Canon Canonet GIII QL 17

Back in the 1960s and 1970s Canon made a serious of consumer grade, manual focus, fixed lens rangefinders, branded the Canonet. Released in 1972, the long named, GIII QL17 was final evolution of the Canonet. The camera has achieved a bit of a cult status. It sold new for $94 then ($412 today), but now can resell for about $140 from a dealer, like keh.com. It can be found on eBay for cheaper but you likely risk it not working. The following sites can provide a lot of the technical detail:

Photoethnography
Favorite Classics
CameraQuest

The upside:
--Sharp, fast, 40/1.7 lens.
--Aperture priority and manual override.
--Small and portable

The downside:
--It takes an outdated mercury battery.
--The foam light seals have degraded over the last 40 years.
--Fixed lens

The Verdict:
The camera is great for someone looking for a film camera to give it a try. Don't be surprised if you want to try another lens and are quickly looking for . I took one roll and quickly wanted one with an interchangable lens.


The Camera:
The Camera:








The Photos:
Downtown Houston with Kodak TMAX 100: