How to Repair a Canonet QL17 Rangefinder Camera 

i had this camera broken sitting in a drawer for years, this video was a big help. thank you!

What an amazing reference that will serve as a service manual. Great job and this video helped me greatly even after 3 years online. Thank you!

Figures just last night I was working on a small repair on a QL17 and was looking at the lens element and trying to figure out how to remove it for cleaning. Then this morning your video pops up. Thanks!

Great tutorial as always. Clear and easy to follow! I have the ql17 giii and the 19 giii but the focusing on both is way out. I would love to see your method on how to calibrate this. I've seen a few on RU-vid and online that have different methods. I was hoping you could share your method since you're easy to follow.

Oh man, now I’ve got to go see about the condition of the one I just received. Crossing fingers everything is ok, but thankful for your helpful video. Keep making repair videos, please!

It is a great lesson for me. So I can follow your instructions step by step to clean up my Canonet ql17. Thanks!!!

Just got a Canonet QL19 from the thrift for 40 bucks (pretty pricey but its in great shape). I wanted to get the top cover off and clean the glass and rangefinder elements to clear up the slight fog and dust in the viewfinder. With this video as a guide I have been able to do just that. I'm so glad that my focusing doesn't seem to need any sort of adjustment and I'm now ready to go out and shoot my first roll of film through it! Hoping everything works out and this camera can continue taking great photos for years!

Incredible video very professional and straight to the point I subscribed immediately! I’m curious if you’ve ever worked on swing lens cameras. I own a horizon 202 and I get all these lens flares on my negatives. I’ve read many different things but haven’t found a solution.

Thanks, great tips

so helpful! thanks 🙏

Hi, great video, thanks for producing it. A quick question I hope you can answer, as I only watched your video AFTER doing my repair :). I removed the rear lens from the lens group, unfortunately it fell to my mat while disassembling rather than me catching it.. so I can't be 100% sure which way it goes back into the lens group. Do you happen to know if the more convex side faces the rear of the camera or the flatter side?

Thank you very much for your videos. I think it is a great service for all those vintage camera lovers around the world! I have a QL17 GIII that has its shutter speed ring stuck to 1/500. Do you have any idea on how to fix this? I would really love to shoot the camera, so any advice would be much appreciated. Thank you!

Ohu Man! Thank you so mutch for your stunnig Video! I just found a Canon QL 17 GIII for 10 Euros at the lokal flea market. I had this exakt Camera as a wish in my Head when i went there. I was so supriced wen i saw it. The Lens is perfekt, just i bit of dirt on the front Element and the shutter is perfektly fine. No oil on the Blades at all. The Camera was still in the original traveling Case. Just the viewfinder is full of haze and some fungus that i need to remove. And the Light seals of corse. Iam so happy about this... and now i will whatch your Video again and fix my Canon at the same time. The only Thing am a bit nervos about is, that the entiry lens sems to be a bit loose. Not the fokus ring, but the rest of the lens has just a litte Play. is there a screw to thigten that? Thank yo for all that Information! Nils

Thanks for a great video. An incredible resource. My Canonet door hinge wont stay closed. seems like the spring is broken or completely worn out. Is it possible to replace it or fix it?

Useful, informative and interesting as always 🙂 I own a Yashica Minister II with (I guess) sticky shutter blades, as the shutter won't fire and I'd appreciate it if you could make a video on how to fix it. Thanks and all the best. Sorry for my google translate english.

Coming to this video very late-but it is very well done! Just purchased an older Canonet GIII in very nice condition. Only issue seems to be the Battery Check Lamp does not light-even though the Auto Exposure Meter seems to work fine (MR-9 Adapter in use). Any idea how to repair/replace the Bulb?

I really learn a lot from your videos. Thank you! At the end of this video you say that you are going to show us how to replace the light proofing foam, but hen the video ends. I have two of these Canonet QL17s and they both need the foam replaced. Is there another video for this?

