Lightweight, fast and contrasty lens, tough, cheap, simple to use, one of the few rangefinders able to use a polarizing filter!

Rangefinder problems, batteries discontinued (mercury), manual controls mode not connected to light meter

I have dragged this cheap little camera all over the United States and Europe and it has performed quite well. Lens is above average. Have had some problems with focus/rangefinder mechanism, but still minor. I bought this camera because it was cheap, lighweight, and had a good reputation. When in Europe, others were shooting cheaper auto-focus cameras with print film. I shot my little canonet28 with slide film and polarizer and blew them all away.

Customer Service

Never used

Similar Products Used:

Olympus 35RD, Olympus pen EE3

Light, small in size. AE lock by half-pressing the shutter, flash synchronizes at all speeds. Quick load of film. Optics are very sharp.

Non metered manual mode.

I bought the QL17 GIII from eBay. The camera is in perfect working order, rangefinder is clean, meter is right on. I found there is not much difference between a 1.4v zinc air battery or S76/SR44 silver oxide battery, of course you can adjust the film ASA numbers if needed. The battery is not an issue for me. A good camera even by today's standard.

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Minolta Hi-Matics, Olympus SP & RC, Hasselblad 500CM. Nikon F3. Ricoh R1, GR1, Leica Minilux, Pentax SPII, ESII....

Cheap, fast lens, easy to use, leaf shutter.

QL19 lens is rather soft - worse than most compact cameras. They're beginning to fall apart by now. The leaf shutters are great when they work, but eventually they jam and a professional repair is uneconomical. I've tried a QL19 and two QL17s. The QL19 worked perfectly, but the lens was too soft so I sold it on. The QL17s were only fit for the scrapheap. Watch for the "mercury battery problem". An alkaline won't give correct meter readings and Wein cells cost a fortune and run down in a couple of months.

These cameras haven't stood the test of time very well. It's getting very hard to find one with good light seals and no fungus, and the rangefinders invariably need adjusting if they've never been touched since new.

Similar Products Used:

Leica IIIa and IIf

Lens, size, quietness, price, availability, ease of use, short focus throw, focusing lever, quick loading, decent viewfinder, uncluttered finder, AE lock with half-press of shutter button (it took Leica till 2001 to add this feature to the M7, and for just the difference in price between the M6 and M7, you can buy a dozen Canonets. Kinda makes you wonder).

Shutter release is a little stiff for my taste--I would prefer a smoother and lighter release. Unmetered manual mode. Shutter priority--ideally, I prefer aperture priority. Camera won't fire on A when metered value is outside of the camera's range.

A nice, quiet little pocket camera that has a lot going for it, even today. The one to get is the Canonet QL-17 GIII, which cost about $60 on eBay--as another reviewer said, about the same price as a Leica lens cap. That's the biggest advantage of the Canonet--they're all over the place and they're dirt cheap. I like the 40mm focal length, always have. The lens is outstanding; if you need a better lens, chances are you need medium format. The camera is quick and easy to learn and use. It's a great stealth camera, in that nobody thinks you are a serious photographer when they see it. The results are excellent. The one big drawback of the camera is reputed to be the mercury battery it requires, but the readily available 625A alkaline 1.5V battery you can get at any drugstore works just fine. Really a non-problem. Overall, a strong 4, but value pegs it up to a 5. Buy two or three, get 'em serviced, and never worry about having a camera with you--leave one in the car, one at home, one at the office. Lost or stolen? No big deal, just pick up another. No insurance needed.

Customer Service

not applicable

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Leica M6, M3, M4, CL, IIIc, Minolta CLE, Olympus RFs (most all of them), Minolta Hi-Matic, Konica Hexar, Konica Hexar RF, Konica Big Mini, Nikon 35Ti, Contax T2, others.

Strength

No real manual override.

Within 5 minutes of collecting this camera, my young son had used it to test his Action Man parachute. It didn't work. Yes, it was a roman candle from ten feet. However, I think the floor was hurt more than the Canon, as the pictures are A1 quality. So much so that I've since purchased another for my mum.

Customer Service

Who?

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Yashica Lynx 1000 Yashica Electro 35 MC Action Man Camera Set

- great 'disposable' cam - easy to use and very forgiving even at night in the city (with 100ASA film)

- meter, what meter? ahhh you don't need it anyway. - only find the batteris in the eastern block , but again you don't need them, just shoot like a jedi!!

got 2 of these after seing it in 'Pecker' just for the hell of it. I figured how bad could it be. Well i got a hell of a surprise. the pictures were so crisp i thought i developed the wrong roll. as previously said 'sharp as a tack'. I shot a test roll of Kodak Gold 100 (and set it to 200 ASA by mistake, but it still came out slammin! I'm trying some Tri-X and Fuji Superia Xtra 400 next.

