. The beauty of this camera, however, is that its fully mechanical shutter functions perfectly under manual settings with no battery whatsoever. Thus, if you own a handheld light meter, you can use this camera without any exposure problems and without battery problems.
The QL 17 GIII is about 2/3 the weight of a Leica M6 with a similar lens, and is much quieter, making it an excellent alternative to higher-priced rangefinder cameras. They can often be found on eBay for as little as $30, and with over a million of the cameras sold, they are fairly common at flea markets and garage sales as well.
Links
- Offical Canon Museum Entry for GIII
- Karen Nakamura's overview at Photoethnography
- Steven Gandy's overview at Cameraquest
- Canonet QL17 versus the Leica M6 by Kyle Cassidy
- Matt Denton's overview (including repair tips)
- Henry Taber's guide to Canonet blade cleaning
- Favorite Classics on the GIII
- The Canonet QL17 FAQ
- Instruction Manuals
- kataan.org review
- The Other Martin Taylor's opinion on the GIII
Photos
- Random photos from pbase
- sample photos from Dragan @ dnik.ch
- sample photos from Craig @ therangefinder.org