Thank you very much for your videos. It has served me well. My Canonet QL17 in automatic mode does not change the photometer when turning the "ASA" lever. What could it be... Thank you.

Hello can you make a video for ricoh 300s repair. Looking forward thank you! love you videos!

I have a fabulous sample of this camera that was given to me -- QC sticker says 1981 -- even though the serial number indicates 1979 or so... QUESTION: The battery health "light" -- is this an incandescent mini-bulb OR an LED -- seems a tad early for a LED but possible... Anyway - great video and channel - thank you!

Thank you!

Very helpful, Thanks! Please could you advise where I can buy the lens spanner you used in the video?

This video has been super helpful but how did you make the lens spanner tool? I looked a lot of places but couldn’t find that configuration

Great video, I love this series of fixing cameras. I just have one question, I have the canonet ql19, the biggest one without the circular front cell. And the lens move just a tiny bit, it's something to be concerned? The camera works very well and the lens looks sharp. Can be some screw unscrewed or a bit loose? Thank you and cheers 🙏

Great video, but one thing you didn't comment on is the self timer. My self timer is sticking and not working smoothly. Any ideas on how to repair ?

Great video! :). I am in need of some advice if you don't mind: my Canonet QL17 GIII, the advance leaver gets stuck after the 2nd/3rd picture, showing red on the back (small) window. Could you suggest what the issue could be? I have cleaned my camera following our instructions, and it looks incredible. Thanks for the upload!

I picked one up from a rummage sale for about $20 usd today and the viewfinder definitely needs some work. This video is immensely helpful, however the first ring around the lens is bent, as if it was dropped on the lens. Now the entire lens has a slight give to it, maybe 1 mm in any direction. Is this normal, and if not do you know how to fix it? Will this cause light leaks?

Any tips to free up the aperture ring? Mine is super hard to turn on a super nice Canonet.

I have one of those on my bench that has non-functioning 1/30th of sec and slower. Is it hard to get to the slow speed governor on that particular shutter?

nice work ... but how do you loosen a tight focusing arm...

I just bought one of these and need some advice! I haven’t been able to open the back compartment. The lever that you pull up to open the back of the camera to load film seems tight and won’t pull up at all. I tried rewinding thinking maybe there was film inside, but the indicator doesn’t move so I don’t think it’s rewinding anything. What can I try next to get the camera open?

Hi, I have a QL17 Giii that has an issue with the focus sticking and squeaking as I move the tab. What would be the best way to lubricate the focusing action on it?

hey there, thanks for the video it has helped a lot. Unfortunately did the down part of the rewind knob (the stick part) fall down during repair. Now I can't open the back anymore... do u know how to get around this ?

Hey! So, this problem happened after I accidentally forgot to press the button in the lower part of the camera to rewind my finished roll of film... and now I can't advance my film... the advance knob isn't stuck but the sprockets don't move when turning the advance knob... any tips how ti fix it? Thanks very much for the video!

Hi, I wanted to ask about the QL17 cause I'm pretty new to the rangefinder system. How do you know if the focusing patch is correctly aligned? I saw a RU-vid video on how to calibrate it but what are the ways to confirm if the focus is off or if it needs vertical/horizontal adjustments? And for the yellow focusing patch, is there a way to adjust how bright it is if it appears faded?

Can the eyepiece be replaced on these? The exterior black housing there the battery check light is on?

Some awesome insights, thank you. Have you any tips on how to replace the Beam splitter? Like carefully. Im hesitant to just pry it out

Hello, I’m your video, it’s mentioned that you prefer to replace the beam splitter from a Yashica RF. Is the replacement close to a one to one swap? I’ve read that there could be issues with focusing if the beam splitter is placed incorrectly. Thanks for the video!