Customer Service

customer what?

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-Yashica GSN-Electro 35 -Pentax K1000 - Various under $200 Olympus Range Finders

Sharp lens. Easy quick load system, with film advance window confirmation. Battery check button and indicator lamp. 48mm screw in filters are automatically compensated for, because the "electric eye" for the meter gets covered too. Price; $52 on e-bay! I replaced the foam padding on the door seals my self, for $8.00! Worse comes to worse, get another one!

Fixed but wonderfull lens. Not light, but quality construction out of real metal; remember that? No close up ability, closest is 2.6 feet approximately

Never thought, in the digital age, I would be buying, and enjoy using, a rangefinder 35mm! Heard good reviews about rangefinders in general, and the Canonet in particular; for the price! The quality of the images is astounding! The 40mmf1.7 lens is suppossed to have several rare earth elements. Some have espoused it is same glass type used in some Leica lenses. Whatever it is, it''s sharp as a tack! This from a man that has a hasselblad system! The battery hasn''t been a big deal. I use the readily available 625a from the local drug store or radio shack. Sure, it''s 1.5 volts, instead of 1.35 volts like the old mercury ones, but it fits and works fine!

Customer Service

Either fix it cheaply yourself, or "file" it and buy another!

Similar Products Used:

Canon 35mmsystem, Hasselblad 503cx

Quiet, small, unobtrusive, very
capable of sharp contrasty pictures. Sharp 40mm F1.7 lens, 1/4 to 1/500 Leaf shutter - super quiet. Durable all metal construction. Flash sync at all speeds. User selectable rangefinder w/parallex compensation.

Finder not the most
accurate. No meter when shooting manually. 1.35 volt batteries for the meter - hard to find - but they can be ordered.

I own the G-III QL version. Known as the "poor man's Leica" - I'll tell you the GIII QL can't compare with the M6 - but its a great value. As an image maker, its as quiet if not quieter than the Leica. The Canonet is an amazing little available light camera for the money. The meter is accurate if you don't mind shutter priority. I use mine as a knock-around street camera - and have been pleasantly surprised by the results. I bought a fairly mint user off of the internet and have had no problems/repairs - but beware - I've read "as-is" bargains may cost $100 to make the camera light/tight and accurate. I haven't been disappointed with the GIII QL. It is a joy to use and handle. And don't fret about the 1.35 volt battery for the meter. Professional camera shops can order a zinc cell 1.35 volt - that can be had for $4 each. Check out cameraquest.com for the definitive review of this camera. If you have a need for a good rangefinder and find one in good shape - don't hesitate.

Customer Service

N/A

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Konica Hexar
Leica M6

Incredible lens,
Build quality,
Compactness,
Nearly silent vibration-free operation,
Instinctual use.

Fixed lens

It' is "Love for ever" camera... I am not that old to be nostalgic about "old timer" style photo equipment, but this camera changed my attitude on this matter. Built quality exceed that of any other camera in this price range. Leaf radial shutter provides silent "click" with no vibration whatsoever. But what's the most amazing is the lens... It is 40 mm f/1.7 prime that produces outstanding images only stopped down to f/3.5-4.0. Combined together, Canonet is a superb camera for low light and street shooting. This is very unfortunate that it was discontinued, but since it was produced in staggering numbers, this camera is easy to buy off the Ebay. I had mine for $50 in EX++ condition.

Customer Service

25 years after this camera was discontinued?

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Bessa R, Bessa L, Zorki, Contax G1

light
best 35mm winder i've used (under the camera, not on top)
light meter still works
decent lens

dim finder
no metering in manual mode
shutter knob is sticky
rangefinder accuracy is off, even with very little use
PITA loading (original canonet, not ql)

fun, but cheesy camera. i bought one of these orignal ones, made in 1961.
i thought it would be a nice all manual sidekick to the leica i am using, and i was WRONG.
it's 40 years old, but built for a much different consumer. it's not very precise, it's fairly heavy and definitely noiser than an m6.
that said, it was cheaper than a leica lens cap.
it has a terrific film advance lever built into the bottom, witha little pivoting arm. very nice.

Customer Service

eh?

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leica m6