I bought my Canonet QL17 GIII last year and it came with one of those weincell batteries and the meter worked until the battery died. I finally got around to getting one of those mr-9 battery voltage adapters to use a 386 battery, but now the meter doesn't work when I put it in. Im afraid I might of put the battery and adapter in wrong and short circuited something. Any advice?

Amazing work ! I have the same Canonet and my trigger button is stuck. It is not triggering anymore the shot and you push it to the void ... What can I do, do you think it is fixable ? Thanks a million !

Hi there! It would seem like I've broken my Canonet QL19 this morning when I accidently tried winding past the 37th frame. The film advance lever can be wound multiple times without the shutter ever being cocked. Pushing the shutter button doesn't seem to do anything. The film advance lever also seems fairly stiff. I've taken the top plate, bottom plate and camera right side cover off so I can look at the mechanism. If I wind on and keep the lever in the most advanced position and push the shutter charge lever manually all the way to camera right, after I release the lever the camera properly fires the shutter. Also of note is that if I advance the lever once, and then try advancing again occasionally it becomes stuck as if it was at 1 and 1/4 strokes. When I press the shutter I hear a click noise from the charge lever moving but the shutter doesn't fire. Any info or tips would be appreciated.

G’day, I was looking for a light seal kit for QL17 GIII. Is this available on your website or Etsy store?

Hi. Just bought a beautiful seemingly mint Canonet on eBay to find out the self timer is stuck. Any way I can fix this or is it a major repair?

Do you know how to fix a pressure plate? Mine is misaligned and not holding the film in place

Is there any way to remove the splitter mirror? It was recommended to me that I swap out the entire rangefinder mechanism. But I cant find the screws to remove it. The exploded view shows two but I can't see them.

Anyone got the link to purchase the lens spanner shown around 28:00 ? Had been hunting high and low but still no leads...

Hey man, the round nut that holds the film lever keeps loosening little by little whenever i push the film lever back into the resting position. Do you happen to know why? It's been extremely frustrating and I have to keep tightening it every time I advance so the entire assembly wouldnt suddenly fall apart.

picked one of them. but the parallax seem to be stuck, might be the spring that moves it. do you know if is an easy fix?

Hey JVC, Just wanted to ask about that tool you were using around 28:00 and were to obtain one, I'm struggling to find the right name for it or where to find one. I attempted to use a the regular lens spanner with the adjustable spacers, and the tips were too sharp and damaged some of the notches. The lens assembly was very well stuck - even after I had used lighter fluid. I am not sure if the previous owner had gone in and glued some bits in..as it showed sign of a previous attempt. Any advice would help. Thanks!

Hi, I have a Canonet QL19 and followed your instructions for cleaning the rangefinder. Unfortunatly when I opened the camera I realized that the mirror that reflects the aperture numbers and framing frame from the front window (the one with the rectangle hole) is loose. It has become detached from its support. Is it glued to the support? Should I use some kind of glue? Loctite? I suppose a couple of loctite in the support (gel version probably better) would do. But I am afraid of putting glue there, and it won't be easy to not stain the mirror with glue. Would it affect the telemeter calibration? I suppose not as the function of the mirror seems to be only superimpose the framing and numbers to the optical view and let pass the split image through the center hole. Thank you for any advice.

I’m trying to calibrate the rangefinder, but I could get it to line up both near and at infinity simultaneously. And now, it seems like the screw isn’t changing the position of the rangefinder. Advice?

My focus leaver has no effect upon the focus system in the viewfinder .What could be the problem?

Hi, is the Canonet QL17 (not G III) same repair method?

Hi can I use WD-40 instead of lighter fluid? thanks

The rear group is not removable on the QL19. The top must be removed and the leatherette removed so that the entire lens assembly can be pulled out. There is a shroud which acts as a retainer which prevents the rear group from coming out. Do not try to remove the rear group on the QL19. I fyou find yourself prying it out you will never get it back in.

I love Jordan Peterson taking apart cameras

forgot to glue light seal

The Canonet 28 is not a QL camera.